Aiyana Jones and the City of Detroit

Little Aiyana Jones was laid to rest yesterday and I am still trying to make sense of all this. I was talking with a close friend the other day and she asked me, “These killings happen all the time in America, why do you think this particular case is so important?” First as a mother of a precious little girl, Aiyana’s case hits really close to home. This could have been my daughter. This could have been anyone’s daughter. But besides my own personal feeling, Aiyana Jones is more than just a girl who was killed brutally by police, she represents what is fundamentally wrong with this country economically and racially.

At one time, Detroit was America’s crown jewel. Detroit had the first paved streets and the first freeway system. They had an extensive railcar system that served the population well.

A busy city. Woodward Ave, Detroit, early 1900s.

Amidst racism, the auto industry provided jobs for black folks. People were able to get around, buy the things they needed, and maintain a livelihood. By 1954, Detroit was producing 80 percent of American automobiles. Detroit became so invested in the automobile, that they abandoned the public transportation system in 1956 and focused solely on the development of freeways as a means of transportation.

 The Davidson Freeway. The building of the city's oldest 

freeway was pivotal in keeping Detroit segregated.

 Meanwhile, the strength of the black workers in the United Auto Workers union (UAW), gave motivation to factory owners to move their operations out of Detroit. Well-developed freeways facilitated this shift and those who had the means to follow did. Those that did not were stranded with no way to get around and with no work. It is no accident that those left behind were the black community. With dwindling resources, communities began to atrophy. On July 23, 1967 massive riots broke out. Lasting 5 days, frustrated, unemployed poor and black folks revolted and destroyed what little there was left of their city, giving white people all the more reason to leave. Today Detroit remains one of the most segregated cities in the country. We all know where the story goes from here.

Detroit under siege during the riots in 1967.

So here we are today. A little 7-year-old girl is dead, an innocent victim of unfortunate circumstances. It is important that we pay attention to Detroit and to Aiyana Jones. Detroit reminds us of the greatness we can achieve as a country. There was a time when Detroit was the benchmark for infrastructural development around the world. Today the city is plagued by blight and abandonment. Aiyana's death represents our most fundamental failings as a country. Her death reveals what happens when a government fails to provide jobs, fails to provide public transportation, fails to provide adequate schooling, fails to integrate, and most importantly, what happens when a government fails to respect life. If we are to learn anything from the death of Aiyana Jones, it is that our government needs to start investing in its people. We need infrastructure. We need jobs. We need local industry. We need healthcare. We need to live with dignity. And we, as a people, need to demand it.

Read my piece Aiyana Jones: Killed in Warfare
Read There is No Justice for Aiyana by Adrienne Maree
Read Birmingham, 1963 to Detroit, 2010- The tragedy of bombed and brutalized black girls by Jo Nubian