An oral history that reveals or illuminates a larger social issue.

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Donald

By Araz Hashemi

Donald Rhee is an African American senior-citizen of Detroit. He volunteers regularly as a computer mentor at the Hannan Center for Senior Learning in Detroit.

Well I was an only child. It had its advantages and disadvantages, you know. But our community actually was a community. You knew everybody, and everybody knew you. But my world in growing up as a teenager was just about two blocks. And then after I became a teenager, it might have expanded to maybe a mile. I didn’t have any reason to be away from my house, you know.

I was in a part of the city they called “The Hill”. Pennsylvania is very hilly and mountainous, you know. And I rarely went off The Hill. I had no reason to.

Our schooling was different than it is today. Everybody knew everybody, and you kind of carried yourself in a different manner. Out of respect for your family you didn’t try to do anything embarrassing. Now we was mischeivous now, but we didn’t try to embarrass them, because everyone was looking at you. And someone knew your parents and they would tell your parents. That’s how the community was. It’s not like it is now. But you have to understand, this was actually before the convenience of the automobile, and I can only remember one family that I knew that had an automobile. In other words, you really didn’t go that far. I think that’s really what’s missing now. The automobile made us mobile, and naturally that expanded the borders of our community. But before then the community was tight, much closer.

At the time we called ourselves colored, and African Americans did live together. But the community also had Jewish people and Italians and things, and they too were there. And we all went to school together.

I didn’t really notice the ethnic differences in community until I moved to Detroit. The shop owners that had they’re shops there actually lived there. They had their homes up the stairs or in the back. It was what you called a segregated community. But the segregation came from income. The people of a certain income lived where they could afford to live. And as your income increased, you moved to another area where there was better housing. But it wasn’t just based on because “You’re Polish, you have to live here” or “You’re Italian, you have to live there”. I think we just had to deal with the economic discrimination, you know.

Well, I guess what I’m trying to say, if you were a business man, and you had a business in the community, you would have a house better than your neighbor who was a construction worker.

When I was going to school, I didn’t even know why I was going to school. I think I was lulled into a state of complacency. I did just as much as was needed to get by, because I didn’t know at that time what an education could do for me. I guess I knew there were certain occupations that weren’t going to be open to me, so why would I try to seek an education to go into that field. But then it changed. A community can only support so many doctors, so many dentists, so many school teachers. Even if I had went to school in one of those fields, by the time I graduated those fields wouldn’t be calling. We already had enough doctors and dentists and school teachers in my community. That would mean I would have to migrate, you know.

I had found myself in a situation, you know, with a girl in a family way. I graduated one day, got married the next day, they put me on a train the third day and brought me to Detroit. And that Monday my father talked to his foreman and told him that I needed a job, and his foreman said “Alright, bring him in”. And when I went to Dearborn, I marched past a block and a half of individuals trying to put an application in for a job. I walked right in the door with my father and got a job. And what people didn’t realize is that if you wanted a job those days, someone had to bring you in. But that’s the way it was. With General Motors and Ford, you had to know someone, you know. And that was with a lot of jobs now. If you would apply for a job, maybe a business person, clergyman, somebody would vouch for you and you got the job. But other than that, you were out in the wind.

And it went across the board. They didn’t say we are doing this because you’re Jewish or because you’re Afro-American. It’s like with Michigan State or the University of Michigan, they had a quota on the number of students they would admit each year, and it was your individuality that would help you overcome those hurtles. I guess you can say that is the American way. But you get these prophets of doom and gloom that put their own spin on it to suit their needs of the message they’re trying to portray. And it is really just the way things is.

Well, you can look at it like this: if you’ve got enough labor, you can be picky about your labor. But if you don’t have enough labor, then you’ll pick anyone, because business must go on, you know. It goes on and on. That’s what makes to me, you know, the study of labor, when this country became an industrial country. But the study of labor- it’s interesting, very interesting. When times are good, everyone is happy. When times slow down, everyone is unhappy. And the economic cycle just repeats itself over and over again. So it all comes down to which side of the fence you’re standing on, which makes you come up with a philosophy to justify why you are on that side of the fence.

But what’s happened is that technology has replaced labor. The public schools are not teaching their students fast enough, and not giving them enough where they’ll be able to take advantage of this new technology that’s coming down the road. And this is replacing the use for labor, because anything that a human can do they’ve got a machine doing. And schools are going to have to catch up, you know, and the curriculum is going to have to be to teach these individuals how to take advantage of this new technology, so that they can get a job.

I read about two months ago, that the United States is about the only country that gives away free education. But then you can look and see what quality of education--in the public schools--that these individuals are receiving. When this country went from agriculture to industry, they needed labor. They didn’t have enough labor, so they called for people migrating here to work—but that’s another story. But now you’ve got these industrial complexes that need labor. These industrialists are saying that the masses need to be taught, need to be educated, so they can come and work in our factories. So they funded and pushed the idea of public education. So that’s where the public school system came from. But what they’re teaching you in public education, they are not teaching you to be an entrepreneur. They’re teaching you to become a laborer. And this is where it’s going to have to change.

I had to leave my wife, so I could come up here to Detroit and become established. And she was pregnant at the time. And I had to come up here with my father and my grandparents so that once I got established, I could send for them. I had to become independent, because my family was helping me, but they weren’t going to help me forever. So I had to get a job and do my best to become independent as much as I could.

At that time in Detroit, Afro-Americans wasn’t living all over the city like it is now. At that time, in the early 1950’s, there was a group of African Americans in what was called the west side, which would be around Grand River, East Grand Boulevard. There was a community there. There was another community of blacks here on the lower east side, right down almost to Gratiot. Then there was another pocket of Afro-Americans out on the other side of Davison, between Six Mile and Seven Mile. Then there was yet another pocket over there on Wyoming and Eight Mile. But after the riot, when so many of the upper-class population moved and left the poor people behind, it just happened to be Afro-Americans. I don’t know the specifics that they say, but my estimate is that Detroit is about 90% Afro-American, you know.

Hopefully it will change, and I can see the change coming. But it’s going to be another Detroit, and it’s not going to be the old Detroit. Because what’s happening is that the younger people are moving back, the ones that grew up in the suburbs, the ones that know nothing about Detroit. But now they find that the mindset of the young people is hip-hop, and everything is a party. And now they want to move back into the city because they find it exciting and adventurous. But it’s not going to help Detroit if it’s nothing but young people-- we also need mature people, because if nothing but young people are moving back, Detroit is going to be like Las Vegas, you know.

It all depends on who you talk to. A lot of people are going to play the race card. What I’ve come to realize in growing up and maturing is that if you have a lot of money, you can do anything you want. Even in a segregated situation. The segregated part of it is when you take two groups of poor people, pit them against each other, and make them fight against one another, making them go the opposite way of where they want to be heading. And the affluent people just step back and they look at it. It’s all about money. If you have enough money, then you can go anywhere you want. Case in point: Starbucks charges a lot of money for their coffee. If a person comes in and wants a cup of coffee, and they can’t pay the price, he can’t tell them that “you’re doing this to me because I am what I am.” No. You can’t get this coffee because you can’t pay for it. You can’t come in this club because you can’t pay the admittance fee. You can’t go to this show because you can’t afford the ticket. You can’t go out to this basketball game and pay $250 for one seat, and then spend $40 on munchies because you don’t have the money. And you can’t say “You’re doing this to me because I am what I am.” You do not have enough money.

It’s a mindset. And it’s these prophets of doom and gloom that set this mindset. It’s like Hitler. Hitler was an intelligent, gifted speaker, and he convinced the German people that the problems that you’re having is not your doing, it’s not your fault. And that’s only human nature. You don’t want to blame yourself for your condition. But if I can convince you that someone else is causing your environment to be what it is, you’re going to say “Yeah, because I know it ain’t nothing I did.” And that’s why these prophets of doom and gloom are very gifted at touching that nerve; they know what to push, they know what to tell you to make you think its somebody else’s fault when it’s really the man in the mirror.

Each generation is becoming more mature and wise, because the things that my father believed in and your father believed in are not necessarily the things that I believe in or you believe in. And the change will come. Eventually, it will come.  Back to Top

Mr. Black’s Story

By Richard Pineau

This oral history was based on two interviews conducted by Richard Pineau at the Hannan House on March 26, 2004 and April 2, 2004 of Mr. Warren Black.

If it was left to me, I would say, everyone would have to vote.  If you didn’t vote you would not receive anything that the taxpayers would provide.  You would be able to go to school but not participate in anything extra.  Also, everyone must be registered at a church.  You would not have to go to church but just be registered to help the church.  This would help to improve the community as well.  The community is important because it is where we all live.  Everybody has a responsibility to their community and a responsibility to vote and obey the laws.  What we have in America is something that is very short in the world, freedom.  When they say freedom isn’t free that means you have to vote because otherwise the people that don’t vote are the ones that get us into trouble.

I think we should know more about one another and help one another.  People hide behind their rights.  They claim their rights to privacy.  Then you get these crooks who steal from people and you would not suspect them of doing it.  Then you get people who will not testify in court and so on.  Even our political leaders are not testifying to the public.  This to me, is funny business.  Put everybody up front.  What do they have to hide?  Like the police say, “If you have nothing to hide why did you run?”  You can hardly name a government official that the public believed in.  People who are honest show respect for themselves and those they serve.

Detroit, now, needs to be fixed up.  I have driven around the city on streets I have never been on before because of the construction.  I see empty homes and lots and a lot of litter piled up high.  There are things that need to be done.  I know my own neighborhood and nothing else.  I feel safe myself because I live in a good neighborhood.  There are people on the corner who sell their stuff.  The police drive by and the people leave and come back later.  These are the kinds of improvements that need to be done.  There is a lot of drug use in Detroit and it needs to be taken care of.  Many people don’t have jobs and that is why they are on the street.  We are losing too many jobs and people are forced to support their families in some way.

I have worked a lot in my life.  I worked for my father with his cartage company.  We would pick up merchandise for a company and drop it off where they wanted.  Since the stores did not have their own trucks, we were their transporters.  We also worked with a furniture company, moving the furniture to different homes and apartments.  You could buy five rooms of furniture for $100.  Now this was not top quality furniture but people would buy it because they were short of money.  I remember that in the spring, there would be these big boats from Cleveland or New York right on Jefferson.  We would go and take all of the old mattresses and bring in the new ones and we replaced any other furniture. 

I was drafted into the military during World War II and I was with the Military Police.  I saw no action because I was at Headquarters typing on the typewriter.  I was able to know about the new officers that came through before everyone else because I would fill out the reports.  When I got out of the service I was a clerk with Veteran’s Administration and I worked for the county.  I also worked as a head janitor for Wayne State University.  The library was one of the first buildings to get air conditioning and that was a beautiful thing.  I worked at night and all of the homes belonged to me and I had everyone under me who cleaned those homes.  There were so many keys that I had to carry.  On pay day, I had to carry a lot of money at night, but all the times I worked at night, over twenty years, no one, and I mean no one ever approached me to take any money from me.  Now times are very different.  People are being robbed everyday.

I remember around election time that all the candidates would have a get together.  They would have it at the bar or at the county building.  They would have beer and different foods there and you would listen to the candidates.  As the county employees, we served the beer and foods.  I am not a drinking man.  My father told my brother not to take Warren to the bar or anywhere near the bar.  My brother would tell me what happened at the bar or whatever, but I never went to the bar.  I remember at one bar, the Blue Bird Inn, on the West Side, there were many guys that came through in bands.  They would meet with other people at the bar and everyone would play in a trio.  Many of my friends went with the bands and I saw my one friend on TV playing a piano. 

The West Siders, an organization I am part of, wrote a book about our neighborhood from West Grand Boulevard to Atworth and Grand River down to Warren Avenue.  We wrote everything and published it ourselves.  It is at its third printing.  It told everyone about our experiences on the West Side.  Everyone in the book has different experiences.  Some guys got a job at Fords and were making good money.  Everyone was coming from all over to work at Fords because he was paying five dollars a day.  No one else was paying that kind of money.  That was in my father’s time though [1920’s].  Of course they were paying more when I got out of high school because the unions were there.  I went to all these places but they are gone now.  No one knows about this stuff because it is gone and times have changed.  But all of us have different stories and lives and that is what the book is about.

I grew up with one brother and one sister.  My father did not allow for any of us to not get along.  My father told me at a very early age not to hit my sister and I never did.  My brother liked to tease.  I would always grab something to hit him with but he would always run and to this day I can never catch him.  I believed whatever he told me, I was gullible.  He told me one time, do you want to see branches burn and smoke come out of the chimney?  And I said yes.  So we went to the attic and lit the branches and ran outside.  Sure enough the smoke came out the chimney.  Someone found out what happened and I’m the one that got the whippen for it.  I was the one who did it.  My father asked who did that and I said I did and he said why and I said to see the smoke come out the chimney.  It took me some time to realize that when people tell you things they are not always true. 

I have been married to my wife for 52 years.  She is from Kentucky.  We met at a young ladies home that she was staying at.  A friend told me that I needed to get married because I was already 29.  Thirty was too old to get married.  I went to check on this girl and I spoke with the lady in charge.  She said that the girl was the best one there.  I told my mother that was the girl I was going to marry.  Then I set my trap and I caught up with her one day and asked her to marry me.  I have a son and a daughter, 2 grandsons, 2 great-granddaughters, and 1 great-grandson.  I like to spoil my grand kids.  All I want to know is what do you want, and what do you like?  If I don’t have it today, I’ll get it next time.  My little great-granddaughter likes to look at you real funny.  She is not three years old.  She went to her mother, and I laughed at what she said, and she turned and frowned at me.  I asked my grandson why did she do that, and he said that she doesn’t like it when other people talk about her.  How did a little girl get all of that?  She shows me something new every time I see her.  She understands so much and she is very intuitive.  These babies nowadays are so smart.  All I know is what people tell me and what I see.  And people tell me only the good things.  I don’t want to see people dying and getting hurt.  I love life and I love everyone.

I would say the best advice I could give to people is to respect and love your parents.  Never lie to them; always tell the truth to them.  You know what the truth is.  I never lied to my parents and they knew that.  No one knows the truth but you.  Being truthful and loving shows that you are a good person.  Love conquers all.  You cannot defeat love.  Love and compassion are the two qualities that people need to have.  Respect comes out of love.  When you love someone you are devoted to them and will do anything for them.  That is the best advice for people.  By being a truthful and loving person, the world is becoming a better place.  Back to Top