In case you missed it, the webinar can be viewed on our YouTube channel. 

*Some questions and answers have been edited for length. 

Can you speak to sociological factors and particularly racial discrimination that influenced Ypsilanti's development in contrast to its sister city of Ann Arbor?

Al Young: Ann Arbor is a college town. Consequently, the city developed in large part around the growth and development of the University of Michigan. Ypsilanti developed around the automobile industry call, even if its western region served as a bedroom community to Ann Arbor (and even as it is home to university as well -- Eastern Michigan University -- but one that has not made the footprint in research that the University of Michigan has). It was clear that Ypsilanti would be better suited for African-Americans, who were much more settled in industrial-era employment spheres than in research and technology spheres. Unfortunately, a part of the evolution of elite communities is the cultivation of institutions, formal and informal, and cultures that make outsiders feel unfamiliar if not unwelcome. Some elites deliberately cultivate exclusion, which is a mechanism for preserving elite status, and some less consciously sustain it by immersing themselves into what for them are the appealing and rewarding attributes of elite living, or the so-called good life. This is the root of the tension that is sometimes experienced by Ypsilanti residents when having to encounter Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor residents when thinking about Ypsilanti.

 

Employment is a complex problem in the African American community. We seem to always address the problem with students at the high school level. If we always address the problem at that level and the results are the same. Why don’t we try a different approach?

Al: I am not actually sure that the results have been the same in terms of how scholars and policy makers have approached high school education. There are some critical considerations for us to think about, concerning whether high school education in economically disadvantaged communities fully prepares young people to enter into a post-industrial world of work. Ultimately, young people have to see and understand the connection between schooling and success in the modern world of work. This connection is increasingly more challenging to establish if young people only see labor opportunities in their future that do not ensure basic financial stability. This is only a part of a larger question at hand concerning how we create more effective learning opportunities for socio-economically challenged African-American youth. The twentieth century pattern of moving from high school to industrial-era work opportunity is no longer in effect. Therefore, continued attention must be given to the role of high school education for engineering mobility in America. There is a lot of work to do to determine how high school education can be effective in preparing people for life in a post-industrial world, especially those people who, for various reasons, are not situated to assume elite positions in that world.

 

Education is a key foundational piece for work, however it was only mentioned briefly at the start of this presentation. Based on your research, can you expand on this aspect a bit more? 

Al: For adults – people beyond the high school years – a necessary area of attention regarding education involves their encountering opportunities for re-education such that they can acquire a more firm and elaborate understanding of the contemporary, post-industrial world of work. This effort would involve job training and placement programs becoming more effectively resourced (and I understand that this is an expensive proposition) so that they can educate people about the post-industrial world of work as well as help them transition into it. This means putting into place programs that attend to what people know and do not know about automation and technology and how these developments are changing the landscape of work. It also means educating people about the specific positions or points of entry that they into that world and what they may be able to do to improve their prospects of advancing in that world. Ultimately, people must be better educated about the ways that automation and technology are transforming the world of work so that they both increase their understanding of and decrease any fear, anxiety, or confusion they have about this momentous change. The devil to making this work is in the details, but thinking along these lines is the critical first step. 


I am interested in learning and passing on what I have learned to help people I come in contact with: about understanding our fate in this society of work, wealth accumulation, materialism downfall, self appreciation and so much more! What channels or programs do you recommend or run for connecting with community members?

Derrick Jackson: If I’m understanding correctly you may be interested in using your lived experience to help others? If that’s the case we have a great community outreach program at the Sheriff’s Office that you may be interested in. Look up Washtenaw County Sheriff Community Outreach Team to find more info or email me at jacksond@washtenaw.org. There are also several other outreach teams associated with various social service agencies that focus on specific populations. I believe we underestimate and underutilize lived experience when working with the community. We often look to hire the person with the degree or letters behind their name and overlook those best suited to turn policy into practice. We’ve been working to add better pay and expand the role of peer work and are always looking for good people to help us. 

 

During the presentation, Dr. Shaefer spoke about how Ann Arbor can do better by people of color. Was this asking for a solution or just putting it out there in the universe?

Luke Shaefer:  I definitely don’t have all the answers here. But this is absolutely something that I think the Ann Arbor community needs to think about. One thing I’m certain of is that a first step is understanding the issue. Reading the passages of Professor Young’s book that related to Ann Arbor felt a bit to me like getting really honest and brutal feedback from a family member. I think the Ann Arbor community generally has a high opinion of itself. Here is a space where that high opinion isn’t deserved.

Derrick’s answer to the question below sheds some more light on the issue, I think. He mentioned that many of his friends from Ypsilanti feel more comfortable in Dexter or Whitmore Lake than in Ann Arbor. That makes me wonder if what we’re seeing in Ann Arbor being so unwelcoming is the combined effects of divides by wealth and by race. If so the answer would require both changes that targete difference by race, but also by socioeconomic status.

We might turn to trainings or shared community events in an effort to address the issue, but I don’t hold much hope that these will get us very far. I think looking for structural changes will be critical. I was really happy that the City passed an affordable housing millage this November, overwhelmingly so. I think we can do better too on public transportation, and it seems definitely we definitely need to target policies related to policing. My thought is that we should target concrete parts of the puzzle like these and build to a greater whole. But there is a long way to go. I definitely welcome anyone’s ideas.

 

Has there always (or how long) been the dictomony between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti?

Derrick: I’m not exactly sure how long, but definitely for as long as I can remember. I came to this area in the early 90’s and one of the first lessons an upperclassman passed along to me was the difference between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Specifically, as a black college student at EMU I was being told where it was safe to hang out and where not to hang out. In my work with homeless teens in Ypsi I remember training them to be outreach workers and we would go all over the county talking to youth. However, the one place they all hated to visit was downtown Ann Arbor. They were fine at the mall, downtown Dexter, out in Whitmore Lake, but when it came to outreach in Ann Arbor they never wanted to go. I don’t feel as if it’s made up and really encourage us to acknowledge that for many people the wide gap between the have and have nots is represented in Ann Arbor and many people see it as unwelcoming. I mentioned it on the panel, but there’s no surprise people feel unwelcome when we are ranked as one of the most economically segregated and most difficult places in America for upward economic mobility. Makes you wonder how a place like Washtenaw can have all of these amazing attributes and yet struggle with economic segregation and poverty the way we do. One thing about our history and make up is that many people worked in the factories in Ypsilanti while the Ann Arbor economy was more closely tied to the university and academia. That difference in culture can’t be underestimated either.

Luke: My father’s family was in Ypsilanti for generations, and I think there has been a divide for a long time to some degree. But it has become more pronounced over time. I think Professor Young says in his book--and I agree--that the history of these two towns is a microcosm of the history of the second half of the 20th Century, as the industrial economy faltered and the elite knowledge economy strengthened. As a result, the divide between these two towns grew over decades.