THIS & THAT #31

SPECIAL DETROIT EDITION

But Anyone Can Read It — Even You

The Past Is Always Present

In your olde hometown, you may be aware of familiar street names such as John R, Brush, Mack, Van Dyke, Pingree, John C. Lodge, and James Couzens.

They all have something in common.

As do the names of the Buhl Building, Cobo Hall (auto show)

and the Jeffries Housing Project.

What is the common thread tying them all together?

Itv Tukel knows the answer, as does Eugene Driker, Arnie Garber, Stuart Opotowsky, Stanley Halprin, Harvey Zalla, and many more of you.

Race Relations

All of the above (except Tukel, Driker, Garber, Opotowsky, Halprin and Zalla) were the names of former Mayors of Detroit, primarily before we entered elementary school, and they were all White males. Since that time, the following individuals have served as Detroit’s mayors; some were White (W), and others were either Negroes (N), Colored (C) or Black (B) (your choice of designation).

Edward Jeffries 1940-1948 (W)

Eugene Van Antwerp 1948-1949 (W)

Albert Cobo   1950-1957 (W)

Louis Miriani  1957-1962 (W)

Jerome Cavanagh  1962-1970 (W)

Roman Gribbs  1970-1974 (W)

Coleman Young 1974-1994            Mayor (N,C, or B)

Dennis Archer   1994-2001            Mayor (N,C, or B)

Kwame Kilpatrick  2002-2008      Mayor (N,C, or B)

He resigned in 2008 after pleading guilty to two counts of felony obstruction of justice

Kenneth Cockrel, Jr.  2008-2009  Interim Mayor (N,C, or B)

David Bing  May 2009-2013          Former Detroit Piston and 

                                                           Mayor (N,C, or B)

Mike Duggan, a White man, was elected Mayor in 2014. He will be opposed in the November 7^th Mayoral race by Coleman Young II, the N, C, or B son of Coleman Young. See the attached article for more information.

Now It’s Our Turn

When I started teaching at the University of Detroit in 1966, the population in Detroit-area public schools was on the decline, blamed in part on “white flight” to the suburbs. At the same time, school board members who were primarily N, C, or B, were taking advantage of whatever fringe benefits they could grab. This included siphoning monies from an already tight budget for their own personal perks, such as having chauffer-driven limousines available when they were so inclined to use them.   

I had an intelligent, articulate 35-year-old Black woman in my classes, and I was her principal advisor. She had two children in the Detroit public school system, and when I asked her if she was aware of this misuse of educational funds that could better serve her children, Carol said to me; “Your people (Whites) have been doing the same thing for years. Now it’s our turn.”

THIS & THAT #30

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE

Back in the 1960s, the blustery 36^th President held tight reins over many of his subservient Democrats, including his Vice President, Hubert Horatio Humphrey, formerly a liberal Senator from Minnesota. Hubert was aiming to eventually run for the Presidency, and to do so; he would have to remain a loyal lap dog to President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

The November 1966 front cover of Esquire magazine depicted Hubert as a dummy on LBJ’s knee, being manipulated by Lyndon the ventriloquist.

In 2017, a bombastic President tightly holds the reins over his frightened Republican elected officials, including his Vice President, Michael Richard Pence, who was raised in Columbus, Indiana. On his Wikipedia page, Pence affirmed that he was a Christian, conservative, and a Republican, in that order. He will probably acquiesce and vote for a name change to his birthplace if his boss says so. There are nineteen other locales nationally that incorporate the name Columbus, in one form or another.

Pence will have to prioritize his options concerning his eventual bid to become the nation’s next president, based on what happens to his puppeteer or ventriloquist, namely DJT.

Please see the final paragraph regarding Michael’s options.

Pence, the former governor of the grate state of Indiana, was assigned the task of attending the October 8^th Indianapolis Colts home football game against the “rebellious” San Francisco 49ers. He knew that some of the 49ers might not stand at attention during the playing of the National Anthem, as did his boss.

Pence had flown in from Las Vegas at an estimated cost of $100,000, and then after quickly exiting before the game began as part of the planned publicity stunt, he flew to Los Angeles at a cost of $142,500, to attend a Republican fundraiser. That’s a total cost of $242,500 that will be paid for by American taxpayers.

A PUPPET OR A DUMMY

It’s encouraging to know that Pence and Trump are working together to make America grate again, as the veep proudly boasted.

"I left today's Colts game because President Trump and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem," Pence wrote on Twitter.

While Colts players stood arm-in-arm at their home game in Indianapolis, more than 20 of the San Francisco 49ers players knelt during the anthem, as they have for weeks. It was a move that should not have shocked Pence, an Indiana native, whose face clearly demonstrated his disapproval of the action on the field.

"While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I don't think it's too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem," Pence tweeted. "I stand with President Trump, I stand with our soldiers, and I will always stand for our Flag and our National Anthem."

Trump took credit for the departure of Pence and his wife from the stadium in a later tweet, saying, "I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen."

All true Americans are proud of our Second Lady, and I have been unable to find anyone against our soldiers. Those in the Executive Branch seem to be the ones attempting to divide our country even more so, by perpetuating this nonsensical thinking to appeal to their base.

If You Are Waiting

For President Pence

You will have to be patient, since as of Saturday, October 28^th; there will be 1,103 days until the next presidential election on November 3, 2020.

The 46th President won’t take office until January 20, 2021. The only way Michael Richard Pence could become President any sooner, would be if (1) Donald J. Trump resigns from office because of boredom, (2) resigns from office after being severely criticized while receiving a salary of only $ 400,000 a year, (3) resigns from office because he wants even more time to play golf at his various courses, (4) or is impeached for conduct unbecoming a President. There are probably other ways Trump could leave office earlier than planned, but I will let others figure them out, for I am not an expert on the subject, nor do I want to become one. There's enough confusion emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the golf courses, as it is.