"because, as we made it very clear, the
Jews really got along better with the
black people than a lot of the other
groups."
The stories pointed out that non-
Jewish whites responded to blacks
moving into their neighborhoods by
forming neighborhood councils to
oppose them or by sometimes using
violence.
"In that respect, I was glad it was a
Jewish block because if it were some
other block we might have had to get
into some of the ugly stuff. Our point
was to try to explain the movements
of populations."
Some Jews were concerned about
how whites would react to the story's
focus on Jews. But others, such as
Gad-Harf,.involved in Jewish outreach
'to Detroit, and Baum, who lives in
Detroit, are concerned about negative
reaction against Jews from blacks
because of the series.
"I have to be concerned about the
reaction of the Detroit African
American community," said Gad-
Harf. "We don't want Detroiters to
think that Jews were leading the way
in the exodus from Detroit or were
responsible for the demise of Detroit
neighborhoods.
"And it's very disappointing, in as
much as there's so much going on -
today in which the Detroit Jewish
community, individually and corpo-
rately and institutionally, is taking the
lead in supporting Detroit in so many
facets of Detroit life. I'd hate for peo-
ple's attitudes to be shaped by one
newspaper series rather than what is
actually going on on the ground."
Detroiter Baum agreed. 'And while
I, as a leader in the Jewish community,
don't hear it from other black leaders,
as a resident, I do see it on the street
level — animosity towards whites and
sometimes Jews. But it isn't among the
leaders. It's among average people."
But overall, Baum gave the series
credit. "Frankly, I thought this was a
very difficult article to write, and,
frankly, I thought the article was rela-
tively fair."
"It appeared the author was trying
to portray the subtleties and nuances."
Reporter McWhirter summed up his
view: "I hope the stories made Jewish
people and black people and white
people of all persuasions uncomfort-
able, because I was uncomfortable
writing it.
"It's uncomfortable stuff— that's
the point of the story. These are
Black Reaction
uncomfortable subjects; that a lot of
"In a way, I'm kind of glad that we did people would rather just brush this
stuff under the rug.
choose a Jewish block," said Simison,
"When correlated with generational,
socioeconomic upward mobility, such
a prolonged exodus seems to have
sprung from a desire for larger homes,
more space, and the pursuit of the
symbols of economic success."
He also cited fears or prejudices
held by Jews and blacks against the
other as fostering the Jewish moves.
He also stated that Jewish merchants
and professionals tended to follow
retail markets, which moved further
from downtown.
Shiovitz denied race was a motive
for moving.
"We had planned to live there for
five years and try to save money to
get a better house," he said. "When
the broker told me about selling my
house, I saw the opportunity that iiiy
goal was going to be reached a little
earlier. This was a used home; I
bought a new one.
"It had nothing to do with blacks.
Racial problems were never a prob-
lem in my house to begin with."
Martin Baum is an attorney in
Bloomfield Hills who has lived in the
city of Detroit for 35 years. As presi-
dent of the American Jewish
Committee's Detroit chapter, he par-
ticipates in outreach to the black
community.
He says he enjoys his Sherwo6d
Forest home in the Seven Mile-
Livernois area and .isn't sure all Jews
who moved out of Detroit did so out
of fear.
"Jews tend to be communally
minded," Baum said. "When Jews
start to move, the exodus becomes
snowball. They want to stay together.
Burton Freedman is a Farmington
Hills real estate investor who has
boue't and sold houses in Detroit
for more than 35 years. He said the
resumption of home building after
World War II, plus the upwardly
mobile returning soldiers, made for a
volatile home market. Workers,
including blacks, who came to
Detroit to work in the defense
plants, had accumulated wealth as
well.
"Now you had a huge demand for
homes and they had to expand," he
said. "People moved.
"No matter Who moved in, if they
weren't of your racy, creed, color,
people moved. This was a factor of
the times. Today, if a black moves in,
nobody moves." .
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