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Next Generation
What Does It Mean To Be A Neighbor?
one afternoon while I was taking a tour of
ixteen years ago, I moved
the
house before making an offer. Ray was
to Detroit. Eleven years
in
the
yard working. He is a white man in
ago, I bought a house in a
his
late
70s with a thick Southern accent
neighborhood called Briggs.
and a physical stature that showed he
Nowadays, if any of you know my
was a working-class man who had found
neighborhood you're more likely to know
his comforts in staying active. So on this
it as North Corktown. I am 39 years old,
day, while looking at my future home, I
grew up in Huntington Woods and moved
ventured to the yard thinking I could sneak
to Detroit after I graduated college to be
away from the owner and ask someone
a rock star. Although I did not become a
living in the neighborhood for some
rock star, I've remained a Detroiter. I found
insight.
my home in Detroit because it offered me
My first question—and
experiences, sensitivity,
consequently my only question —
insight and a sense of
to Ray was, "What do you think
community that I had not
of the price that is being asked for
similarly felt in my suburban
this house?" Ray responded in his
upbringing. In fact, I did not
thick accent with what sounded
even know I was looking
like this: "Shoe em d0000wn."
for it.
Truly not understanding what he
The Briggs neighborhood
just said, I asked him again and he
was foreign to me except
replied more emphatically, "Shoe
that I traveled through
him down!"
it often. When I chose to
Jeff Klein
This time, not believing what I
live there, I knew no one.
Special
to t
thought I was hearing but thinking
What drew me to this
Jewish New
he had said, "Jew him down,"
neighborhood was its
I once again asked. Again he
proximity and accessibility
said, "Shoe him down." At that point I
to many places where I worked and
understood what he was saying but in
played. I chose my home because of the
utter disbelief I repeated, "Oh, Jew him
landscape. I always told people, "I want
down." And he said, "Yeah, shoe him
to live in the country but 10 minutes from
down!" I thanked him and carried on...
the city."
Wow! This was going to be my neighbor.
With a large school field across the
Well, I figured the homes being the only
street and only one other home on my
two on the block were far enough apart
block, I had found the place I was looking
that I would not have to deal with Ray
for. Having neighbors was not important to
much.
me. I was looking for a place I could play
This was not the case....
my music loudly and enjoy the company
Ray was constantly puttering in my yard,
of friends and family and work on my
helping fix this or take care of that, and
landscape in a virtually isolated setting, or
when I would thank him and tell him he
so I thought.
did not have to do what he was doing,
As I contemplated the purchase of my
he would say, "Don't worry about it; you
home, I had my first experience with the
don't have to pay me. You work hard.
person who was going to be my closest
You're a good neighbor." In fact, he never
neighbor. Let's call him Ray. Our first
asked for anything in return and always
encounter for me was uncomfortable at
offered to do more.
best.
I found it really hard not to appreciate
I had the opportunity to speak with Ray
40
October 18 - 2012
Ray's help and like
this man whose
actions did not follow
his words in any way.
But in those early
years, I tried to keep
my distance from him
and mainly kept to
myself when I was at
home.
But it was hard to
stay away from Ray.
The harvest
When I started my
vegetable garden,
the best spot happened to be close to
Ray's fence. So, of course, he would always
come over and speak with me, offer me
advice from his many years of farming and
gardening and provide me access to his
tools. Over the years, Ray and I had many
talks by the fence. Some uncomfortable,
some not. As I listened and contemplated
how this man could be so giving on the
one hand and yet capable of speaking
with such uninformed judgments about
human beings on the other, I felt the only
way I could carry on a relationship with
him was to not just listen or disregard
what he was saying, but to engage him
in this dialogue. I would ask myself why
he said such things. I concluded that Ray
was a good-natured person and wonderful
neighbor who, by many standards, just did
not know any better.
Slowly but surely over the next eight
years, Ray changed. He grew and so
did I. The lessons I learned and the
responsibilities that I could not ignore
when speaking with Ray carried a lot
of weight in how I was building my
professional career, as well as how I
related to the people around me, inside
and outside my neighborhood.
Through my work, I found myself more
and more engaged with communities,
designing pocket parks, community
gardens and safe places for all people to
come together, put down their differences
and share experiences. It is not hard to
understand why Detroit is known for its
urban farming and gardening, and why
it is so important as we rebuild our city
together. These spaces offer a place for
healing and connection, whether it be
from our immediate neighbors, those that
live a few blocks away, or those from the
north, south, east and west of Detroit's
borders looking to make a difference.
The Briggs neighborhood is one filled
with diversity of race and culture and
economic status. This is one of the reasons
I love it here. I recognized that, as different
as Ray and I were, I believe we are all
looking for the same things: connections
to the people around us, acceptance,
purpose and to be treated like human
beings no matter what we look like or
where we come from. What it means to
be a neighbor to me goes far beyond
my small neighborhood; it extends to
neighborhoods all over the country and
world and eventually creates the much
sought after ideal: community. 71
Jeff Klein's story was first shared at the
"What Does it Mean to be a Neighbor" event,
planned by the Detroit Area Community
Leadership Initiative, a Bend the Arc
initiative. Klein is a landscape architect,
founder and co-owner of the Detroit-based
landscape design-build company Classic
Landscape, Ltd. and the retail store Detroit
Farm and Garden.