plenty of nuance is needed for any conversations to take place, and a willingness of cohorts on "both sides" to be informed-- not scolded, just.. informed. Listening to local black-themed talk radio (and browsing social media) in the past six weeks, and you can hear random callers just stop short of saying "eff them Asians!", etc. (well, on social media, people don't stop short of anything..) I privately cringe, but I can't help but to be aware of the precepts that you pointed out in the article: most black people who grew up in Detroit proper of a certain age-- whether they 'came of age' pre-rebellion or post-rebellion, scarcely have encountered folks from Asian descent outside of some retail context (or a nurse/doctor at an emergency room): particularly in the case of the retail-folks, somebody who possibly speaks with a non-native accent, more easily "pegged" as an immigrant; and if the interactions in said retail/business are frosty, everyone's going to know about it. [elaborate conspiracy theories endure about phantom banks casually handing 'model minority' Arabs and Asians storefront properties in urban areas]. The way that Asian ethnic migration and settling happened in Southeast Michigan was starkly different than, say, California's Bay area, Seattle, or New York City. The cold reality is that for generations in Detroit proper, nearly none of these folks really grow up with anybody of an Asian background as a childhood or teenage friend. Especially from the 70s forward, they possibly haven't had any coworkers (especially in blue collar settings) besides folks you might say "hey.." to and that's it. Detroit's historic Chinatown began to vanish rather quickly in the 60s-70s transition (in the early 60s the Detroit Housing Commission condemning it as a 'slum for clearance' obviously didn't help). I don't see things getting any better anytime soon. The Asian-derived younger folks who trickle into the city (well, downtown or Cass Corridor/Midtown and New Center) are largely, of course college graduates alongside their white counterparts, and many of the same gentrification blindspots can apply.
plenty of nuance is needed for any conversations to take place, and a willingness of cohorts on "both sides" to be informed-- not scolded, just.. informed. Listening to local black-themed talk radio (and browsing social media) in the past six weeks, and you can hear random callers just stop short of saying "eff them Asians!", etc. (well, on social media, people don't stop short of anything..) I privately cringe, but I can't help but to be aware of the precepts that you pointed out in the article: most black people who grew up in Detroit proper of a certain age-- whether they 'came of age' pre-rebellion or post-rebellion, scarcely have encountered folks from Asian descent outside of some retail context (or a nurse/doctor at an emergency room): particularly in the case of the retail-folks, somebody who possibly speaks with a non-native accent, more easily "pegged" as an immigrant; and if the interactions in said retail/business are frosty, everyone's going to know about it. [elaborate conspiracy theories endure about phantom banks casually handing 'model minority' Arabs and Asians storefront properties in urban areas]. The way that Asian ethnic migration and settling happened in Southeast Michigan was starkly different than, say, California's Bay area, Seattle, or New York City. The cold reality is that for generations in Detroit proper, nearly none of these folks really grow up with anybody of an Asian background as a childhood or teenage friend. Especially from the 70s forward, they possibly haven't had any coworkers (especially in blue collar settings) besides folks you might say "hey.." to and that's it. Detroit's historic Chinatown began to vanish rather quickly in the 60s-70s transition (in the early 60s the Detroit Housing Commission condemning it as a 'slum for clearance' obviously didn't help). I don't see things getting any better anytime soon. The Asian-derived younger folks who trickle into the city (well, downtown or Cass Corridor/Midtown and New Center) are largely, of course college graduates alongside their white counterparts, and many of the same gentrification blindspots can apply.