Motown Day 4

Just sitting in my hotel room winding down my day here in Detroit, it feels like it's been a week, but I've really only been here since Wednesday.

I've put in 2 full twelve hour days at work so far here - it's been a really good experience talking with the engineering team here, just developing those relationships and gaining insight from their expertise.

A couple points of general insight about Birmingham/Royal Oak that I've noticed so far.

Suburban Detroit really is a picture of what is, in my mind, middle-America. There are a ton of trucks being driven around my white middle class males. High school girls all look like cheerleaders. Black people here speak in ebonics
Of course, all these things are definitely perceived, and perhaps enhanced by my preconceptions.

The look and feel of the city though is vastly different than my experience in Boston, where the historical feel of the city was tempered with its sophistication and intellect. Boston's identity is also far more diverse and liberal and far less segregated. Metro Detroit, which is the area bordered by 8 mile and highway 24 contains an area where the population is 80% black. This city personifies the "white flight" from the inner city to the painted picket fences of suburbia. This polarization occurred so much so that at the height of the racial tensions, the mayor of Detroit, a black man, essentially declared the city proper off-limits to white people, and the mayors of the surrounding towns responded in kind.

History lesson aside, it's a pleasant yet lonely experience to be on this trip. I'm enjoying this opportunity to be in a new place, and I've already taken the opportunity to explore the downtown cores of both Birmingham and Royal Oak. Tomorrow marks my expedition south of 8 mile, into the heart of Detroit. I'm really looking forward to taking pictures of the art deco style of architecture. If I get a chance, I'm also going to try and check out the city's music scene. This city has, over the years, birthed some incredible talent.

I'll update this blog soon as I capture the essence of the city tomorrow.