August 23, 2006 -Detroit, baby!

Recycled blog, from August 23, 2006, I love Detroit…

someone gave me free passes to see a sneak peak of “Gridiron,” a movie coming out in a couple of weeks starring the Rock.

Man oh man, it’s about inner city kids who go to juvi & start playing football.  The football gives them hope & many of them go on to school… some to jail & some to die on the streets.  All based on a true story.

I drove home all sober.  I grew up in Detroit.  I knew kids like that… some of them are dead.  Some of them are in prison.  Some of them still live with their momma’s on the 17,000 block of Braile.  (my old hood)

It’s sad too to think of how much the system is set up against the urban poor.  The movie showed that really well, they have no options.

In InterVarsity at training camps we run simulations so more affluent students can see what its like to live in hopeless situations.  I’ll never forget this one year where this group of 6-8 white & asian students completely lost it as they were the underclass, mistreated, “poor” for 2 hours while we ran the simulation.  It was mindboggling for them to realize lots of folk live like that ALL the time.  It was mindboggling for me to see they didn’t know anything about that.

On the way home I had a good prayer time for the city, for the urban poor.  For my city, Detroit.  I don’t care what anyone says about Detroit…that’s my home.  Those are my people.  I will always love Detroit.  Yes.  Black. Yes. poor.  Yes forgotten, Detroit.  I weep for Detroit like Jesus wept for Jerusalem.  I have screamed out to God for Detroit. 

God is working in Detroit.  InterVarsity does Urban projects in Detroit in the summer, two of which my husband & I have led.  There is so much cool ministry going on there.  This super cool, super white hippie girl named Kate C. is a missionary with the Navigators doing AWESOME ministry in Detroit that we support.  It’s the easiest check to write every month because Kate is giving these kids a hope for a future they would have never had access to otherwise.

This movie tonight reminded me of where I’m from…. & I’m proud. 

I’m so proud.  The movie made me soooooo proud of black people too.  We have overcome so many amazing odds in the last 100 years. 

Sometimes I am just overwhelmed with love for my people & pride in our ability to be strong against the worst racism & barbaric acts against us.

I was crying in this movie just bubbling over with pride at who God has made us: were fighters.  Thats just it.  We won’t give up.  It’s not who we are.

To quote a famous song…

“i’m black & i’m proud!”  🙂