I Am All Worn Out Now

Well, I have tried to look at the entire mess from every angle I could think of. I looked from the left and the right. I looked up and down. I even looked at it from the outside and the inside. No matter where or how I looked at the city of Detroit’s mess, I still was disappointed.

First, Mayor Kilpatrick gave the most beautiful speech on the State of the City. He reminded us all how much has been accomplished and how much is still to be done. He gave credit where credit was due and took a little for himself. Yet, when it was over, all anyone will ever remember is the last three to five minutes. Why? First, picture the city of Detroit as you would the city of New York on 9/11. Then like New York, picture someone dropping a bomb on the city. Then think about what you did then. You cried then and so did I after Mayor Kilpatrick’s speech.

I don’t know about you but I am so frustrated now I feel as if I might as well give up. As a Black woman who grew up during the fifties and sixties, I can only think of how hard so many fought for the right to be heard. Many died and sacrificed during that time to be listened to. Then Mayor Kilpatrick set us back a hundred years. How? By conducting himself in a manner that many still believe is what Black folk do.

You see, even though we have reached the younger generation of Whites, the older generation is still waiting to see what happens when Blacks are put in control. As the old saying goes, sometimes it is not what you do but what you say when under pressure. Trust me when I tell you, too many still believe Blacks and women cannot handle the job of being the boss. It is why there is so much conflict between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Most look at them with the thought of, which are the lesser of two evils. So they pick Obama because at least he is of a mixed race.

You know like I know, the power is in the money and the money is controlled by what is called a White old boy's power structure. If they could have their way, the money would never be controlled by a Black or a woman. New York Mayor Eliot Spitzer has shown us how the old boy’s network is still in the game, like it or not. So what do you think they are talking about in the back room about Detroit? It definitely is not, “you go boy!”

Maybe it is time Mayor Kilpatrick looked for another line of work. He does have credentials as a lawyer. Maybe he should revisit what the law is and is not. Maybe he should redo an etiquette class. However it goes, he should think about getting out of the game before he messes it up some more.