It is early in the afternoon when I make my sojourn through the area of Detroit known as Delray. Sandwiched between Fort Street and the Detroit River and spanning the area from the Ambassador Bridge to Zug Island, it is the most polluted and blighted area in all of Detroit.

I walk from South Street down Crawford toward West Jefferson and stop briefly at a house next to a vacant lot that sprouts a small garden; It's fresh green color stands out starkly in the industrial pale of the surrounding area, like a stubborn relic of a irrepressible past.

There is a small dog barking furiously within the fenced yard. And there are at least half a dozen American flags proudly displayed around the front porch. Art Hamilton, an elderly Black man of 82 years explains to me that he bought this house 40 years ago for three thousand dollars. He worked at the Great Lakes Steel plant located just a few miles down Jefferson. The community was mostly Polish and Hungarian when he first moved here. Blacks arrived in increasing numbers during the 1940's and 50's to work in the then booming auto and steel plants. He tells me that he tries to ignore the pollution.

I travel north on Waterman Street. I notice that many of the houses, although appearing to be on the verge of collapse, are nevertheless equipped with the latest television satellite dishes.

Old furniture, ripped carpet, threadbare mattresses and rusted appliances dot the curbs; a growing consequence of the cancellation of the city's bulk pick-up service.

Now and then, luxury automobiles sit incongruously on the streets in front of dilapidated houses, or are sheltered against the elements under makeshift wooden carports. Yet, some of the houses are surprisingly well kept, almost aesthetically beautiful, and one is reminded (if only for a moment) of what Delray once was, or could have been.

Further down, I attempt to strike up a conversation with a resident mowing his back yard; only to be told in thickly accented Spanish, "No habla Engleesh!"

Near the intersection of South and Rademacher is a park and community Center. There are no children, although slides, swings, and a small basketball court are colorfully displayed. To the northwest, barely a stone's throw away, the smokestacks of a large factory are prominent in the bright afternoon sky.

I continue down Waterman until I'm about a block's distance from Fort Street and Southwestern High school. A half dozen factories dominate the landscape. One is housed in a dusty reddish-brown brick building and is obviously closed. Its gates are secured against interlopers by a thick, rusty chain and heavy padlock; apparently placed there before a huge gaping hole was torn by thieves into the surrounding security fence. Inevitably, gang graffiti covers the walls of most of Delray's industrial buildings; a signature/sign of a newer and less certain age.

Several of the sites of abandoned factories are open to children or transients, and there are mounds of toxic looking dirt, old tires, and sharp pieces of glass, wood and metal are strewn about. On South Street, near the playground I discover a deep hole in the pavement; the only barrier between it and an unsuspecting child is a striped orange and white warning stand.

I am reminded of a quote by Jaqueline Collins, Director of the Delray United Action Council, a community organization that helps residents. "I think what we're talking about is environmental justice," she said. "If this was a higher income area, this would not be allowed to happen."

The residents of Delray have not been inactive. They have filed class action lawsuits against several companies. They have also lodged close to 200 complaints with Wayne County about the foul odor and what is believed to be toxic emissions. Sybill Inc. (also known as SRS Environmental) is believed to be one of the worst polluters, as is Detroit's Wastewater Treatment plant, (the largest in America) which sits on west Jefferson in the area of Detroit's infamous Zug Island, and is the place where the contents of the toilets of most homes in Southeast Michigan go when they are flushed. Also frequently cited is Peerless Metal and Abrasion Co. [1]

I stop at a gutted house on the corner of Shroeder and South streets. Ms Jurkeiwicz, a middle aged woman, is sitting on a milk crate in front of the property. She nonchalantly sips on a glass of whiskey that she has cut with Faygo Cola. "Delray just needs a little more help," she says. "Instead of people moving out, they should be helping out." I ask if the abandoned houses and factories that plague the area pose a threat to children who might see them as a place to play.

"We try to keep an eye on them," she says. "And keep them from going inside. A lot of people don't have money, so the children don't have anyplace to go for recreation...especially since they closed down South Rademacher Park. The Center was closed about six months ago," she says.

"Now the kids don't have anything to do. They just walk the streets."

Her 19-year-old son Dwight comes over and joins in the conversation. "They say they don't want the kids doing crime," he offers. "But then they close the park. The only other park around here is Patton Park, and it's a den for drug addicts and pushers."

Guy, a Black man in his forties and wearing dirty coveralls, walks over. He has startling greenish- blue eyes and they peer out cynically from the depths of his rough, bronze face. "Most of the pollution comes from Zug Island," he says. "They work on cinder blocks and they make steel. My uncle worked there and it killed him. He was brain dead. He just came home one day and fell out."

Guy points an accusatory finger in the direction of Zug Island. "The fumes are so heavy from around there and so thick that people are getting sick. They get headaches, feel nauseous and vomit. Saturdays and Sundays you can really smell the fumes from urine and defecation. You can hear it when they let it out of the tanks. It makes a nasty hissing or a blowing sound. You'd think they'd cap that stuff off so we wouldn't have to smell it."

He talks about the new bridge that is scheduled to be built next year. And he mentions the families who have sold their houses, sometimes for as little as or three or four thousand dollars, to make way for it. "You think it's bad now," he says while pointing to a young woman on a bicycle who he claims is a crack addict. "You wait till night and then go down to the gas station on Dragoon and Fort Street. You'll find whole families panhandling."

I drive slowly down West Jefferson and observe how this once bustling avenue has become an urban desert of weed-choked lots, closed stores and boarded up buildings. There is only the occasional hardware store or tavern, like the Black Horse Cantina, or Kovac's Bar located on Jefferson and Post Street.

I arrive at Dearborn and West End Streets. It is an area that I used to frequent as a teenager. My memories of it are of bright summer days, hamburger stands and neighborhood ice cream parlors; but they are all gone now and the area seems cast in a dim haze of deterioration and human decay. I ask myself who is ultimately responsible for this deterioration, for this dimming of Delray. Is it the city planners? Or greedy industrialists? Or apathetic residents? I see a small child, no older than five years. He is playing in the front yard of a house on West End Street. And I can only hope that if there is an answer to these questions, there will also be a solution that will help him, and those like him.

Steven Malik Shelton is a journalist and human rights advocate. He can be reached at smalikshelton19@aol.com

Notes and References:
[1] Accessible online at http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/jones/delray.htm

* For more information on Delray, contact the Delray United Action Council at (313) 842-8620

© May 2006 By Afromerica

Brother Steven Malik Shelton will be keeping the Black community updated on the most current Black experiences effecting our lives. Visit regularly for new information that could help you overcome and make the best of your everyday experiences.

To subscribe to Malik's column join the Afromerica email list to receive new information as it is updated. Or E-mail Shelton at: smalikshelton19@aol.com

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