Advertisement
U.S. markets open in 1 hour 49 minutes
  • S&P Futures

    5,304.00
    -4.25 (-0.08%)
     
  • Dow Futures

    40,126.00
    -18.00 (-0.04%)
     
  • Nasdaq Futures

    18,486.00
    -17.75 (-0.10%)
     
  • Russell 2000 Futures

    2,139.70
    +1.30 (+0.06%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    82.54
    +1.19 (+1.46%)
     
  • Gold

    2,233.50
    +20.80 (+0.94%)
     
  • Silver

    24.73
    -0.02 (-0.09%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0793
    -0.0036 (-0.33%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.1960
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     
  • Vix

    12.98
    +0.20 (+1.56%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2621
    -0.0018 (-0.14%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    151.3800
    +0.1340 (+0.09%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,638.44
    +329.32 (+0.47%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.37
    +20.39 (+0.26%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Detroit's largely peaceful protests seen very differently from white suburb

Each evening since a white Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd during an arrest, emotional protests have erupted in downtown Detroit. Thousands of protesters march nightly through the city’s streets demanding justice for Floyd and an end to police brutality, especially against African Americans.

The protesters are generally backed by Detroit residents. They and their supporters see the police as aggressors; officers have fired teargas, flash grenades and rubber bullets, sometimes at protesters who are peaceful but breaking curfew. Activists say the marches are the only appropriate response to a grave injustice.

But about 17 miles north-east of downtown Detroit, in the largely white, middle-class suburb of St Clair Shores, some see a totally different reality playing out. Residents here who spoke to the Guardian said the police were acting with restraint and protesters were aggressors who are provoking violence.

While Detroit’s population is more than 80% black, St Clair Shores, which sits just a few miles from the city’s northern border, is 93% white – a common racial disparity in a highly segregated region. Most of Detroit’s white residents left the city for suburbs like St Clair Shores in the decade following the city’s 1968 protests over racial inequality. The violent “rebellion” raged for days as hundreds of buildings were burned and 16 died.

These are the people whom Donald Trump is seeking to appeal to with his bid to be a “law and order” president as he seeks re-election. He hopes to mobilize a largely white voter base that has historically shunned integration and sought to preserve its privileges in the face of political and economic advancement by minorities.

Many in St Clair Shores share the president’s world view that the police and national guard are heroically battling violent agitators, not brutally suppressing largely peaceful protesters.

Several men who were part of a construction crew called the protests “stupid” and a “waste of time and energy”. Some even suggested Floyd was at fault for his death because he allegedly committed a crime, despite general worldwide outrage at the brutal manner of his killing and the criminal charges it has now brought against the officers involved.

Others, like Gloria Kinne, a St Clair Shores business owner, acknowledged that racial discrimination exists “in isolated spots” and said she supported the right to peaceful protest, but she added that she was troubled by images of protesters clashing with police and vandalizing property.

“I’m really sorry to see the violence come into it,” Kinne said. “The people who are harmed are the small businesses and people who have nothing to do with it and no control over it. It’s been bad enough with Covid-19, but now they have their stores vandalized on top of that.”

Jim Angel, a St Clair Shores retiree, suggested it was African Americans who were always behind police protests, though he ignored the long and unique history of black people in America, a land where they were once enslaved.

“This hasn’t had anything to do with the Irish, Polish and Germans – why is it only one ethnic group that needs change?” he asked.

St Clair Shores, Michigan, amid the coronavirus lockdown.
St Clair Shores, Michigan, amid the coronavirus lockdown. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

Politically, St Clair Shores is considered a swing district in the vital 2020 battleground state of Michigan, though it has leaned conservative in recent elections. Trump beat Hillary Clinton by between 10 and 20 points in each of the city’s precincts in 2016.

The reviews of Trump’s handling of the protests have been mixed. Kinne said with a laugh, “You don’t want to hear my answer to that,” when asked about the president’s response. But local resident Ted Miller said he “applauds” the president’s harsh measures and inflammatory rhetoric. He also “fully supports” any decision to call in the military.

“These are the kind of things that he’s best at. He’s the law and order president,” Miller said.

Angel told the Guardian he didn’t think the military was needed yet, and also praised the police for remaining “very, very calm” in the face of provocation.

Kinne echoed that, adding: “It’s important that they measure their response based on the temper of the protest.

“If the protest is peaceful then the police need to be – and they have been – very calm,” she said. “On the other hand, if the protest becomes violent, then they have the right to protect themselves, too.”

Kinne added that she disagreed with claims that racism and police brutality are systemic within law enforcement, despite the fact minority groups, and especially African Americans, suffer disproportionately at the hands of the justice system and the police.

Kinne did not believe it was fair to blame “all police in every state in every city for what certain individuals do”.

“The vast majority of police officers and first responders are out there doing good,” she said. “There are a few bad actors among shopkeepers, among steelworkers and among any group of people you’re going to find an element that can be violent and be racist, and it’s a terrible thing, but I don’t think it’s fair to say, ‘All police are violent.’”

Though the protests are an emotional controversy, Miller said the country was “full of controversies” and he didn’t think this would influence the November election.

“People already have their minds made up how they’re going to vote,” he said. “This is just one more thing for everyone to disagree about and fight about.”

Advertisement