Grow Detroit - Latest Comments

Re: Michigan’s Notable Entrepreneurs and Leaders

Amit Kemnie — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 12:38:15 -0000

Is anyone looking for App Development!

Re: The Link Between Technology and Economic Vitality

Cummbottom — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:49:46 -0000

How can "Detroit" compete...stagnation bought demise Michigan promoting nato technology unfornately majority. Global firms, rather place companies regions of success where Chicago attracting special funding for industrial research technology. Note: MPSC,DTMB and TED promoting growth where innovative companies and minds majority leaving other states not to late attract talent. Congress oppose redevelopment of Michigan region tech firms yes until there bought transfer to chosen metropolitan cities. Resolution educational,economic and local corporations influence "technology firms" retain there status in Michigan shareholder preference oppose Michigan. Sad great colleges never mention due: tech monopolies when mention Detroit connotation...manufacturing which no longer. Since NAFTA governor Sndyer any resolutions? Financiers investing market cap cities why not Michigan? Devise a plan if you can governor Snyder for federal trade commissioner 2016 if selected a joke new Michigan economic plan!

Re: Hacker Beats – Music to Code To

Jackie — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 10:17:15 -0000

Musick.z decoder too lordeae.z life.z of poverty.STopped music hust yesterday.Whats up.

Re: How to Enable the New Hangouts Feature for Google Apps Administrators

Kelley Chambers — Wed, 06 May 2015 23:43:23 -0000

As you said, it's only good until Google makes it outdated. Which now, it is... see screenshots attached.

Re: How to Enable the New Hangouts Feature for Google Apps Administrators

Kelley Chambers — Wed, 06 May 2015 23:39:53 -0000

They've hidden the advanced settings under "Sharing Settings". Makes no sense to me either... but that's where it is.

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Maggie Davenport — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 14:47:24 -0000

Dear whoever you are: i think i love you!! fabulous article (maggie again: the most 'ethno-centric' and race-proud Black person in all creation)

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Maggie Davenport — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:11:45 -0000

great article - thanks. was this your way of 'confronting' white supermacists? i find it just intriguing as hell, the way you whites can be sooo, well, white.

Re: Michigan’s Notable Entrepreneurs and Leaders

Rick Mason — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:15:14 -0000

I can't represent Grand Rapids in the least but Jay VanAndel and Richard DeVos from Amway as well as Peter Secchia from United Forest Products are pretty obvious choices.

Re: Michigan’s Notable Entrepreneurs and Leaders

Rick Mason — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:07:51 -0000

Bill Hamilton from TechSmith and Mathew Hill from LiquidWeb. What are the lists criteria? Also it's Earvin "Magic Johnson Jr. not Ervin "Magic" Johnson.

Re: How to Enable the New Hangouts Feature for Google Apps Administrators

Ajay Shrestha — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 07:58:58 -0000

I didnt get advanced Settings option.can you please help me

Re: How to Enable the New Hangouts Feature for Google Apps Administrators

Kelly Lazzara — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 19:08:39 -0000

From the Admin Console
> Google Apps
> Talk/Hangouts
> Advanced Settings
> Org Settings (tab)
*'Enable the new Hangouts for users in this organizational unit'

This will be good until it also becomes outdated =D

Re: How to Enable the New Hangouts Feature for Google Apps Administrators

Steve Guzman — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:40:50 -0000

Screenshots are a little outdated, but thumbs up. I got it worked out.

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

jmusa — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:47:23 -0000

Wow, Edmund Zagorin. A very well written, researched and referenced article. It's very enlightening for those who care enough to read it. Thank you so very much for the knowledge!

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

jmusa — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 13:59:57 -0000

Thank you Scott Lowe for your thoughtful comments

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Guest — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 13:59:03 -0000

Thanks Scott Lowe for your thoughtful comments.

Re: Detroit Loses X-Games Bid to Austin, Doesn’t Give Up.

Adrienne Kirk Boyle — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 14:07:10 -0000

Thank you Jordan Skole and all who participated in the campaign for the X Games Bid... Your tenacity has indeed created the Hype that Detroit needs desperately. The Box has become an octagon and is moving toward reinventing THE WHEEL... Michigan as a whole must embrace this! When we are told no... We go out and do it Bigger, Better & More Efficient. Our neighbors who reside in Canada, or surrounding cities & states (namely Chicago who also missed the bus) will unite to create opportunity for our youth, communities & ourselves. Great Article Bud. :)

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

sandrayu — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:17:54 -0000

i think there are a lot of entrepreneurs in "black, low income" detroit. the low-income part is kind of complicated. it certainly is often lower income... but i see a lot of cash-based catering and well, drug dealing. in that sense, nearly everyone on my block is working... so you're right - the networks, resources, industry knowledge are in two different worlds for the richer white folks vs the low income black folks. but the entrepreneurial talent and sales/marketing skill is surely abundant! there's a lady on my block who makes gift baskets of naughty toys to raise money for her daughter's school trips! but it's a classic issue that comes up in developing world business development - you only really make it when you are selling to wealthier markets. that's where the drug dealers really do have it right...!

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Andrew Cooper — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:14:30 -0000

"I believe the only way to overcome the race issue is to stop talking about it. "

Because if there's one sure-fire way to get rid of a problem, it's to ignore it!

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

C M — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:28:14 -0000

I'm a Detroiter, and I believe the only way to overcome the race issue is to stop talking about it. Why should we continue to perpetuate this ideal, that we're different because our skin color/ethnicity/culture is different from our peers? Are whites not capable of this? Are blacks not capable of this? Are "Latinos" not capable of this? It's time to stop telling people they're different or less important because they're black, or that they're somehow more important because they're white. Everyone is human, we all bleed red. It's time to stop this. Something like a "racial map" only intensifies the division we already see in this great city. I'm embarrassed at the behavior of some of my neighbors in the city, taking Oreo's to Kevyn Orr's office - that's not racist? Come on now!

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Edmund Zagorin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:32:48 -0000

If entrepreneurship is only about making the founders a lot of money, then I think that your question makes a lot of sense. I'd still argue that there are still ethical constraints that founders should place on profit-motive. Rational self-interest becomes suspiciously similar to psychosis when no ethical limitations are placed on it. Profit for profit's sake.

However, if entrepreneurs are supposed to "rebuild Detroit" as articles such as this Fast Company article propose, then the way they go about it will determine what the future of the City will be. That's something we all have a stake in

http://www.fastcompany.com/...

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Christian Unverzagt — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:32:07 -0000

I just wanted to add a proper credit for the map, as it is the work of the person who made it that has transformed the census data into something much more tangible than a table of statistics.

The map which is shown was made visual by a self-professed "geek of maps and data visualization" name Eric Fisher.

It is from a series of maps he produced showing Race and Ethnicity in over 100 U.S. cities. The original set was based on the 2000 census and was recently updated with the 2010 data.

You can see the full image on his flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photo...

The full 2010 set is here: http://www.flickr.com/photo...

The full 2000 set is here: http://www.flickr.com/photo...

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Carl Lumberg — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:16:17 -0000

He is my loaded, self-serving question. Why does an entrepreneur (race irrelevant) need to worry about anything other than his own success (or failure?) His own rational self interest is what is driving him to start his business. He may want to make money or have common human goals, but he is focused only on the success his goals. He will mortgage his house, quit his job, max of credit cards, borrow from friends and borrow from banks. And he will still most likely fail. And then he may or may not try again.

Having said that I will ask the question again - Why does an entrepreneur (race irrelevant) need to worry about anything other than his own success (or failure?)

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Edmund Zagorin — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:57:48 -0000

Thanks for the comments! I have gotten a bunch of feedback on this post in the past couple days and would like to respond to a couple general questions that I've gotten from a few people.

Q - Are you saying that all white entrepreneurs are racist?

A - No, however I am saying that white entrepreneurs, and especially social entrepreneurs, ignorant of race relations and the history of Detroit often frame their goals in race-neutral terms which perpetuates the myth of a level playing field to erase unsavory episodes of Detroit's history. Colorblindness wielded as lens for economic development produces perverse inequalities because social actors do not make decisions in a race-neutral manner. This creates geographical separations of public goods based on race/class residency (e.g. Southeast Michigan's urban/suburban divide) that facilitates greater exploitation. To the extent that social entrepreneurs reify these dynamics of public divestment, they form an invisible complicity with Michigan's economic apartheid. Entrepreneurs should chose not to be colorblind.

Q - Isn't your argument really more about economic class than race per se?

A - The way in which racial privilege and exploitation is manifest in Southeast Michigan is through structural limitations on economic opportunity (e.g. access to high-quality public education, social networks of liquid capital, living-wage employment, credit and home ownership loans) that target racially segregated geographical regions. Poor whites who live in "black neighborhoods" are often also affected by the hollowing out of public services that have been starved by tax flight to racially segregated suburban enclaves. Class inequality is the means of manifesting systematic racial discrimination, used as a filter in determining whether an individual is qualified for a particular economic opportunity. This manifests in profiling heuristics in employment and otherwise which are often based on race. The case of rampant "linguistic profiling" illustrates how this racial discrimination can be particularly pernicious.

http://news.wustl.edu/news/...

Q - I'm a white liberal. I voted for Obama. I support progressive policies and social welfare. Isn't that enough?

A - No. Though the current GOP's anti-government/anti-welfare policy stance -- following Reagan's legacy -- has resulted in more immiseration for people of color than policies advocated by progressives, there is little indication that either political party or ideological affiliation has taken great pains to place racial equality at the forefront of their policy agendas. Interesting post on the data of race/party politics:

http://blogs.discovermagazi...

Placing economic equality at the forefront of development is not only possible but suggests a framework for decision-making that entrepreneurs and social advocates can employ when considering strategies for growth. Here's an interesting example:
http://www.augustana.edu/x1...

Q - Okay, I really want to combat violent racial inequality. What are some things I could do?

A - Like a lot of problems, gaining greater understanding of what's really at stake in these debates is of fundamental importance. If you don't grasp the historical significance of race relations in Southeast Michigan, I seriously doubt how any attempt you make towards social justice can be very effective. To that end, here are some suggestions:

***Make race relevant to your start-up decision-making -- hiring, firing, goals, philanthropic priorities, employee empowerment, product design and market research. Recognize that race plays a role in how people use and sell products and socially communicate more generally. I recently had a conversation with an entrepreneur of color about "black Twitter", the social network between African Americans on Twitter that employs different digital slang and types of messaging. Is your marketing strategy-race neutral? Is your communications strategy race-neutral? What about product development? Then you are probably not truly understanding how racial geograpies are manifest in digital space. Colorblindness puts many tech start-ups that rely on user acquisition at a competitive disadvantage, as well as an ethically questionable alignment with violent power relations. Here's an interesting post on this:

http://www.slate.com/articl...

***Treat racial difference as a positive externality in internal team-building and external business relations. Racial monocultures produce intellectual monocultures and foster narrow-minded groupthink. More here:

http://blog.startupprofessi...

***Despite its profoundly troubling issues with gender/sexuality, I'd contend that if you read one book about race relations in Southeast Michigan and more generally, it should be "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" with Alex Haley. Fascinating read, and extremely eye-opening in terms of Detroit history http://www.amazon.com/Autob...

***Join the NAACP, or if you're feeling particularly radical, identify with the legacy of John Sinclair's White Panther Party

http://detroitnaacp.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

***Attend local community organization events on race relations, such as this symposium recently hosted by WSU: "Debunking the Post-Racial Myth: The Profiling of Detroit’s Most Vulnerable Populations"

http://law.wayne.edu/alumni...

There are lots of online resources for people exploring this issue further, here's a short resource toolkit: http://www.antiracistallian...

Hahaha this response is WAY too long, but thanks again for everyone's feedback!

@facebook-508971571

I agree with you that there are many prominent entrepreneurs of color in Detroit and the surrounds. My issue is that in the "new Detroit" the race-neutral approach to economic development unjustly advantages white entrepreneurs at the expense of local entrepreneurs of color. Consider that the Detroit Future City plan does not explicitly deal with the issue of race relations, even though it plays a significant role in future resource allocation decision. It is this race-neutrality I am objecting to -- if possible it would be great to highlight the stories of successful entrepreneurs of color in public events and to hold networking events explicitly aimed at building bridges between white entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color. One of the best cases of this today is the Lift:Detroit gala, which if you've ever attended an event at M@dison provides a pretty different picture of what's happening in Detroit's entrepreneurial scene http://www.liftdetroitgala....

@Scott Lowe

If trust is the new currency, then the fact that Southeast Michigan's racial geography isolates an internalizes trust within racial in-groups is an even bigger problem for the region's future growth and inequality. Racial and economic inequality does not foster trust

@Kelly Guillory
That is shocking, but not entirely surprising. Humor and especially irony is often a convenient mask for white racism today

@Kaitlin Flynn

Thanks for your comment!

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Kaitlin Flynn — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:51:46 -0000

nicely done, Edmund! and thanks for compiling and expounding on all of that information. It gives a nice background to the racial tensions happening today.

Re: Michigan Entrepreneurs Need to Confront White Supremacy

Joe Minock — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:43:34 -0000

Edmund, this is a very well written and historically rich article. I'm glad someone took it up to paint this picture.

I'm not sure what the solution might be, to a more diverse entrepreneurial community that is, and I'm not going to pretend to even try. As you note, the problems are deeply rooted, and heartfelt, genuine dialogue needs to be had between all parties before any solution can be met (if it can be met).

When I think Entrepreneur in Detroit, though... I can honestly say, It's not just the white guys walking into the Madison that I think of. Eddie Lee led a team to build the awesome Detroit Young Professional (DYP) community, Hajj Flemings has more grind and hustle (Grustle, as he calls it) than anyone I've ever met, and Howie Long is one of the most brilliant minds in town. What is unfortunate, is that I can't name many others like Eddie, Hajj, and Howie.

A question that I have to raise is, while we know that the identified community is seriously lacking in diversity. Is there a predominantly black entrepreneurial community in Detroit that is not being identified and given credit due. While not afforded the resources as the "M@dison community", I believe there's more to the picture than meets the eye.

I want to be clear in that I'm raising a question as to the size and presence of other communities, and not access to capital or resources.

Again, very well written article. It's a tough read, but it's an honest reflection on the state of the community and region. I for one, hope that it can improve and become much more diverse.