Anarchist Writers

Detroit decay, abandoned collapsing houses are everywhere

33 people came along to the Detroit meeting in Baile Corcaigh.

The afternoon before and the morning after I was given an extended tour of Detroit by one of the meeting organizers who has been active in the city since the 1970's. This brought home what a stronghold Detroit had been for the left, in one neighboorhood there used to be up to 15 left forums on some Friday nights. But also just how much the city has decayed since, the population of the metro area has halved since the 1970's.

I did a long interview with the meeting organizers, Chris and Mike that looks at the radical history of Detroit and current anarchist activity in the city. Covers the period from the CIO upsurge and the mass migration to Detroit from the south, Black liberation movement and influence of maxism leninism to the formation of Anti-Racist Action (ARA). They also talk about issues in the city today and the formation of the new group Solidarity and Defence. You can download this from http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/detroitinterview.mp3