What Sugrue’s article, “The Rise and Fall of Detroit’s Middle Class” lacks in length, it more than makes up for in content. Short articles are the easiest to read and can be the easiest to forget. However, the personal example of neighbors who are different – black and better off – really resonates with me. I think it will stay with me for a long while, perhaps because it reminds me so much of the current sociological makeup of my block.

When we moved to the suburbs going on 15 years ago, Mineral Spring Avenue predominantly consisted of  families that were white, Jewish, religious, and growing. The glaring exception on this relatively quiet, easily forgettable street a mile from the town’s commercial center was the house across from my own, inhabited by the Hills, an African American family. Until I read this article, it never occurred to me that to live in an environment with people from another culture with an entirely different mindset and set of values, requires courage and a strong sense of knowing who you are. Like the Martin family continually referenced in this piece, my neighbors are their own sort of pioneer. Having read about Ron, Loretta and kids, I now appreciate their willingness to venture beyond the unbuilt gates of where the majority of African Americans choose to live.

Hopefully, our experience will not mirror what happened in Detroit – which now faces a failing economy, no middle class, empty houses, and not enough residents paying taxes to support local government programs. When I see my 14-year-old brother and his crew of friends playing with the Hills’ guests and using their basketball hoop for a pickup game on Saturday afternoons, I am confident we are not headed in that direction.