Then the riots took place in Detroit. Being one hour away we got scared that they might come to our town.
People began to move to the suburbs. The Republican leadership left also, leaving a hole that needed to be filled up. The dems came in and every problem became an even bigger problem.
White Flight is a real thing. It will devastate a city. The cause is mainly crime. People want safe areas for their kids and their livelihoods. The people with gumption will leave before it gets so bad they can't leave.
My brother-in-law comes from the suburbs of Detroit. He said that the ‘68 riot didn’t scare his grandparents off because they thought the tanks put the fear of God in people. It was the next riot several years later that they packed up and left.
I was in Flint in the summer of 67 when the Detroit riots erupted. Our frat house was a big old three story plus basement in a not great part of town. Most of my frat bros were guys from Ohio and Indiana, many from rural areas.
Those guys all dashed home and came back a day later with an arsenal of guns the likes of which I haven’t seen before or since. Thankfully they didn’t need to be used.