Detroit Future City: Black Middle Class Under Siege, But Opportunities Exist

A new report says, unless we change course, more of the city will fall away from the stability and growth that should be helping to fuel Detroit’s recovery.

Jake Neher/WDET

A new report by Detroit Future City tells us some really interesting, and frankly disturbing, things about the city’s middle-class.

Detroit, of course, is often referred to as the city that helped birth and expand the middle class, through manufacturing jobs that made home ownership and other markers of opportunity available to people who had been locked out before.

But the DFC report says today, the vast majority of Detroiters live far from those opportunities. And unless we change course, more of the city will fall away from the stability and growth that should be helping to fuel Detroit’s recovery.

On Detroit Today, Stephen Henderson speaks with DFC Executive Director Anika Goss, as well as Building Community Value Founder and Executive Director Chase Cantrell.

Click on the audio player above to hear that conversation.

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    Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.