Learning and Exploring in Detroit
In the summer of 2008, I traveled to Dearborn and Detroit,
Michigan as part of a workshop sponsored by the National
Endowment for the Humanities. The week-long workshop,
designed for community college humanities teachers,
focused on Henry Ford, labor unions, and their respective
cultural legacies.

Held at the Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, I
had a wonderfully educational time. I am a strong
proponent of "active history," which means leaving the
classroom and the library and exploring where events took
place that helped to shape history (this website is a big
nod towards this kind of history). During this workshop, I
got to visit the sites of labor strikes, the Ford plant,
downtown Detroit, archives, and so much more.

Being a Texan, I felt as if I was singled out a couple of
times - for loving me some pick-up trucks (and I do own an
F150), and also for coming from an anti-Union state. That
bothered me very much, as I know there are a number of
unions in Texas (and it was Texas women who filed
lawsuits against discriminatory practices at Wal-Mart). I
also know that the troubles in the American auto industry
do not stem from the legacy costs that the unions insist on
but from stupid management decisions: changing product
lines all the time (whatever happened to the Escort?) and
not being aggressive enough in pushing through greener
technology. That shortsightedness is really causing some
major hurt in Michigan, and really throughout the country.

Here are some photos I took during the workshop, and
some links to cool sites that focus on Detroit, an Urban
Explorer's dream if there ever was one. Enjoy!
The Central Railroad Station of Detroit is now a
mere shell, home to drug dealers and addicts. In
its prime, it boasted the arrivals of baseball teams,
Henry Ford, and most of Detroit. Its hulking
presence is a daily reminder of the severe
economic depression that Detroit finds itself in.
Because of high gas prices, mismanagement and
competition, the automakers are laying off, cutting
back production, and even shutting down
altogether. The city used to be home to many
manufacturing plants, and now either only the
ghostly shells or empty lots remain. Meanwhile,
the whole city seems to be failing (especially
considering its mayor, who thinks he's somewhat
of a Super Star).
Dearborn, where the Ford Rouge Plant is located, is
also feeling the pinch. The Rouge Plant is devoted to
the F150, but they're not selling as well as they used
to, so production has been cut back severely.
Dearborn also signifies the "white flight' of the auto
industry, which abandoned Detroit itself and moved to
outlying areas for cheap land and cheaper labor.

Of course I visited the Henry Ford Museum, a kind of
Disney Land of its day. The hodge-podge that
comprised the collections surprised me, as it seems
Mr. Ford and his antique dealer just picked out
whatever fancied them without too much worry about
the context. There's a lot to see, but for some parts of
the collection, there's not really any rhyme or reason.

I also got to visit the Henry Ford House Museum,
sitting right along the river. I loved the large porches
and the gardens, and I was especially intrigued by the
library. Henry Ford evidently liked to read a lot of
metaphysical works!
I didn't get to visit the home of Edsel Ford, Henry's only
son, at Grosse Pointe. That was too bad, as he seemed to
be a more sympathetic fellow than his father. Many of my
fellow workshop attendees wondered if the troubles with
his father led to his early death.

The most moving and historically significant areas
concerned the sites of labor union organization. Ford had
fought tooth and nail to forbid unionization, even going so
far as to hire goons for his "security department" who
ended up killing some labor organizers. It was in the 1940s
when the UAW (United Auto Workers) finally got the
concessions they deserved.  
The Lincoln "death" chair on
which President Abraham
Lincoln was shot in Ford's
Theater (no relation).
Central Station,
Detroit.
Right: Near the overpass
where Ford's hired
goons severely beat up
union organizers for
merely passing out
meeting flyers (with
police permission, no
less), the Ford
Corporation, in its
infinitely insensitive
wisdom, decided to
place a statue of Henry
Ford. His icy stare glares
at every Ford factory
employee who walks by,
as if admonishing them
that regardless of what
they think and do, Ford is
still the master of their
fates.
We also received an extensive lecture and tour of the Diego
Rivera Murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Here's an
excerpt of this exquisite mural: notice the man's face in the
middle of this panel? Rivera drew Dick Tracy attending a
factory tour.
The Piquette Plant, Ford's first factory, was located just north of
downtown Detroit. The cars that were made here were individually
crafted - the famous assembly line came later at the Highland Park
facility and was perfected at the River Rouge Plant. The workers lived in
the neighborhood and walked to work. Now, empty lots have taken over
what once was a busy industrial center.
Right: The Monument to Labor sits in downtown Detroit. You can see the GM
building in the background. I was most impressed with this artwork. It is made
with worked metal, insinuating the industrial workforce, but is surrounded by
granite stones, which signifies the organic nature of work. The upper part of the
ring is intentionally left separated, which indicates that the search for  justice is
always unfinished.
At the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, my favorite displays by far were
the ones with bicycles. I especially like this old folding bike.