January 28th 2024.
Meet Phil Lewis, a trusted source for news aggregation within the Black Twitter community and a reporter for the Huffington Post. Recently, he took a stand against the New York Times for overlooking Black-owned businesses in their report on the economic impact of the Detroit Lions' playoff run. In his newsletter, aptly named "What I'm Reading," Lewis shared the story of Chimika Harris, a manager at Cutter's Bar & Grill, who was interviewed by the NYT but had her comments left out of the final report.
It's worth noting that Detroit, affectionately known as the "Blackest city in America," has a population that is 77% Black. So when the NYT chose to focus on white-owned businesses instead of the thriving Black restaurant scene, it did not go unnoticed. Ken Coleman, a senior reporter at a Detroit non-profit news outlet and a historian of the city, took to Facebook to express his disappointment. He pointed out that 57% of the NFL is made up of Black players, yet not a single African-American-owned business was mentioned in the NYT piece. Harris also chimed in, stating that she was interviewed for the report but her business was not included.
In a tweet, Coleman summed up the issue perfectly, saying, "Detroit is 77% Black. 57% of the NFL is Black. Not one African-American-owned business mentioned in this New York Times piece. Wow!" It's a clear example of the erasure of Black contributions and businesses in mainstream media. Lewis also shared his own article on the matter, highlighting the NYT's failure to acknowledge the impact of Black-owned businesses in Detroit in their report.
In his article, Lewis spoke with Dennis Archer Jr., owner of Central Kitchen + Bar, who shared his disappointment with the narrative that disregards the role of Black businesses in the Lions' playoff run. Archer emphasized the importance of representation and recognition, stating, "Because the city is majority African-American, because of the history of how the city became that way, and because of the number of strong purveyors here, it's unfortunate when we are not equally represented in the narrative because we are such a strong part of the foundation, the backbone, and story here."
Archer's reference to the Great Migration, a period when many Black individuals migrated from the South to the North in search of better opportunities, sheds light on the historical context of Detroit's Black population. Emily Fisher, in a Detroitisit op-ed, also highlights the allure of higher-paying jobs in Detroit during this time, particularly at Ford Motor Company, which offered $5 a week compared to the average $5 a month income for Black Americans. This influx of Black individuals led to a significant population increase in cities like New York and Detroit, with the Motor City experiencing a remarkable 611% surge. It became a symbol of economic promise and opportunity for African Americans.
However, the reality for Black individuals who migrated to northern cities was different, though still discriminatory. Events like the 1967 Race Riots in Detroit exposed the harsh conditions and discrimination faced by Black communities. Even today, Detroit remains the most segregated city in the country, largely due to the disproportionate distribution of white people in the metro area. Despite the city's population being 78% Black, only 23% of the population in the metro area is Black. This unequal distribution is also evident in the NYT's report, as they focused on white-owned businesses in the metro area and overlooked Black-owned businesses in other parts of the city.
Kenny Valentino, owner of District Seventy8, a restaurant and lounge establishment, shared his thoughts on the NYT's exclusion of Black-owned businesses. He stated, "With all the revitalization in Detroit, the small, minority, Black-owned businesses are always left out. It does not surprise me." It's a sentiment shared by many within the Black business community in Detroit.
After receiving criticism for their initial report, which only featured one Black establishment, the Detroit Free Press published a piece highlighting the impact on Black-owned businesses in Detroit. This was thanks to the efforts of Starex Smith, founder of The Hungry Black Man, a platform dedicated to reviewing Black-owned establishments. Smith urged the Free Press to send a reporter on a bar crawl of several Black-owned restaurants in the city.
In conclusion, the New York Times was called out for omitting Black-owned businesses in their report on the economic impact of the Detroit Lions' playoff run. This serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for recognition and representation of Black businesses in mainstream media. It's a reminder that Black businesses are an essential part of Detroit's economic growth and should not be overlooked or excluded from the narrative.
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