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New Book Review:
When His Old Money, Inner Circle Enclave Met Dr. King
The Fort and MLK: We must all learn to live together as brothers in this country, or we’re all going to perish together as fools
How to heal a divided nation: Learn from Detroit and Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where race, religion, and culture have converged for 325 years.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to our little Grosse Pointe community 21 days before he was assassinated — just eight months after Detroit race rioting caused 43 deaths.
“I want to discuss the race problem tonight, and I want to discuss it very honestly,” King began. “I still believe that freedom is the bonus you receive for telling the truth.”
It got nasty. Detroit and its inner-ring suburbs — from the five Grosse Pointes on the East Side to Dearborn to the west — are home to every belief and ideology (including Muslim protesters recently chanting “Death to America”).
“The issues are generally portrayed in Black and White terms, with such broad values as faith, justice, and equality used on both sides to support their position,” author Douglas J. Vrieland explains. “Those who disagree are clearly wrong; our side is clearly right. We have a…