HAMTRAMCK, MI — Few places in Michigan have gotten as much favorable publicity in recent years as Hamtramck, the famous little enclave city embedded inside Detroit.
Once a town where you were more likely to hear Polish spoken on the streets than English, the tiny city has become an ethnic rainbow. Far more people of Yemeni and Bangladeshi descent live there now than those of Polish ancestry.
There are also young artists and musicians of all flavors who have moved there for the atmosphere and affordable rents. All that helped ‘Hamtown’s’ population soar by a stunning 27 percent over the last decade, making it Michigan’s most densely populated city, with 28,433 people packed into two square miles.
But two weeks ago, something happened to seriously damage this era of good feeling about Hamtramck. On June 13, their now all-Muslim city council voted unanimously to ban the flying or display of gay Pride flags or any other political flags on city property.
That resulted in an explosion of criticism from everyone from the city’s state senator and congressman to Detroit’s mayor, to leaders across the metropolitan area. “Hamtramck may not want you,” the mayor of another nearby working class city proclaimed.
“But you are welcome in Hazel Park.” Mike Duggan, the mayor of Detroit, said “The City of Detroit proudly raises our Pride Flag at the start of every Pride month,” in order “to show our unwavering support for the LGBTQ+ community and the diversity within.”
The controversial move attracted international attention, in part because June has become gay pride month, but also because Hamtramck now has an entirely Muslim city council.
Two years ago, Amer Ghalib, a native of Yemen, defeated incumbent Karen Majewski to became the first mayor of Hamtramck not of Polish descent; during his campaign, he said he opposed flying the Pride flag, which the city has done in the past.
After the council voted to ban it, he released a statement saying this had nothing to do with bigotry or discrimination. “Our residents are all equally important to us, and we will continue to serve them equally without discrimination, favoritism or preferential treatment to any group.” Many skeptics weren’t convinced.
Within hours, the decision was being widely portrayed in the media as one of small-minded religious bigotry and homophobia.
Yet the reality is more complex. Nobody knows more about Hamtramck than Greg Kowalski, the 72-year-old executive director of the Hamtramck Historical Museum, a retired journalist who has lived in the town his entire life, and has written no fewer than 11 books on the city.
“Both sides have a point to make in this controversy,” he said. “The city boasts that it is welcoming and diverse, and it is, but for some this crosses the line.” Yes, he said, there are some bigots, both Christian and Muslim. But there are others who are fine with people being gay, but think “please don’t throw that in my face with a flag.”
There are other considerations as well. The resolution council passed didn’t forbid only the Pride flag, but “does not allow any religious, ethnic, racial, political or sexual orientation group flags to be flown” on city-owned property. Instead, only the American, Michigan and Hamtramck flags are allowed, plus the POW/MIA flag and flags representing the various countries residents came from.
Kowalski also noted two important points largely lost in the media storm. First, anyone can still fly the Pride flag or whatever other flags they want on private property. More importantly, perhaps, “the council also brought up the question that if a gay pride flag was allowed on city property, could they legally stop a group of Nazis from demanding their flag be put up?”
Cooler heads, he suggested, might conclude that this is all a tempest about, well, not very much, and that it may be stealing attention from bigger problems. “Considering the many serious issues Hamtramck has to face, is this really an earth-shattering concern?” he asked. “That’s what makes this frustrating.”
Hamtramck, after all, is a largely poor city filled with people struggling to master life in America. The census found that 43 percent of Hamtramck residents are below the poverty line.
More than two out of five are immigrants, and nearly three-quarters — 71 percent — speak a language other than English at home.
“I actively promote Hamtramck’s diversity and its many fine qualities, but I also recognize that it is far from perfect. There are some really serious problems we need to tackle, from long-range planning to picking up litter.”
Though he may not admit it, probably no one loves Hamtramck more than Greg Kowalski, who says that after he dies, he wants his ashes spread on the train tracks that pass through the city.
The bottom line? “Does this controversy hurt the city’s image? Yes. But no city is idyllic,” he said. “This is just another chapter in the ongoing story of Hamtramck. It will neither make or break the city, and however this plays out, we will endure.”
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