Chaldean Town

Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church in Chaldean Town

Chaldean Town was a historically Chaldean neighborhood in Detroit located along West Seven Mile Road in a segment in between Woodward Avenue to the west and John R St. to the east.[1] Circa 2007 the population of the district was mainly low income elderly people and recent immigrants, who were mostly made up of Chaldeans.[1] The neighborhood was usually just a stop point for newly arrived immigrants, who then typically preferred to move to the suburbs of Detroit once they gain financial well-being.[2]

History

Chaldean Center of America

Chaldean Town was founded in the 1920s by Chaldean immigrants from Turkey and Iraq (former Ottoman Empire) who wished to work in the automobile factories. After the 1967 Detroit riots and the downfall of the automobile industry, much of the area's wealthy residents and business owners left, leaving the Chaldeans with a monopoly over certain businesses such as grocery stores. Due to a stream of immigrants attracted to the already pre-established Chaldean community and the monopoly they had over certain industries, the neighborhood boomed in the 70s.[3] After the 1970s the neighborhood has suffered from crime and abandonment of property caused by the crack epidemic during the 80s and 90s- a fate common amongst Detroit neighborhoods.[4] The residents now are typically only recent immigrants, business owners, and elderly.[5]

Relationship with Iraq

Around 1979, after Jacob Yasso, the reverend of the Sacred Heart Chaldean Church (Aramaic: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܠܒܗ ܕܡܪܢ ܕܟܠܕܝ̈ܐ‎ ʿēttāʾ d-lebbēh d-māran d-ḵaldāyēʾ) congratulated President Saddam Hussein on being appointed as the President of Iraq. In return, Saddam Hussein donated $250,000 to the Sacred Heart Chaldean Church.[6]

Economy

In 1999 the City of Detroit planned to create Chaldean Town as an entertainment center.[7] It was officially designated as "Chaldean Town" in 1999.[2] The area also has a multimillion-dollar housing development planned.[4]

The neighborhood is currently suffering from urban decay. As of 2015 Chaldean Town has lost all but two of its Chaldean retail businesses, with only S&J Meats and Sullaf Restaurant remaining.[8]

Education

Residents are zoned to Detroit Public Schools. Residents are zoned to Greenfield Union Elementary-Middle School,[9][10] and Pershing High School.[11]

The Community Education Center, a government-funded center owned by Chaldeans,[12] is located on Woodward Avenue in Chaldean Town, near Seven Mile. Asaad Yousif Kalasho founded the center.[13] The teachers and most of the students are Chaldean. It provides free education.[12]

See also

References

  • Henrich, Natalie and Joseph Henrich. Why Humans Cooperate : A Cultural and Evolutionary Explanation. Oxford University Press, May 30, 2007. ISBN 0198041179, 9780198041177.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Henrich and Henrich, p. 81-82.
  2. 1 2 Henrich and Henrich, p. 82.
  3. ↑ http://www.aina.org/ata/20140708014453.htm
  4. 1 2 http://www.aina.org/ata/20140420144651.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.aina.org/ata/20150802205450.htm
  6. ↑ "Saddam Hussein Helped Detroit Church, Got Key to City." (Archive) Associated Press at Fox News. March 27, 2003. Retrieved on November 17, 2013.
  7. ↑ Low, Marsha. "CHALDEAN TOWN DETROIT OFFICIALS, FEDERATION WORK TO TURN NEIGHBORHOOD INTO ENTERTAINMENT CENTER." Detroit Free Press. August 24, 1999. NWS p. B1. Retrieved on November 15, 2013.
  8. ↑ Carlisle, John (2015-08-02). "The last days of Detroit's Chaldean Town". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  9. ↑ "Elementary Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Middle School Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  11. ↑ "High School Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  12. 1 2 Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles, 2001. p. 44. UMI Number: 3024065.
  13. ↑ "Iraqi expatriate sees war's toll." The Detroit News. September 1, 2000. ID: det8665408. Retrieved on November 16, 2013. "Asaad Yousif Kalasho is founder and president of the Community Educational Center on Woodward near Seven Mile in Chaldean Town."

Coordinates: 42°25′56″N 83°06′30″W / 42.4322°N 83.1084°W / 42.4322; -83.1084

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