(WXYZ) — We know Detroit is the backbone of the auto industry, and many people have been able to provide for their families because of the industry.
This rings especially true for African Americans. According to data, Black workers have historically represented a large portion of the auto industry.
I spoke with a woman who works at Stellantis, whose family has deep roots with the auto industry.
“I really have a different sense of pride when I walk into my place of employment, be at the plant or be it at the local hall," Lynda Jackson told me.
Jackson first got her job with Chrysler, now named Stellantis, and said she was so excited.
“Getting this type of job, especially right after the bankruptcy, the big, you know, recession that took place around 2008, 2009, I was hiring in at 2010," she said. "So I ushered in a new generation of auto workers here in the City of Detroit.”
The job at Chrysler was also special because her parents were both autoworkers.
Her father, David Garner, started working for Chrysler right after he moved to Detroit from Alabama in the 1960s. Her mother, Diane, worked at Ford.
“So being in that type of family environment, you know, they're taking me to the Labor Day parades, they're taking me to the union meetings, they're taking me to the picket lines and you know, so I got to see all of this at an early age," Jackson said.
She has been at Stellantis for 15 years and she's also an elected officer at the United Auto Workers Local 7.
She said she's proud to see how far African Americans have come when it comes to their positions in the auto industry and with the UAW.
“So, my mother started working for Ford in like the 70s and she was amongst one of the first group of women to work in the foundry and to be honest, African Americans were given like the grunt jobs. They were given the jobs nobody wanted to work. People may not know what a foundry is, but it's extremely hot, right? The working conditions are deplorable," Jackson said.
“So to see the progression of the UAW seeing their first African American president, continuing to have more African Americans and other minorities on the executive board of the UAW, I think that shows a lot of progress within our organization," she added.
For decades, many Black families in metro Detroit have relied on the auto industry as a source of income.
“The power that made the automotive industry grow was provided by African Americans as workers and innovators," Jeremy Milloy, a history professor at Wayne State University, said.
He said the auto industry was pivotal in making the Black middle class in Detroit.
“A big part of that was because the wages that African American workers won by the sweat of their brow in that industry allowed for so many other things to take place, right?" he said. "Like we look at a job and we think it's only a job, but it also, you know, a good job is, is an avenue to stability, community, and, and the kind of income that allows things to create other businesses, other professionals, and you did see in Detroit the creation of a vibrant Black middle class and upper-middle class neighborhoods.”
As for Jackson, she said the auto industry has given her family so many opportunities.
“What is your hope for the auto industry in the future? What do you hope to see?” I asked.
“Honestly, I pray that this type of work environment, this industry is still around for generations to come," Jackson said. “It is a good industry to work in, it allows you to provide for your family.”
