From the Mouths of Babes

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech…”- 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

Young Detroiter Darnell Gardener Jr. certainly fulfills this scripture in his plea to Kwame Kilpatrick. Because of his age, Darnell’s outcry is difficult to ignore, realizing that it sometimes takes a high school teenager to knock some sense into “the old folk”. Age alone, however, is not what makes his essay remarkable. Darnell crafts a powerful essay through the use of his own perspective and metaphors.
Darnell’s perspective is essential to the effectiveness of his essay. He begins by explaining the utter importance of stating his opinion because as a lifelong resident and student of Detroit, it is his responsibility to defend the city. Because Darnell was raised in Detroit all of his life, he can truly attest to the depravity of its current situation. When criticizing Kwame, he uses the fact that he himself is African-American and a Detroiter to put to rest Kwame’s claims that all his critics are racist whites and suburbanites. “These words are not tainted with "bigotry" or a product of some "lynch-mob mentality." My words are drenched in tears -- for my people and my city.”
Another aspect of the city Darnell provides witness with his perspective as a student is the horrid condition of the education system. “I used to go to Renaissance High, another fading gem of this city, but last year I transferred to Davis Aerospace Technical High. The difference between the two schools is appalling, even though Davis is considered a top school in Detroit. The children are often out of control, rude and crude. Even worse, they are also devastatingly undereducated. Many cannot even write a readable essay because their grammar is atrocious. I have even heard teachers say that they could not grade some papers because they were unreadable. In fact, one of my peers asked me to proofread one of his essays, and I nearly began to sob halfway through it.” The fact that Darnell has had face-to-face experience with the depressing conditions Detroit education is facing makes the issue that much more tangible to the reader. Clearly something in the leadership of Detroit must be altered to improve these conditions.
Darnell uses powerful metaphors to make his points more contrite. He calls the city “fading” or “lost gem” in order to show the reader the splendor Detroit once held, only now its’ streets are polluted with crack addicts. He makes a point of saying that "Education is the backbone of any successful community" and "children are the future", but when neither are being fixed, the luster of Detroit will be reduced to nothing. He urges that this “gem” must be protected and what little beauty it has left should be saved. Instead, Kwame is squandering Detroit’s money on trials and compromising the city’s integrity through perjury charges.
Through Darnell’s wonderfully crafted essay, the only assessment that can be made is this: Kwame needs to resign. If he refuses, Detroit’s reputation will take yet another blow, and defenders of the city, like Darnell, will be saddened yet again by the ever fading shine of the city they love.