Yes, this is a culturally and economically diverse town. That doesn’t make it a bad place to live. I love that Ypsi is not at all homogenous or white bread. But then black people don’t scare me.

I love all the locally run businesses here, the farmer’s market, the independent coffeehouses, the bars and restaurants like Sidetrack and Beezy’s, the food co op, the places to hear live music. Have you heard of Mittenfest? Annual show with tons of bands to raise money for 826 Michigan. Takes place in Ypsi.

I don’t know any yokels, unless you are talking about the urban farmers who are growing and selling their crops at the farmer’s market. Or maybe you are talking about Growing Hope: community gardens and helping low income people grown their own food. Or maybe you are talking about Peter Thomason who helped to get chickens in our city? Or are you talking about the myriad of crafters who knit, sew, paint, draw, work wood and metal who sell their wares at the Shadow Art Fair? Are these the backwoods yokels you are speaking of?

Instead of judging my town from secondhand stories and rumors created by upper class rich people who think that seeing a black man on the street means you are in a bad neighborhood, why not actually come visit Ypsilanti yourself.

We just bought our house in Ypsi a couple of years ago. I moved back here from Ann Arbor after 30 years – I’d rather live here than A2, Saline, Milan, Chelsea or Dexter any day.

Also, the rep isn’t for being dumb or inbred – that’s for the more rural communities nearby. Ypsi’s rep is for being poor & crime-ridden.