I haven't spoken to Laura via email for some time...and we've never met. But when I heard about her passing it made me think of my best friend, who was murdered a year ago last week.
Detroit in the eyes of many people is a wasteland. Even listening to some of the comments of May, Atkins, Mills, and Hawtin, one can easily get the impression that people around the city are just biding their time to turn the lights out. People like Laura saw Detroit not only for what it appeared to be, but also for what it was underneath the surface AND FOR WHAT IT COULD BE. In the face of an extended campaign to discredit and disinform, people like Laura remain DEFIANT, RELENTLESS, UNBOWED, and UNBROKEN...while at the same time expressing a joy for life simply unmatched by any of the rat bast*rds out to sh*t on the city. I teach an Introduction to African American Studies class. Today we talked about Plessy v. Ferguson...for those who aren't familiar, Plessy was a shoemaker in 1890's Louisiana and he tried to sue to have a racist policy of separating whites and blacks on public transportation dismantled. He didn't win...but the kicker to me is the following: Plessy was 7/8 white. He could have simply passed for white and lived a life of relative privilege. But he didn't. Not only did he claim his blackness, he FOUGHT for black people. Now I don't know Laura personally. Don't know if she's black or white, tall or short, big or small. I do know this though. Where the path of least resistance in relation to Detroit and Detroit techno is to simply "pass" Laura stayed...living, loving, and KICKING *SS. We'd do well to follow her path. She will be sorely missed.