It was definitely racially motivated. That's where the schism began; back at the height of Detroit when poor blacks from the South were encouraged to come to De

It was definitely racially motivated. That's where the schism began; back at the height of Detroit when poor blacks from the South were encouraged to come to Detroit to work the assembly lines. Also in the disruption of the Big 3 when faced with foreign competition (thought IIRC, this is related to policies and politics because the Big 3 were protected by import controls for a while).