Chaldean Town

Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church in Chaldean Town

Chaldean Town is a neighborhood in Detroit located along Seven Mile Road in a segment between Woodward Avenue and John R.[1] As of 2011 many Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Christians are resident in the community.[2] As of 2007 they tend to be low income elderly people and recent immigrants.[1] Chaldean immigrants, once they gain financial well-being, move to suburbs in Metro Detroit.[3]

History

Chaldean Center of America

Around 1979, after Jacob Yasso, the reverend of the Sacred Heart Chaldean Church (Aramaic: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܠܒܗ ܕܡܪܢ ܕܟܠܕܝ̈ܐ‎ ʿēttāʾ d-lebbēh d-māran d-ḵaldāyēʾ), congratulated Saddam Hussein on becoming the President of Iraq, Saddam gave $250,000 to the Sacred Heart Chaldean Church.[4] In 1980 Saddam gave Yasso $200,000 after Yasso told Saddam his church had $170,000 in debts. WDIV-TV (Channel 4) wrote that the funds "reportedly helped build" the Chaldean Center of America, a building on Seven Mile Road adjacent to the church. The building houses offices of the church, an English-language school, and a Chaldean cultural museum.[5] In honor of Saddam's efforts, Yasso presented Saddam with the "Key to the city" procured by Mayor of Detroit Coleman Young.[4]

In 1999 the City of Detroit planned to create Chaldean Town as an entertainment center.[6] It was officially designated as "Chaldean Town" in 1999.[3]

Education

Residents are zoned to Detroit Public Schools. Residents are zoned to Greenfield Union Elementary-Middle School,[7][8] and Pershing High School.[9]

The Community Education Center, a government-funded center owned by Chaldeans,[10] is located on Woodward Avenue in Chaldean Town, near Seven Mile. Asaad Yousif Kalasho founded the center.[11] The teachers and most of the students are Chaldean. It provides free education.[10]

See also

References

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chaldean Town.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Henrich and Henrich, p. 81-82.
  2. ↑ "U.S. police foil Canada-to-Iraq luxury-car scheme." National Post. September 1, 2011. Retrieved on November 15, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Henrich and Henrich, p. 82.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Saddam Hussein Helped Detroit Church, Got Key to City." (Archive) Associated Press at Fox News. March 27, 2003. Retrieved on November 17, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Saddam Reportedly Given Key To Detroit Iraq President Funded Local Chaldean Church In 1980." (Archive) WDIV-TV (Channel 4, Click on Detroit). March 26, 2003. Retrieved on November 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ Low, Marsha. "CHALDEAN TOWN DETROIT OFFICIALS, FEDERATION WORK TO TURN NEIGHBORHOOD INTO ENTERTAINMENT CENTER." Detroit Free Press. August 24, 1999. NWS p. B1. Retrieved on November 15, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Elementary Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Middle School Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  9. ↑ "High School Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles, 2001. p. 44. UMI Number: 3024065.
  11. ↑ "Iraqi expatriate sees war's toll." The Detroit News. September 1, 2000. ID: det8665408. Retrieved on November 16, 2013. "Asaad Yousif Kalasho is founder and president of the Community Educational Center on Woodward near Seven Mile in Chaldean Town."

Coordinates: 42°25′56″N 83°06′30″W / 42.4322°N 83.1084°W