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Nevertheless, the boycott is an embarrassment for the city that is home to the Ford Motor Co., the fourth-largest corporation in the U.S. and one praised for its vigorous hiring and promotion of black rank-and-file workers and executives, including many who commute to Dearborn daily. The campaign has received some visible support from the Detroit police department, which pulled out of a crime-prevention convention last week because it was held in Dearborn. Several other organizations, including an education group and a black sorority, have canceled or are considering calling off events in Dearborn.
The N.A.A.C.P. and the American Civil Liberties Union have also filed suit in Wayne County Circuit Court, arguing that the parks ordinance is illegal. In Dearborn, however, these pressures have only hardened local resistance. Dearborn's new mayor, Michael Guido, who initially opposed the ordinance, now says the city will fight opponents in court.
Until now the ordinance has not been enforced, since winter weather has kept most people from the parks. But one community leader in the dispute says black Detroiters may stage sit-ins and confrontations in Dearborn if the matter is not resolved before spring. "We're struggling to head off a potentially explosive situation," he said, and time is running out.