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Detroit

The home of hard workers, strong people, activists, and labor rights heroes encompasses Detroit. Detroit is
a city with a long history and a beautiful culture. It is home to so many heroes and we will always recognize
the great people of Detroit forever. Detroit stands alone in its resiliency, its power, and its influences in
American history. Detroit is uncompromising and it is time to let the world know once again that Detroit is
not going anywhere. Detroit is the most populous city in the state of Michigan. Its the fourth largest city in
the Midwest. It is very close to the United States, Canadian border. Its cultural influences have spread
globally. Detroit is a major American port. It is on the Detroit River that connects to the Great Lakes System
to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The City of Detroit anchors the second-largest economic region in the
Midwest, behind Chicago, and the thirteenth-largest in the United States. Today, Detroit has 680,000
people with about 147.87 square miles. Keith Ellison, Diana Ross, Berry Gordy Jr., Mary Wells, Gilda Radner,
Ben Carson, Smokey Robinson, Ralph Bunche, Roger Corman, Florence Ballard, Francis Ford Coppola, David
Alan Grier, James Lipton, and so many people were born in the great city of Detroit too. Detroit has been
through a lot and we realize the camaraderie and the love found in the people of Detroit is real and will
exist forever.
Early History (in Detroit)
Detroit has a long history. In the beginning, the land of Detroit was first inhabited by Native Americans. By
the year 1600, there were about 100,000 Native Americans living in five tribes in the state of Michigan.
They are the Potawatomi, Ottawa, Ojibwa/Chippewa, Miami, and Huron. The Potawatomi, Ottawa and
Ojibwa spoke similar Algonquin languages and are known as the People of the Three Fires. In 1618,
Samuel de Champlain, who founded Quebec, sent Etienne Brule on an exploring mission. He is called the
first European to set foot in Michigan. Other European explorers traveled all across the Americas as well. In
1630, Samuel de Champlain sent Jean Nicolet to find a passage to China. Yet, he passed through the Straits
of Mackinac and he or Jean Nicolet explored the shores of Lake Michigan. From 1650 to 1700, European
diseases caused as many of half of the Michigan Native Americans to die. By 1669, the French explorer
Adrien Joliet and an Iroquois guide traveled from St. Marys River down Lake Huron and a camp at the
present day Detroit. By 1699, the French settle in New Orleans, Louisiana. The first recorded mention of
the site as found in Detroit was in the 1670s. This was when French missionaries found a stone idol that
was venerated by Native Americans. They or the missionaries destroyed it with an axe. The early settlers
then planted 12 missionary pear trees named for the twelve Apostles. The grounds of that event is now
known as Waterworks Park. The name of the city of Detroit has an interesting origin. It comes from the
French phrase of le dtroit du Lac rie meaning the strait of Lake Erie.

The Detroit River links Lake Huron and Lake Erie. This strait also includes Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair
River. The sieur de Cadillac (or Antoine Laumet de La Mothe) was a French explorer or adventurer in New
France. New France was the area colonized by the French in North America. New France started from 1534
(when Jacques Cartier explored the Saint Lawrence River in 1534) to 1763 (when the French lost the
French-Indian War against the British. New France ceded territory to Great Britain and Spain after the War
via the Treaty of Paris. New France was in its peak in 1712). So, the sieur de Cadillac proposed to his French
government in Paris that Detroit must be established as shelter for displaced Native American allies. Paris
approved of his plan. So, in 1701, Cadillac led a party of 100 Frenchmen to establish a post called Fort
Pontchartrain du Dtroit, naming it after his sponsor the comte de Pontchartrain, Minister of Marine under
Louis XIV. In 1704, he was given ownership over the strenuous opposition of officials in New France. There
was an investigation done by de Pontchartrain. The investigation found that Cadillac acted tyrannical as a
profiteer whose mischief hurt the French cause. Therefore, Cadillac was removed and sent to faraway New
Orleans as the governor of Louisiana. Ste. Anne de Dtroit, founded 1701, is the second oldest continuously
operating Catholic parish in the United States. It was the first building erected in Detroit. Grants of free land
were given to families who came to Detroit. Detroit's population grew to 800 people in 1765. During this
time period, the main business was trading furs with the Native Americans (using goods supplied from
Montreal). Detroit was the largest French village between Montreal and New Orleans.

Francois Marie Picot, sieur de Belestre (Montreal 17191793), the last French commander at Fort Detroit
(17581760), surrendered on November 29, 1760 to the British. They shortened the name to Detroit.
Detroit would experience conflicts over land and political power. Many Native Americans have shown
independent power to work together in Pontiacs Rebellion in 1763. Pontiac was a Native American leader
who wanted independent power for his allies. They overran smaller forts, but they didnt conquer Detroit.
During the age of the American Revolution, American forces always wanted to get Detroit for political and
strategic reasons. Detroit was in the American frontier and gaining Detroit wasnt going to be easy. There
were the American Native American allies of Great Britain that would prevent any armed rebel force from
America from reaching the Detroit area. In the Treaty of Paris on 1783, Great Britain ceded territory that
included Detroit to the newly recognized United States. Detroit still was in British control. Great Britain
continued to trade with and defend her Native American allies in the area, and supplied local nations with
weapons to harass American settlers and soldiers. The British left in 1796 following the Jay Treaty. In 1794,
a Native American alliance, that had received some support and encouragement from the British, was
decisively defeated by General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers near Toledo, Ohio.

Wayne negotiated the Treaty of Greenville (1795) with many of these nations, in which tribes ceded the
area of Fort Detroit to the United States. Father Gabriel Richard arrived at Ste. Anne's in 1796. He helped
start the school which evolved into the University of Michigan, started primary schools for white boys and
girls as well as for Indians. During that time, a territorial representative to U.S. Congress helped establish a
road-building project that connected Detroit and Chicago, and brought the first printing press to Michigan
which printed the first Michigan newspaper. In 1805, fire destroyed most of the Detroit settlement. A river
warehouse and brick chimneys of the wooden homes were the sole structures to survive. Detroit's motto
and seal (as on the Flag) reflect this fire.

Detroit was incorporated as a town by the legislature of the Northwest Territory at Chillicothe, Ohio on
January 18, 1802, effective February 1, 1802. The government was administrated by a five person board of
trustees and there was no office of mayor. After this, Ohio became a state and the eastern half of Michigan
was linked to the Indiana Territory. Before the new territorial government started officially, a fire destroyed
almost all of Detroit on June 11, 1805. In June 30, 1805, the Michigan Territory was established effective.
This territory allowed Detroit as the capital. The territorial government back then had its newly appointed
governor William Hull. The territorial judges of the government were Augustus B. Woodward, Frederick
Bates, James Witherell, and John Griffin. They convinced the U.S. Congress to pass an act on April 21, 1806,
which authorized them to lay out a town that included all of the old town of Detroit plus an additional
10,000 acres (40 km) to be used as compensation for persons who lost their house in the fire.

After the fire of 1805, Justice Augustus B. Woodward created a plan (similar to the Freemason Pierre
Charles LEnfants design for Washington, D.C.) for Detroits monumental avenues and traffic circles. These
circles fanned out in a baroque styled radial fashion with the Grand Circus Park in the heart of the citys
theater district. This district facilitates traffic patterns along the city's tree-lined boulevards and parks. Main
thoroughfares radiate outward from the city center like spokes in a wheel. The territorial government
passed an act that incorporated the new city of Detroit on September 13, 1806. The governor appointed
Solomon Sibley as mayor. Shortly afterward, Sibley resigned and Elijah Brush was appointed in his stead.
The mayor was appointed by the governor. The act of incorporation allowed the mayor to disapprove
legislation passed by the popularly elected council without any recourse for overriding the mayor. Because
of this, many felt that the real aim of the governor in incorporating the city was to remove the popularly
elected town officers and exert a more direct influence over governance of the city. This form of
government was extremely unpopular, and was repealed on February 4, 1809. However, to prevent
resurrection of the popularly elected town government, on September 16, 1810, an act passed repealing all
laws pertaining to Michigan that had been passed by the Legislature of the Northwest Territory. This
effectively eradicated any trace of legitimacy for the former popularly elected town government.

War of 1812
The War of 1812 was about Great Britain and America fighting again for territory in North America overtly.
Great Britain during this war tried to overtly control American lands that they have lost from the
Revolutionary War. During the War of 1812, Governor Hull surrendered Detroit to a smaller British force
which threatened to allow its Native American allies to kill all American prisoners. Tecumseh was a Native
American leader of the Shawnee. His Tecumseh Confederacy opposed America during Tecumsehs War and
was an ally of the UK during the War of 1812. He was born in present day Ohio. The British had bluffed the
Americans into believing that there were thousands of Native American troops. Tecumseh marched his
Native American troops through a clearing. Then, they circled the same troops through the clearing again to
make it seem that there was a much larger Native American force. Hull was convicted of cowardice and
sentenced to death by a court martial, but he received a Presidential pardon. The U.S. Army recaptured
Detroit in 1813 after the British abandoned it and used it as a base to invade Canada and permanently end
the existence of Native American raids on American settlements. After the British abandoned Detroit,
American forces caught up to the escaping British and Native Americans. They killed Tecumseh. Lewis Cass
was the territorial governor on October 24, 1815 restored control of local affairs to the people of Detroit,
with the election of a five person board of trustees and enactment of a charter for the city of Detroit.

The Civil War


Before the U.S. Civil War, Detroit was a major location of the Underground Railroad. The Underground was
a network of locations and places where slaves escaped into freedom in the North and in Canada. Detroit is
very close to the Canadian order too as runaway slaves traveled into Detroit constantly. The Michigan
Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Detroits Campus Martius Park commemorates the states role in the
American Civil War. During the civil war, thousands of Detroiters including the 24th Michigan Volunteer
Infantry Regiment (part of the legendary Iron Brigade) which fought with distinction and suffered 82%
casualties at Gettysburg in 1863. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, Thank God for Michigan! Following
Lincoln's assassination, General George Armstrong Custer delivered a eulogy to the thousands gathered
near Campus Martius Park. Custer led the Michigan Brigade during the American Civil War and called them
the Wolverines. There was the Detroit race riot of 1863 too on March 6, 1863. The riot was due to the
military draft and racism. Irish and German Catholics resisted the mandatory draft laws. White racists beat
mostly African Americans. 2 innocent people were killed. 35 buildings were burned to the ground and other
buildings were damaged by the fire too. The riot caused the police in Detroit to act full time.
Industry and Commerce
After the Civil War, Detroit grew its industry and commerce into a higher level. Detroit is found in the Great
Lakes Region, which contributed to its power as a center of global trade as well. Detroit grew. Later,
Detroits transportation services linked the Great Lakes system of waterways to the Erie Canal and to rail
lines. Parke-Davis and other pharmaceutical firms developed in the 1870s. There was the creation of the
Frederick Stearns Company during the 1890s. It formed centers between East Jefferson Avenue. Globe
Tobacco built a manufacturing facility closer to downtown in 1888. New wealthy industrialists grew after
the rise of manufacturing. Some of this new class or nouveau riche built along East Jefferson. Some of these
structures being created included:

the Thomas A. Parker House (1868), the Croul-Palms House (1881), the William H. Wells House (1889), the
John N. Bagley House (1889), and the Frederick K. Stearns House (1902).

The further expansion of Detroit caused other citizens to push north of downtown. Buildings and houses
further developed along Woodward, in what was at the time a quiet residential area. The city has many
restored Victorian structures like those in: the Brush Park and East Ferry Avenue historic districts. The
Elisha Taylor House (1870) and the Hudson-Evans House (1872) are both in Brush Park; the Col. Frank J.
Hecker House (1888) and the Charles Lang Freer House (1887) are in the East Ferry Avenue neighborhood.
Near the end of the 19th century, apartment living became more acceptable for affluent middle-class
families, and upscale apartments, such as the Coronado Apartments (1894), the Verona Apartments (1894),
the Palms Apartments (1903), the Davenport Apartments (1905) in the Cass-Davenport Historic District,
and the Garden Court Apartments (1915) were constructed to meet the new demand. During the late 19th
century, more churches were built in Detroit too. The Class Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church was
formed in 1883. The First Presbyterian Church was formed in 1889. James E. Scripps created the Trinity
Episcopal Church in 1890 and the First Unitarian Church was established in 1890.

The Move That Changed The Nation: Largest Internal Migration in The History Of United
States is a book that describes the Great Migration. The Great Migration was the mass
movement of about five million southern blacks to the north and west between 1915 and 1960.
During the initial wave the majority of migrants moved to major northern cities such as
Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York, New York.
Immigration in Detroit
Detroit has always been a city where immigrants came into. There were French and English settlers who
came into Detroit during the 18th century. Many Irish immigrants came into the Corktown neighborhood in
the 1840s. Germans make up a large part of the immigrant population as well. Many German and Polish
immigrants settled in Detroit from the 1860s to the 1890s. Irish Catholics had a great favorable experience
in Detroit as compared to other cities. There werent as much religious prejudice against Irish Catholics as
compared to other places. Many Irish in Detroit were successful in politics, government service, etc. Some
worked in construction and dockyard jobs. Many of them built many churches. Some funded the migration
of relatives from Ireland. Many of the Irish Americans would later take active leadership roles in the
Democratic Party and labor movements. European immigrants opened businesses and formed numerous
communities.

German immigrations formed many German speaking churches. Most of them existed on the east side of
the city. Their names included: Saint John's-St. Luke's Evangelical Church (1872), St. Joseph Catholic Church
(1873), and Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church (1875), as well as social clubs such as the Harmonie Club
(1894) and west-side churches such as St. Boniface (1882), and Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church
(1891). Polish immigrants formed their own churches on the east side too from Roman Catholic churches
too. Polish people founded West Side Dom Polski in 1916 on the west side. The son of Prussian Polish
immigrants, Rev. John A. Lemke, born in Detroit on February 10, 1866, was the first American-born Roman
Catholic Priest of Polish descent to be ordained in America. He was baptized at St. Mary Roman Catholic
Church (1843), at the corner of St. Antoine and Croghan (Monroe), on February 18, 1866, attended St.
Albertus for his primary education, and studied at Detroit College which is now the University where he
received a bachelor's degree in 1884. Many Catholics worked in schools, orphanages, hospitals, and
charitable organization. During 1900, 87 percent of Detroiters lived in single family homes. Home owners
built their homes all over the city. There was a localized ethnically controlled housing market. That was
different from the professionally operated housing market. Home ownership in Detroit surged in the citys
immigrant neighborhoods by 1900.

The Early Automobile Industry


The automobile industry developed greatly in Detroit. The work of Henry Ford is key to understanding
Detroits history. Henry Ford was involved in the establishment of the automobile Highland Park Ford Plant
in 1910. His actions revolutionized automobile manufacturing. It grew the concept of the assembly line and
mass production. This relates to workers building specialized parts, cars, other vehicles, etc. can be formed
more efficiently and quicker. His manufacturing innovations were used by rival automobile manufactures.
Most of these manufactures and their parts supplies back then were headquartered in the Detroit
metropolitan area. Detroit has always been known as the worlds car capital. Today, the 1904 Ford Piquette
Avenue Plant is a National Historical Landmark. The Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District and the
New Amsterdam Historic District are filled with references to early car history. Automobile assembly and
associated manufacturing soon dominated Detroit, and the newly minted automotive magnates built
commercial and office buildings such as General Motors Building (1919), the General (1928), and the Fisher
Building (1928). Many of the best workers in the city worked in Ford plants. He dealt with wage policy. He
began with a $5 a day minimum wage in 1910, about double the going rate at rival firms. It succeeded in
stopping the massive turnover rate, raised productivity; lowered overall labor costs and helped to propel
the Model T to industry dominance.
During the 1920s, Ford had a problem. By that time, his formula of cheap cars with little option fell behind
General Motors. GM promoted upscale quality and variety. GM also provided financing for car buyers. The
growth of the automobile industry caused labor to make more demands. More immigrants from Europe
worked in such fashions. Also, the population grew massively during this time period. Between 1900 and
1930, Detroit's population soared from 265,000 to over 1.5 million, pushing the boundaries of the city
outward. The population boom led to the construction of apartment buildings across the city, aimed at the
middle-class auto workers. These include the Somerset (1922), the Garden Court Apartments (1915), and
the Manchester Apartments (1915). With more population growth, transportation services changed. The
Chestnut Street-Grand Trunk Railroad Bridge was created in 1929. It had a grade separation and unsnarled
train and automobile traffic. The Fort Street-Pleasant Street and Norfolk & Western Railroad Viaduct
(1928) was a product of the same program, routing trucking traffic over the train traffic. And the West
Jefferson Avenue-Rouge River Bridge (1922) allowed the Rouge River to be expanded for barge traffic.
Henry Ford had controversies that dealt with accusations of anti-Semitism, patronize, and he had battles
with labor unions constantly.

The Progressive Movement and the Gilded Age


The Progressive movement had a long history in America. It was created in the 19th century. It included
many factions too. One of its main functions was to use the upper middle class of both men and women to
confront corrupt politicians. Some were against saloonkeepers and desired prohibition. One of the most
prominent leaders of the progressive movement was Republican Mayor Hazen S. Pingree. Automaker
Henry M. Leland of the Detroit Citizens League was a representative community leader. The League was
supported by Detroits business, professional, and Protestant religious communities. This organization
wanted a new city charter, an anti-saloon ordinance, and the open shop whereby a worker would get a job
if he or she didnt belong to a labor union. One of the most famous American clergymen in American
history was the German-American Protestant minister Reinhold Niebuhr. He was trained at Yale Divinity
School. He was a Detroit minister who attacked the KKK (which had huge support among white Protestants
in Detroit). Henry Ford was very popular by the early 20th century. Niebuhr criticized the auto industry.
Niebuhr preached what is now called the Social Gospel. Niebuhr criticized the auto industry, because he
disagreed with the brutalization and insecurity of Ford workers. Niebuhr was a liberal person on many
issues (not on every issue) and he wasnt ashamed of it.

He was troubled by the demoralizing effects of industrialism on workers. Niebuhr became an outspoken
critic of Henry Ford. He allowed union organizers to use his pulpit to expound their message of workers
rights. Niebuhr attacked poor conditions created by the assembly lines and erratic employment practices.
One of the defining legacies of Niebuhr was that he rejected prevailing optimism in the 1920s. He believed
in realism. He understood that workers have been through a lot from the heat in factories to the terrible
conditions back then. The historian Ronald H. Stone thinks that Niebuhr never talked to the assembly line
workers (many of his parishioners were skilled craftsmen) but projected feelings onto them after
discussions with Rev. Samuel Marquis. As some studies of assembly line workers have shown, the work may
have been dull, but workers had complex motivations and could find ways to make meaning of their
experiences. Also, the studies found that many boasted about their jobs and tried hard to place their sons
on the assembly line. Ford tried but failed to control work habits. Sociologists who interviewed workers
concluded that they were more interested in controlling their home lives than their work lives. The Ford
solution was welfare capitalism, paying relatively high wages with added benefits, such as vacations and
retirement that reduced turnover and appealed primarily to family men.

Link and Link conclude that by tying half a man's wages to the company's profit, Ford managers offered "a
highly successful wage incentive plan that simultaneously increased job satisfaction and raised the
productivity of labor. The Gilded Age in Detroit started in the beginning of the 20th century. Historic
Gilded age areas included places like Brush Park, which gave rise to even more upscale neighborhoods like
the Boston-Edison Indian Village and Palmer Woods. Woodward Avenue neighborhoods like Warren-
Prentis Historic District and the Willis-Selden Historic District became mixed with apartments and
commercial buildings. There were many architecturally and historically significant churches and cathedrals
that arose during the period throughout the citys neighborhoods. Downtown Detroit businesses grew too
as a product of automobile wealth (along with educational & technological advancements).

More 20th century skyscrapers developed too. Some were the Art Deco National Historic Landmark
Guardian Building in 1928 and the Fisher Building from 1928. Many of the citys skyscrapers and land
markers were built by renowned architects like Albert Kahn, Writ C. Rowland, and others. Along Park
Avenue, Broadway, and Woodward sprang up shopping districts. In 1881, Joseph Lowthian Hudson opened
a small men's clothing store in Detroit. After 10 years he had 8 stores in the Midwest and was the most
profitable clothing retailer in the country. In 1893, he began construction of J. L. Hudson Department Store
at Gratiot and Farmer streets in Detroit. The store grew over the years and a 25-story tower was added in
1928. The final section was a 12-story addition in 1946, giving the entire complex 49 acres (20 ha) of floor
space. During this period, the Fort Shelby Hotel was completed in 1916. The Detroit-Leland Hotel was
finished by 1927 and the Royal Palm Hotel was completed in 1924. Well known and beautiful movie palaces
such as the Fox (1928) and the Palms (1925) entertained thousands every day. Public buildings, such as
Orchestra Hall (1919), the Detroit Public Library (1921), and the Detroit Institute of Arts (1923) were
inspired by the City Beautiful Movement.
Immigration in the early 20th century grew rapidly. The growth of the automobile industry increased
industrial production in Detroit. There was the rising demand for labor. It was filled by large amounts of
immigrants from Europe and Canada. The citys population increased more than sixfold during the first half
of the 20th century, fed largely by this influx of people who worked in the burgeoning automobile industry
and opened neighborhood shops. Greek immigration in Detroit started in the late 1890s. It peaked in 1910-
1914. They came as peasants from villages and became peddlers, grocers, and restaurateurs. They were
concentrated in the Greektown neighborhood. Keenly attuned to regionalism and political factionalism in
Greece, the community in Detroit was split into numerous small groupings. As Americanization proceeded,
the family structure became much less patriarchal, while retaining strong affiliations with the Greek
Orthodox Church. A wave of Italian immigrants arrived in 1890-1914. Most newcomers came from Europe
or Canada, but there also were blacks from the South. Ford and Pullman were among the few major
employers who welcomed black workers. Soon, Detroit increased its borders exponentially. Detroit
annexed all or part of the incorporated villages of Woodmere in 1905, Delray in 1905, Fairview in 1907, St.
Clair Heights in 1918, and Warrendale in 1925. Detroit gained thousands of acres of lands in the
surrounding townships. There remained several legally separate cities that formed enclaves inside the city
limits like Hamtramck and Highland Park. In 1930, Polish people became a large immigrant group with more
than 66,000 Poles residing in Detroit at the time. Between 1900 and 1930, the citys population soared
from 265,000 to over 1.5 million. During World War II, there was a large influx of whites from Appalachia
and blacks from the rural South. Arabic people (especially Palestinians) arrived in large numbers after 1970.
The Jewish community grew to about 34,000 by 1914 with new arrivals from Eastern Europe. Anti-Semitism
in Detroit back then was less as compared to other large cities, anti-Semitism did exist in Detroit. There
were huge tensions between the older established German Jews, and the poor new immigrants.
20th Century Developments for the Labor Movement and for Women.
Detroit local politics from 1870 to the 1910s had been influenced by German Americans and Irish Catholics.
Many of these ethnic groups controlled the Democratic Party. This changed after 1910 when old school
Protestant business leaders (especially from the automobile industry) led a Progressive Era crusade for
efficiency. They elected some of their own men into office like James J. Couzens (who was mayor from 1919
to 1922. He was an U.S. Senator from 1922 to 1936). In 1918, voters changed the Common Council from a
42-man body elected on a partisan basis from 21 wards to a nine man unit. It was elected on a non-partisan
basis from the city at large. Many ethnic groups like the Germans and the Democrats lost their political
base. By the 1930s, the Democratic Party rebuilt its strength. They formed an alliance with the United Auto
Workers union and restored the leadership of many people like Frank Murphy. He was the mayor from
1930-33. He was the Governor from 1937-1939. Mayors Jerome Cavanagh (196270) and Roman Gribbs
(1970-74) were the last of the white ethnic mayors of the 20th century. The election of Coleman Young
(197493) as mayor in 1974 brought to power a new generation of black leaders who represented the city's
new majority. During the 20th century in Detroit, many young women took jobs before marriage and then
quit after marriage. The country was more conservative socially back then. Many girls left school after the
8th grade at about the age of 15. Ciani (2005) shows that type of work they did reflected their ethnicity and
marital status. Black mothers often chose day labor, usually as domestic servants, because of the flexibility
it afforded.

Most mothers receiving pensions were white and sought work only when necessary. Nursing became
professionalized in the late 19th century, opening a new middle-class career for talented young women of
all social backgrounds. The School of Nursing at Detroits, begun in 1884, was a national leader. Its
graduates worked at the hospital and also in institutions, public health services, as private duty nurses, and
volunteered for duty at military hospitals during the SpanishAmerican War and the two world wars. By the
early 20th century, the middle class women of the Detroit Federation of Womens Clubs (DFWC) promoted
civic mindedness within the context of traditional gender roles. Most of them were married to prominent
business and professional leaders. Issues of public health, sanitation, and public safety were of vital concern
to all families. The DFWC pressured city leaders to provide adequate education and sanitation facilities,
safe food handling, and traffic safety. They did not form coalitions with working class or ethnic women, nor
labor unions. Later, many women formed progressive movements in Detroit to stand up for womens
rights.

World War II in Detroit


No one can understand the history of Detroit without understanding World War II. First, the Great
Depression must be explained first. The Great Depression was caused by Wall Street speculation and bad
economic policies that caused massive unemployment and job loss in America, Europe, and throughout the
Earth. After the 1928 Presidential campaign of the Roman Catholic Al Smith, the Democrats mobilized a
huge number of Polish and other mostly Catholic ethnic groups to make their comeback. Although the
election for mayor was nonpartisan, the Democrats rallied behind Judge Frank Murphy, who served as
mayor 1930-33. The Great Depression was devastating for Detroit, as sales of automobiles plunged and
there were large-scale layoffs at all industrial enterprises. Murphy insisted that no one would go hungry,
and set up the Mayor's Unemployment, Committee that set up relief soup kitchens and potato gardens.
Murphy resigned in 1933. Frank Couzens was elected mayor and he served until 1938. He was the son the
Republican U.S. Senator James Couzens, who had been mayor in 1919 to 1922. In 1933, Detroit was in a
financial crisis. Tax receipts had plunged and welfare spending skyrocketed. The city had defaulted on its
bond payments and had to use promissory notes (scripts) to pay teachers, policemen, and other
employees. Couzens restored the citys financial credibility by cutting the debt and balancing the budget.

Frank Couzens obtained a large amount of federal relief money and upgraded the street-lighting program
and the sewage system. During the Great Depression, the labor movement fought back against oppression
too. The growth of labor unions in Detroit came in the 1930s with organizations like United Auto Workers,
which initiated disputes with manufacturers. The labor activism during those years increased the influence
of union leaders in Detroit like the controversial Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters and Walter Reuther of the
autoworkers. The unionization process in autos was led by CIO organizers. The strongest response came not
from the semi-skilled assembly line men, but from the militant leadership of skilled tool and die makers
including Black, British and Irish people. They abhorred the hardships of the depression (which started in
the late 1920s). A lot of black people heroically fought for labor rights and against racism/discrimination
too. Following the success of the sit down strikes at General Motors, non-unionized, semi-skilled workers
followed suit in numerous plants in 1937. They were supported by the pro-union mood of the city, the New
Deal's permissive political climate, and Governor Frank Murphy's pro-labor sympathies. They won many
concessions and formed numerous locals outside the auto industry. Ford, however, successfully resisted
unions until 1941. People had to fight for justice in order for Henry Ford to unionize.

America came into World War II officially by the end of 1941. World War II brought tremendous changes to
the city. From 1942 to 1945, production of commercial automobiles in the city ceased. Its factories during
that time period were used instead to create M5 tanks, jeeps, and B-24 bombers for the Allies. A
headquarters for wartime production was located in the Guardian Building. Detroit made a huge
contribution to the Allied war effort. That is why Detroit during WWII was nicknamed Americas Arsenal of
Democracy. The B-24 Liberator was the most produced bomber in history. It was used to bomb Germany
heavily. Before the war, the aviation industry could produce, optimally, one such plane a day at an aircraft
plant. By 1943, Fords plants managed to produce one B-24 an hour at a peak of 600 per month in 24-hour
shifts. Many pilots slept on cots waiting for takeoff as the B-24 rolled off the assembly line at Fords Willow
Run facility. Racial tensions grew rapidly during World War II as high paying jobs brought in tens of
thousands of families, despite severe housing shortages. One historian of Detroit's Poles said that they saw
black people as "threatening their jobs, homes, communities, and churches." Of course, that is total, bold
faced lie as black people were fighting for survival and justice in racist American society.

An August 1942 Life article, "Detroit is Dynamite", discussed in detail the city's labor and race issues, stating
that "the news from Detroit is bad this summer ... The result is a morale situation which is perhaps the
worst in the U.S." Because of the city's importance to the war effort, the article was censored from copies
of the magazine sold outside North America. The June 1943 race riot in Detroit came about between white
people and black people. Both groups of people fought it out in street fights, etc. It started in Belle Isle.
From 1941 to 1943, 400,000 people migrated into Detroit (both African Americans and European
Americans). They were competing for jobs in housing in a crowded city. They also competed against
immigrants from other places. By the 1920s, the Klan was prominent in Detroit. The racist, white
supremacist organization called the Black Legion was active in Detroit and in the Midwest. 48 members
were convicted of numerous murders and attempted murder in 1936 and 1937, ending its run. A high
percentage of Southern born residents lived in Detroit during the 1940s. The NAACP identified as causes of
the riot as part of the longstanding problems in the city of housing and job discrimination, lack of minority
representation in the police, and police brutality. It lasted for 3 days. By the time it was over 24 black
people and 9 whites were killed. 433 people were wounded. There was destroyed property costing $2
million. The U.S. Army was called in to restore order in Detroit. World War II ended in 1945.

This is Detroit in 1950.

The Early Post war Era


The post war years revolve around the Baby Boom, the growth of the civil rights movement, and the
growth of other social movements. It changed humanity forever. The post war years from 1945 to 1970
have seen high levels of prosperity for many people (not all people obviously) as the automobile industry
had its most prosperous quarter-century. Although Detroit has a Rapid Transit Commission, it was not
popular with the politicians or the public after the strikes of 1946 ended and automobile production
resumed. People demanded cars so they could commute from work to spacious houses surrounded by
grass in instead of riding the trolley to cramped upstairs apartments. During the war, three express ways
were built to support the regions war industries. Later, the wartime model of federal, state, and local
governments jointly planning and funding expressways gave a successful model for planning and financing
more highways. Progress was slow in 1945-47 because of inflation, steel shortages, and the difficulty of
building in built-up areas. By the early 1950s highways were in place, and plans were underway to make
Detroit a central hub in the forthcoming Interstate Highway System. The new highways had a funding
advantage over mass transit because of the availability of federal highway monies coupled with the
availability of matching state money. Ultimately, they were paid for by gasoline taxes, which commuters
seldom grumbled about. The replacement of Detroits large electric streetcar network with buses and
highways was much more controversial. In 1930, Detroit had 30 electric streetcar lines over 534 lines of
track. In 1941, a street car ran on Woodward Avenue every 60 seconds at peak times. The huge usage of
streetcars back then during the 1940s came about because of wartime restrictions on vital war materials
(like rubber and gasoline. Between the end of the war and 1949, the city discontinued half of its 20
streetcar lines. Five more were discounted in 1951 (3 of which switched abruptly to bus lines during a DSR
strike).

More closings followed until August 1955, when Mayor Albert Cobo, who promoted freeway construction
as the way of the future, urged City Council to sell the city's recently purchased fleet of modern streetcars
to Mexico City. It was a controversial move. A newspaper poll showed that Detroiters, by a margin of 3-to-
1, opposed the switch to buses. Some even jeered the sunken freeways Cobo championed, dubbing them
"Cobo canals." "A lot of people were against the decision...A common complaint was about the sale of the
[new] cars, that the city didn't get its money's worth. Of course, the city had an answer for anything..." On
April 8, 1956, the last streetcar in Detroit rolled down Woodward Avenue. After less than 10 years in
service, Detroit's fleet of streamlined streetcars was loaded on railcars and shipped to Mexico City, where
they ran for another 30 years. Back then, the Hudsons department store was the second largest in the
nation. It discovered that its parking space was limited in downtown. Customers would have a problem
near its downtown skyscraper. So, they formed a solution. In 1954, they opened the Northland Center in
nearby Southfield just beyond the city limits. It was the largest suburban shopping center in the world, and
quickly became the main shopping destination for northern and western Detroit, and for much of the
suburbs.

By 1961 the downtown skyscraper accounted for only half of Hudson's sales; it closed in 1986. The
Hudson's name would later be discarded all together. The remaining Hudsons were first rebranded as
branches of Chicago's flagship Marshall Field's State Street, and later rebranded again as branches of New
York City's flagship Macy's Herald Square. Racism and economic inequality would be serious problems in
Detroit just like in areas nationwide after World War II. Ethnic whites experienced high wages and suburban
lifestyles. Black people made up 4% of the auto labor force in 1942 and 15% by the end of WWII. The labor
force of black people grew to 16% by 1960. Many black people started in unskilled jobs and this caused
many black people to be susceptible to layoffs and to be replaced when automation came. The powerful
United Auto Workers union (although seriously anti-communist during the 1950s. The anti-communist
hysteria of the McCarthyite era caused political repression and violation of human rights in America)
would champion state and federal civil rights legislation, which is good. The problem is that the some of the
leadership of the UAW was in no hurry to advance black people in the union hierarchy.

By the 1950s and the 1960s, a large, well paid black middle class in Detroit rapidly grew. Many black
middle people (like many of white people) owned single family homes, some left poorer areas, and many
lived in outlying districts plus the suburbs. By 1945, Detroit was running out of space for new factories.
Tight-knit home-owning neighborhoods rejected the notion of tearing out housing to make room for
factories. There was plenty of space out in the suburbs, and that is where the factories had to locate. The
proposals of liberal UAW leaders such as Walter Reuther for urban redevelopment did not please the
UAW's largely white, conservative membership. Some UAW members still voted for conservative mayoral
candidates like Republicans Albert Cobo (mayor 1950-57) and Louis Miriani (mayor 1957-62), for they
protected white neighborhoods from residential integration. Home ownership was not just a very large
financial investment. It was a political situation where people wanted homes to end the plight of financial
hardships and foreclosures of the Great Depressions. Racists feared any black person living near them, so
racist housing policies existed in Detroit.

As mayor in 1957-62, Louis Miriani was best known for completing many of the large-scale urban renewal
projects initiated by the Cobo administration, largely financed by federal money, due to his rejection of
implementing a city tax. Urban renewal was known to displace black people from their own communities.
Miriani also took strong measures to overcome the growing crime rate in Detroit. The United Automobile
Workers (UAW), then at the height of its size and power, officially endorsed Miriani for reelection, stressing
what they viewed as his conservative "law and order" position. However, while some African-Americans
praised Miriani for helping to break down racial divides, others disagreed with the UAW that Miriani did
enough. Mayor Mirianis legacy would exist in the realm of controversy to this very day. Historian David
Maraniss cites milestones in 1962-64 that marked the city's sharp decline: the failure of a plan to host the
Olympics; urban renewal uprooting black neighborhoods; urgently needed police reforms that stalled; and
the failure to transform Detroit through the Model Cities and War on Poverty programs. Tensions started
building that exploded in the 1967 riot. The 1970s brought a worldwide energy crisis with high gasoline
prices and for the first time serious competition from imported automobiles. German Volkswagens and
Japanese Toyotas posed a growing competitive reality.
The Civil rights movement in Detroit
Black people had to fight racism and discrimination for a long time. Also, it must be greatly emphasized
that the civil rights movement grew into the motivating force of inspiring other struggles from anti-
imperialist movements, the women liberation movement, the immigrant movement, the Native American
liberation movement, etc. Before World War I, Detroit had about 4,000 black people. By 1912, the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) founded a Detroit chapter. The Detroit Urban
League was created in 1916. Both organizations used the support of black churches. Steve Babson, author
of Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town, wrote that in the early 20th Century the black
population "was relatively behind the middle-class leadership" of the NAACP and the Urban League. The
Great Migration (which was about the mass migration of African Americans from the South to the North,
the Midwest, and the West Coast. Black people wanted to escape racism, lynching, and oppression. They
desired a better life, great jobs, education, security, and an enriching life in general) came in the early 20th
century. From 1916 to 1917, Black migration to Detroit averaged 1,000 people per month. Many people
considered Detroit at the beginning of the Great Migration as the most Southern of the Midwestern
cities. Black people could sit in integrated trolleys. Yet, by the early 1920s 40,000 Klansmen lived in Detroit.
A KKK mayor was almost elected. In 1925, a black doctor, Ossian Sweet, moved his family to a white
neighborhood.

Armed with guns, the Sweet family defended themselves against racist mobs, killing one attacker. After
trials and imprisonment, the Sweets were ultimately acquitted. Black people fought for union recognition in
Detroit too. UAW Local 600 is well known as a center of black union power. Labor rights and civil rights are
linked. In other words, we want black equality and workers to have their economic rights as well. Black
people were key in unionizing The Ford Motor Company (as high as 45 percent of Black men in Detroit
worked at Ford during the early 1920s. Back then, Ford, GM, and Chrysler jobs in Detroit were given to
black people in a discriminatory fashion). Professors Beth Bates and Quill Pettway documented this history
too. The African American scholar Pettway said that in a last rally, in Detroit's downtown Cadillac Square,
drew 60,000 people. "Regardless of race, creed or color, they came to hear Robeson, Walter Reuther,
former City Council President Erma Henderson," among others.
UAWs Walter Reuther believed in civil rights, but he made the mistake of embracing virulent anti-
Communist views (back during the 1960s). He worked with the House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC) to put Local 600 in receivership in the early 1950s. Reuther was a famous anti-Communist. The
overall McCarthyite witch-hunt was deplorable and anti-human rights. The civil rights movement in Detroit
was grassroots and established its own unique identity. Detroit had people who also financially aided the
1963 Birmingham campaign as well. The civil rights movement involved the churches in Detroit too. Rev.
Charles A. Hill Sr. was a famous civil rights activist of Detroit. He was a black leader who wanted social
justice and he desired African Americans to have total equality. As early as the 1950s, deindustalization
was taking place, but the movement inspired many people to fight for justice. Rev. Charles A. Hill Sr., pastor
at Hartford Avenue Baptist Church supported unionism and he was against police brutality. He was
outspoken. Many Marxists and church leaders worked together in the cause for justice as well. Rev. Charles
A. Hill Sr. believed in the Social Gospel.

Both Dr. Martin Luther King J. and Malcolm X visited Detroit on many occasions. Detroit is home to a strong
Black Nationalist movement. Black Nationalism is the movement that believes that black people must use
self-determination including Black Unity to create their own autonomous, independent power base (in a
nationalist format) to enrich the black community. Black Nationalists are diverse from conservatives to
progressives. The Nation of Islam has a strong foothold in Detroit and the NAACP is very powerful in Detroit
too. The Nation of Islam itself was a religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard
Muhammad on July 4, 1930. The NOI follows the teachings of Elijah Muhammad (whose followers call the
Messenger of Allah). In June 1963, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. gave a major speech in Detroit. He said
that following words in Detroit in 1963:

"...Now the second thing that you can do to help us down in Alabama and Mississippi and all over the South
is to work with determination to get rid of any segregation and discrimination in Detroit, [Applause]
realizing that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And weve got to come to see that the
problem of racial injustice is a national problem. No community in this country can boast of clean hands in
the area of brotherhood. Now in the North its different in that it doesnt have the legal sanction that it has
in the South. But it has its subtle and hidden forms and it exists in three areas: in the area of employment
discrimination, in the area of housing discrimination, and in the area of de facto segregation in the public
schools. And we must come to see that de facto segregation in the North is just as injurious as the actual
segregation in the South. [Applause] And so if you want to help us in Alabama and Mississippi and over the
South, do all that you can to get rid of the problem here..."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pacifist Baptist clergyman who believed in nonviolence and he wanted
racial and economic justice for all. His speech in the great city of Detroit was a speech that foreshadowed
his I Have a Dream speech two months later in Washington, D.C. The reason is that Dr. King spoke of his
dream in Detroit before his speech in Washington, D.C. In Detroit, Dr. King was accompanied by Rev. C. L.
Franklin or the father of the American musician, singer, and songwriter Aretha Franklin. Dr. King gave his
famous Detroit speech at Cobo Hall in Detroit in wanting to make the American Dream a reality. Dr. King
and other marched with 100,000 people in the March for Freedom ally in Detroit alongside Woodward
Avenue. Another support of the Detroit rally was Mayor and Democrat Jerome Cavanagh. He welcomed Dr.
King in Detroit and he supported the aims of the civil rights movement. Cavanagh defeated Mirianis in the
mayoral race, because of Mirianis handling of Detroit financial affairs and race relations in Detroits African
American community. Miriani was accused by many black people of condoning police brutality. Black voters
came out in force to elect Cavanagh as mayor in 1962.

Malcolm X also gave great speeches in Detroit too. Back then, Malcolm X viewed American democracy as
disguised hypocrisy. Malcolm X gave 2 famous speeches in Detroit. One was in December 10, 1963, while
still the leading spokesman for the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X gave a speech at a rally in Detroit, Michigan.
It was called, "Message to the Grassroots where spoke about Black Nationalism, he criticized the
mainstream civil rights movement (including the 1963 March on Washington), and he wanted justice for
black people. He gave the Ballot or the Bullet speech again (the first time he gave it was in Cleveland, Ohio
in April 3, 1964) in Detroit. "The Ballot or the Bullet" was given in Detroit in the date of April 12, 1964. One
of the greatest allies of Malcolm X was the late preacher of Detroit Albert Cleage. He was born in
Indianapolis in 1911, but he preached in Detroit. He changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman to
identify with his black African heritage. Jaramogi represented the views of Black Nationalism. Dr. Cleage
was a major figure in the Detroit medical community, even being designated as City Physician by Mayor
Charles Bowles in 1930. He worked as a social worker and he worked in many churches from San Francisco
to Lexington, Kentucky. He returned into Detroit in 1951 to serve at an integrated church, St. Mark's
Community Church (United Presbyterian Church of North America) mission. However, some of the white
leaders of the church disagreed with the way Cleage was leading his Black congregation.
In 1953, Cleage and group of followers left the church and formed the Central Congregational Church that
in the mid-1960s was renamed Central United Church of Christ. Their mission was to minister to the less
fortunate and they offered many programs for the poor, political leadership and education. Later on,
Cleage opposed nonviolence and he founded the Michigan branch of the Freedom Now Party. He
supported Malcolm X and Cleage wasnt in support of socialism. Malcolm X is very clear in his opposition
to capitalism by making the following statement in January 18, 1965:

It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to
suck. Capitalism used to be like an eagle, but now its more like a vulture. It used to be strong enough to go
and suck anybodys blood whether they were strong or not. But now it has become more cowardly, like the
vulture, and it can only suck the blood of the helpless. As the nations of the world free themselves, then
capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. Its only a matter of time in my
opinion before it will collapse completely

Also, Malcolm X spoke of black people in America as Africans:


We're not Americans, we're Africans who happen to be in America. We were
kidnapped and brought here against our will from Africa. We didn't land on Plymouth
Rock - that rock landed on us.
Pastor Cleage transformed his church to embrace what is now called Black Liberation Theology (or the view
that Jesus Christ is black and part of a revolutionary movement to crush oppression and injustice, so black
people have the right to fight oppression). In 1967, he began the Black Christian National Movement. This
movement was encouraging black churches to make Jesus's teachings to suit the social, economic, and
political needs of black people. In March 1967, Cleage installed a painting of a black Madonna holding the
baby Jesus in his church and renamed the church The Shrine of the Black Madonna. He supported pan-
Africanism. He wanted black people to understand about Africa and never be ashamed of their black
heritage. He was a supporter of the Black Arts movement in 1966. On Easter of 1967, Cleage unveiled an
18-foot painting of a Black Madonna, and renamed Central Congregational as the Shrine of the Black
Madonna. He rejected integration. For decades, he has helped he black community and he passed away in
February 20, 2000.
Sister Daisy Elliot was a black woman who fought for the freedom of black
people.
The late civil rights advocate of Detroit Daisy Elliot was a black woman who helped pushed through a
landmark law that protected people against racial bias and other forms of discrimination. I had seen the
unfairness and wanted a law that would do something about it, Elliott told The Detroit News in 2003. I
would go to the library and look up the state constitution and noticed there was nothing in it about
discrimination. Elliott eventually teamed with a white suburban Republican lawmaker, Mel Larsen, to work
on securing the bills passage during a particularly turbulent time for racial minorities. Larsen, who
represented the Oxford area at the time, was on the Houses civil rights committee, which Elliott chaired.
Passed in 1976 and patterned after federal law, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination
based on race, color, national origin, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, marital status, height, weight, arrest
record or physical or mental disabilities. It passed with bipartisan support. Because of Elliotts work, many
people owe her a great debt, said Barbara-Rose Collins, a former congresswoman, state representative
and Detroit City Councilwoman. She created changes in this state that last today.

Daisy Elliot was a co-author of the 1963 state constitution. It created the Michigan Civil Rights Commission,
and made a proposal aimed at creating an intermediate appellate court, which led to the establishment of
the Michigan Court of Appeals. Elliott was a Democratic delegate to the 1961-1962 Constitutional
Convention, according to her biography in the 1977-78 Michigan Manual. Daisy Elliot spoke out against
racism and discrimination throughout her life. Ron Scott was a famous civil rights crusader too. He fought
against police brutality, he was very brilliant, and his colleagues respected his courage. He was in the 1963
Detroit March with Dr. King and he co-founded the Detroit Black Panther Party Chapter.
A great advocate for civil rights was Grace Lee
Boggs, who was an Asian-American. She
passed away last year in 2015 at the age of
100 years old. Her political evolution was
widespread. She was in the Trotskyite
movement in the early 1950s, and she later
evolved into working the Black Nationalist
movement, feminist politics during the 1960s,
and she focused on urban gardening before
she passed. She corresponded to Kwame
Nkrumah or the President of Ghana. She
certainly loved Detroit and she served
humanity. Her husband was a black
autoworker and Marxist thinker named
Jimmie Boggs. She was an organizer of the
1963 Detroit civil rights march. She also
respected the views of Malcolm X. Grace
unsuccessfully attempted to convince
Malcolm X to run for the United States Senate This picture shows House Representative John
in 1964. Of course, I disagree with some of her Conyers talking with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
latter views of not sending more money and Since the late 1960s, Conyers fought for a federal
more computers to solve educational holiday to honor Dr. King. John Conyers is a great
progressive black man who has supported civil rights,
problems. I disagree with her views of voting rights, Social Security, and anti-Iraq War
Americans have to accept a lowering of its activism for years. He believes in jobs, justice, and
living standards and the sole focus on peace. He has been a member of Congress since
individualistic self-help to solve our 1965 and is currently its longest-serving current
member, making him the Dean of the House of
problems. The fact is that we are in a class Representatives. John Conyers has fought for justice
struggle and collective workers solidarity throughout his life.
along with helping the poor is necessary to
solve our problems. The blame for social ills should never be placed on every human being on Earth, but on
the wealthy beneficiaries of the system.

The 1% is violently crushing protests against neoliberal austerity programs around the worldprograms
designed to transfer the wealth produced by the majority into its own hands. Likewise, we do honor the
good works that Grace Lee Boggs has done to people of Detroit throughout her life. She founded Detroit
Summer, a multicultural intergenerational youth program, in 1992 and was the recipient of numerous
awards. Additionally, Boggs home in Detroit also serves as
headquarters for the Boggs Center to Nurture Community
Leadership. She was right to advocate grassroots organizing,
social activism, etc. locally and nationally. She was a courageous
woman. Grace Lee Boggs will be greatly missed.

Mayor Cavanaugh supported the Model Cities program. The


She was Grace Lee Boggs, who was a Model Cities program was part of Lyndon B. Johnsons Great
well-known revolutionary in the Detroit
area. Society and War on Poverty. It started in 1966 to invest in 150
cities, so poverty can decline and cities can develop (among the
poor people, black people, and other city residents). The ambitious federal urban aid program succeeded in
fostering a new generation of mostly black urban leaders. Detroit had one of the largest Model Cities
projects. Mayor Cavanagh was the only elected official to serve on Johnson's task force. Detroit received
widespread acclaim for its leadership in the program, which used $490 million to try to turn a nine-square-
mile section of the city (with 134,000 inhabitants) into a model city. Detroits political and business elite,
city planning, along with many in the black middle class wanted the federal funding to assist the economic
growth of the whole city. They sought to protect the central business district property values from nearby
slums and to construct new revenue-generating structures. However local community organizers and civil
rights activists rallied poor residents in opposition to these plans. They said federal renewal funding
should be used to replace deteriorating housing stock, whether with new public housing or low-cost
housing built by private developers. The Model City program was terminated in Detroit and nationwide in
1974 after major rebellions in most of its target cities.

By 1965, under the reality of higher earning, lower unemployment, expanding industry, Cavanagh was
reelected overwhelmingly in 1965. In 1966, Cavanagh was elected president of both the United States
Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities, the only mayor to hold both posts at the same
time. The rebellion in 1967 and economic problems ultimately caused Cavanaugh to experience problems
and his popularity as mayor decreased. After World War II, the automobile industry, requiring more lateral
space than was available in a city, and desiring to avoid city taxes, decentralized its operations. As with
other cities, Detroiters were leaving Detroit for its suburbs by the thousands by 1967. Some 22,000
residents, mostly white, moved to the suburbs in 1966 alone, following new auto plants and new housing,
or using the newly constructed Interstate system to commute into Detroit. Detroit faced serious financial
trouble. Cavanagh had inherited a $28 million budget gap in 1962. To close the gap, and to pay for the new
programs he wanted to implement, Cavanagh had pushed through the legislature income and commuter
taxes for Detroit, but these proved unpopular with residents and businesses. Cavanaugh declined to run for
reelection in 1969. He passed away in an apparent heart attack on November 27, 1979 at St. Joseph
Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. He was buried in Mt. Elliott Cemetery in Detroit.
The rebellion in Detroit (which lasted from July 23, 1967 July 27, 1967) had a long history. It was caused
by events long before 1967. For a long time, black people have been the victims of racism, discrimination,
economic deprivation, lax education, police brutality (as the police acted harsh against black people in
the city), and other evils. Supreme racial tensions have been rising in Detroit for decades and centuries.
Even in 1965 (in April), white racist supremacists burned crosses in Detroit. These burned crosses were
located in 25 black residencies in the integrated neighborhoods of Detroit. On June 12, 1967, a white mob
of more than 80 white people firebombed the home of a white woman and a black man (or an interracial
couple). On June 23, a black couple (Mr. and Mrs. Thomas) were attacked by white racists. The racists
talked about wanting to rape Mrs. Thomas. Mr. Thomas was killed by being shot three times. Mrs. Thomas
was pregnant, she was assaulted, and her baby miscarriage. This is why we fight against white racism. This
is why I believe in standing up against brutish cowards who attack families. None of the six whites arrested
were convicted. Only July 1, 1967, Vivian Williams (a young black woman who worked in prostitution) was
murdered. It is rumored that a police officer killed her. So, the rebellion happened beyond blind pig
raids. A blind pig is an underground club that serviced black people, especially when other bars
discriminated against black people in bars.
On early hours of Sunday (or 3:45 am.), in July 23, 1967, Detroit police officers raided an unlicensed
weekend drinking club in the office of the United Community League for Civil Action above the Economy
Printing Company, at 9125 12st Street. There were 82 black people in the place including 2 local GIs who
returned to America from the Vietnam War. The police arrested everyone in the location. A sizable crowd
watched the people being arrested. Later, in a memoir, Walter Scott III, a doorman whose father was
running the raided blind pig, took responsibility for starting the riot by inciting the crowd and throwing a
bottle at a police officer. Many men were dragged into the patty wagon and some in the crowd thought the
police used excessive force. People started to talk about racism and not taking it anymore. Also, one
woman was thrown down the stairs by the police and this angered people. People started to throw
bottles and rocks. Soon, the rebellion happened in the neighborhood. This rebellion was unique in that the
rebellion involved snipers from buildings, sophisticated tactics, and the growth of police plus military forces
to try to end it. Black men, Black women, and black children in Detroit during that time
saw the events of the Detroit rebellion.
The Detroit rebellion was one of the biggest rebellions in the 20th century in America. By Monday on July
24, 1967, Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Sheriffs Department were called into Detroit to
help an overwhelmed Detroit police force. The violence spread all over Detroit. Black owned businesses
were looted too. Firefighters were shot at by people. Over 2,000 rifles and 38 handguns were stolen from
local stores. The Detroit, County, and Michigan forces couldnt restore order during the beginning of the
rebellion. U.S. Representative John Conyers (a famous black progressive man) tried to ease tensions, but he
was unsuccessful. Reportedly, Conyers stood on the hood of the car and shouted through a bullhorn,
"We're with you! But, please! This is not the way to do things! Please go back to your homes!" But the
crowd refused to listen. Conyers' car was pelted with rocks and bottles. Shortly before midnight on
Monday, July 24, President Lyndon Johnson authorized the use of federal troops in compliance with the
Insurrection Act of 1807 that authorizes the President to call in the armed forces to fight an insurrection in
any state against the government. Historically, Detroit was occupied by federal troops three times. The
U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division had earlier been positioned at nearby
Selfridge in suburban Macomb County. Starting at 1:30 on Tuesday, July 25, some 8,000 Michigan Army
National Guardsmen were deployed to quell the disorder. Later, their number would be augmented with
4,700 paratroopers from both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and 360 Michigan State Police
officers.

These are pictures of people in Detroit during the 1967 rebellion.


One of the saddest moments of the Detroit rebellion was when the National Guardsmen killed
Tanya Blanding. She was a 4 year old African American girl who just wanted to live her life. She was
innocent and gunfire from a National Guard tank killed her. She died in July 26, 1967 at 12:30 am.
The flash from the window was a male relative of Tanya trying to light a cigarette. The killer of this
girl was Sergeant Mortimer Leblance of Roseville. To this very day, no one has been criminally held
responsible for the childs death or convicted. Thats the disgrace of the situation. Rest in Power
Sister Tanya Blanding. The picture above shows the funeral of the young girl.
Chaos continued and the police were overworked plus tired. Detroit Police were found to have committed
many acts of abuse against both blacks and whites who were in their custody too. Mayor Cavanaghs Model
City plans were stifled. A strong incident of police brutality in Detroit was the Algiers Motel Incident. Three
black men were found dead in a manor house-turned-motel at Woodward and Virginia Park known for
prostitution. Two white, teenaged cosmetology school dropouts recently arrived from Columbus, Ohio,
were staying in the motel with local black men when the police and National Guard responded to a call of
shots being fired. Evidence presented later suggested that three Detroit police officers called out all
occupants of the motel to the main lobby, searched them for weapons, threatened to kill them, and threw
knives at their feet in a "game" before searching the rooms for weapons. They shot the men later in two of
the rooms and their bodies were discovered later. A police confession to the shooting was later covered up.

The journalist John Hersey published a book about the case, The Algiers Motel Incident, in 1968. Most
National Guard troops were white while Army troops were heavily black. Both forces involved in firefights
with Detroit residents. Residents and military forces died. The Cyrus Vance report later criticized the actions
of the National Guardsmen who shot and killed 11 people. Tanks and machine guns were used in Detroit.
This was a new level of military intervention in an American city which hasnt been seen on this level since
the Civil War. By Thursday, July 27, sufficient order had returned to the city that officers withdrew
ammunition from the National Guardsmen stationed in the riot area and ordered them to sheath their
bayonets. Troop withdrawal began on Friday, July 28, the day of the last major fire in the riot. The Army
troops were completely withdrawn by Saturday, July 29, 1967. The civil rights movement in general would
be changed forever. Civil rights activists continued to work. After 1967, the Black Panther Party and the
anti-war movement grew in Detroit. A new era came in Detroit in 1973 when Coleman Young was elected
as Detroits first black American mayor. Coleman would be mayor for 20 years, which is a long time.

There was another organization that was involved in the black freedom movement in Detroit as well. It was
called Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement or DRUM. DRUM was an unique organization. It wanted black
workers to organize and promote workers rights for black people in the Detroit area as a catalyst to
ultimately create black liberation worldwide. Its membership came heavily from black industrial workers.
The May 1968 wildcat strike of Detroits automobile factories inspired the creation of DRUM too. A black
worker named George Baker was kicked out of the Dodge Main automobile plant. Therefore, George
Baker, Marxist attorney Ken Cockrel, theorist Mike Hamlin, John Watson, and John Williams invented
DRUM. During this time, it was near the end of the post-war economic boom. Many New Deal and Great
Society programs expanded economic opportunity and decreased the poverty rate. Yet, racism and
economic exploitation still existed massively in America. Workers wanted to end corporate exploitation and
the growth of economic justice. DRUM quickly expanded its membership from the factories, to the streets
in many communities.

People in the assembly line wanted their just treatment. Although, we love the labor movement. Although,
we have to be clear that many people (not all) involved in the union bureaucracy were racists. DRUM
wanted to root out racism that was found in various factories. DRUM had explicit demands in promoting
equal pay, ending racial discrimination, and other grievances. On July 8, 1968 DRUM led a wildcat strike
against conditions in the Hamtramck plant. The strike was observed by some 4,000 workers, lasted 2.5 days
and prevented the production of 3,000 cars. In the subsequent Local 3 election, DRUM ran as an alternative
slate. Although it did not win, the new organization drew notice for its militancy and willingness to
challenge the UAW hierarchy. DRUM would continue to use strikes and protests. Within one year, more
black revolutionary labor organizations would develop like FRUM (Ford Revolutionary Union Movement),
The Black Panther Caucus of Fremont, California, GRUM (General Motors Revolutionary Union Movement),
etc. In 1969, these groups merged into one organization called the League of Revolutionary Black Workers
(which was established by Hamlin, Cockrel, and Baker).

SNCC leader James Forman worked in this movement as well. The UAW had to take this movement
seriously, so they tried to demonize the movement as divisive and tried to divide its membership based on
age or other things. UAW treasury secretary Emil Mazey attacked DRUM. As it grew, DRUM faced a crisis of
expectations. Auto workers had created an independent organization, but opinions differed about DRUM's
future mission. Debates concerned whether DRUM should continue as a reform movement within the UAW
or a dual-union which would seek to replace the UAW. The League of Revolutionary Black Workers
eventually split between those who wanted to remain focused on the auto industry and those who wished
to expand the League into a national political organization. The nationally oriented movement, led by
General Baker, retained the organizational name the League and DRUM and was associated with the New
Communist Movement. By 1975, however, the plant-level organization was largely defunct. Many members
had been fired, and those who stayed often joined other currents in the union reform movement, such as
the United National Caucus. DRUM believed that black workers were the vanguard of the working class. In
1971, DRUM divided into one group that was more nationalist and wanted to focus in Detroit. The other
faction was more socialistic and wanted to expand their reach nationwide. Ultimately, the lesson of DRUM
is that labor organizing is important and there is no human liberation without black liberation.
Motown
Motown is part of black culture, American culture, and world culture. To this very day, we are inspired by
its music and cultural power. Therefore, to understand Detroit, everyone must understand about Motown.
It was founded by Berry Gordy in January 12, 1959. Berry Gordy worked in a factory as an autoworker. He
was influenced by the assembly line (as African Americans traveled into Detroit in order to get good paying
jobs). He incorporated the concept of the assembly line into his record company, so he can make great
records efficiently like clockwork. That is why Motowns recording studio would be called The hit factory.
Before Motown, Berry Gordy was also a songwriter for local Detroit artists like Jackie Wilson and the
Matadors. Wilson's single "Lonely Teardrops", written by Gordy, became a huge success, but Gordy did not
feel he made as much money as he deserved from this and other singles he wrote for Wilson. He realized
that the more lucrative end of the business was in producing records and owning the publishing. In 1959,
Motown was called Tamla Record. He received an $800 loan from his family and royalties earned writing for
Jackie Wilson. Gordy originally wanted to name the label Tammy Records, after the hit song popularized by
Debbie Reynolds from the 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor, in which Reynolds also starred. Gordy's first
signed act was the Matadors, who immediately changed their name to the Miracles. (They were not the
Matadors who recorded for Sue). Miracles lead singer William "Smokey" Robinson became the vice
president of the company (and later named his daughter "Tamla" and his son "Berry"). Several of Gordy's
family members, including his father Berry, Sr., brothers Robert and George, and sister Esther, were given
key roles in the company. By the middle of the decade, Gwen and Anna Gordy had joined the label in
administrative positions as well.

Gordy purchased the property that would become Motowns Hitsville USA studio. As time went on, the
Hitsville studio expanded to include a recording in studio, other offices, and other departments. Motown
had hired over 450 employees and had a gross income of $20 million by the end of 1966. Eartly Motown
artists were Mable John, Eddie Holland, and Mary Wells. In 1960, the Miracles Shop Around was their
first number 1 R&B hit, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. From 1960 to 1971,
Motown had 110 top 10 hits. Motown thrived during the period of the civil rights movement. As the civil
rights movement expanded, musical barriers were broken and black artists in a higher level gained
international acclaim. During the early 60s, in the South, music concerts were readily segregated. Later,
Motown artists saw audiences integrated in the South and people dancing together hand holding hands. In
1960, Motown released its first hit called Money (Thats What I Want) sung by Barrett Strong. It was
written by Berry Gordy Jr. and Janie Bradford. In the same year, the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, and Mary
Wells sign with Motown. Mary Wells recorded Bye, Bye, Baby on Motown too. In 1961, the historic group
the Temptations would sign with Motown. They were once called the Elgins before. Steve Wonder signed
with Motown.

The Marvelettes release Please Mr. Postman. This was the first Motown song to reach the number one
position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop single chart. In 1961, the Primettes sign with Motown. The Primittes
will go on to be the legendary Supremes. Eddie Holland would record the song Jamie too. In 1962,
Motown expanded. The music production team included Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, and Lamont Dozier.
The Funk Brothers were key people involved in Motown as music producers. There can be no
understanding about Motown without mentioning the actions and the creativity of the Funk Brothers. By
this time, Motown tours in the East Coast and the South heavily. The tour included artists like the Miracles,
Martha and the Vandellas, the Supremes, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Contours, the
Marvelettes, and the Choker Campbell Band. Smokey Robinson would be Vice President in 1962. Mary
Wells hit was You Beat Me to the punch. It reached number one on the R&B chart and number 9 on the
Billboards pop chart.

In 1963, more changes came to Motown. Engineers developed a disc cutting machines, so demos could
be on a record rather than the master tape. Mary Wells increases her popularity by appearing on American
Bandstand with Dick Clark. Martha & the Vandellas are nominated for Love is Like a Heatwave. Stevie
Wonder performs in Paris for a 2 week engagement. Motown by 1964 saw the Temptations have their first
Top 20 hit called The Way you Do the Things You do. It was written and produced by Smokey Robinson
and Bobby Rogers of the Miracles. Shindig! was created in 1964 too in ABC live. This was the time when
the Beatles arrive in NYC at JFK International Airport to tour and concert at Carnegie Hall. The Temptations
and the Supreme grow into even more popularity in 1965. Motown released its eight track tapes. The Four
Tops have their hit record I Cant Help Myself. The Supremes released Stop in the Name of Love. James
Brown released Papa Got a Brand New Bag. Motown artists also tour in London, England in 1965 too.
Motown grosses $22 million in 1966. Gladys Knight and the Pips, Tammi Terrell, and the Isley Brothers
signed with Motown in 1966. Norman Whitfield produced for the Temptations.

Bless Black Love

Also, Nick Ashford (who was born in South Carolina) and Valerie Simpson sign with Motown as staff writers.
They would be excellent artists and writers. Nick and Valerie Simpson loved each other so much and Black
Love is always Beautiful. These talented songwriters and performers produced some of the most
outstanding pop music of the 1960s.

West Grand Blvd. is where the Motown Museum in Detroit is located.


Ashford and Simpsons most enduring compositions are undoubtedly those recorded by Marvin Gaye and
Tammi Terrell (who died of a brain tumor in 1970 six weeks before her 25th birthday) between 1967 and
1968, among them Aint Nothing Like the Real Thing, Aint No Mountain High Enough, Youre All I
Need to Get By, and Your Precious Love. Just to say the names of these songs is to conjure up a wealth
of emotion and memory. There aint no mountain high enough/Aint no valley low enough/Aint no river
wide enough/To keep me from getting to you, wrote Ashford in one of their biggest hits. By 1967, Motown
had the five major labels of Tamla, Motown, Gordy, Soul, and V.I.P. Stevie Wonder tours Europe. Diana
Ross and the Supreme performed and continued to make hits. Martha and the Vandellas record Jimmy
Mack on the Gordy label. Also, a proto-disco or a psychedelic sound emerges. Music starts to evolve and
change by the late 1960s. The famous Suzanne de Passe in 1968 worked for Motown as Creative Assistant.
The Temptations promote Cloud Nine as psychedelic soul. Also, Marvin Gayes version of I Heard it
Through the Grapevine hits number one in the pop chart. Motown expands. People from Motown met
with people from Russia. The Jackson Five perform at the Daisy Disco in Los Angeles with an introduction of
Diana Ross (who would be a lifelong friend of Michael Jackson) in 1969. By 1970, Sammy Davis Jr. and Berry
Gordy form the Ecology record label. Motown talks about the Vietnam War issue. Motown sign the rock act
Soney and Meatloaf on the Rare Earth label. In 1971, the Jackson Five increases their popularity massively.
Supremes continue to perform without Diana Ross. In 1971, Marvin Gaye released Whats Going ON
which was one of the greatest records in human history. It addressed the Vietnam War, family issues, and
poverty. Stevie Wonder become 21 and signed big contract with Motown. In 1972, Motown moves its
headquarters from Detroit to Hollywood, California.
Suzanne DePasse became the corporate director of Motown Productions, which produced the movie Lady
Sings the Blues. This was the movie about the life of the great blues vocalist Billie Holiday. It starred Diana
Ross, Billy Dee Williams, and Richard Pryor. The Commodores sign with Motown and open for the Jackson
Five. Stevie Wonder would continue to show classic albums like Music of My Mind in 1972, Talking Book, in
1972, and Innervisions in 1973. There would be the Key of Life, etc. Despite losing HollandDozierHolland,
Norman Whitfield, and some of its other hitmakers by 1975, Motown still had a number of successful
artists during the 1970s and 1980s, including Lionel Richie and the Commodores, Rick, Teena Marie, the
Dazz Band and DeBarge. By the mid-1980s Motown had started losing money, and Berry Gordy sold his
ownership in Motown to MCA Records and Boston Ventures in June 1988 for $61 million. In 1989, Gordy
sold the Motown Productions TV/film operations to Motown executive Suzanne de Passe, who renamed
the company de Passe Entertainment and continues to run it as of 2016. Motown would continue to add
stars like Boyz II Men, Johnny Gill, 702, Brian McKnight, and Erykah Badu from the 1990s. Many artists left
Motown. On April 1, 2014, it was announced that Island Def Jam will no longer be running following the
resignation of CEO Barry Weiss. In a press release sent out by Universal Music Group, the label will now be
reorganizing Def Jam Recordings, Island Records and Motown Records all as separate entities. Motown
would then begin serving as a subsidiary of Capitol Records. Motowns legacy is real and we love the music
of Motown as well.
Miliken v. Bradley
One of the most important Supreme Court decisions in history is Milliken v. Bradley. On August 18, 1970,
the NAACP filed suit against Michigan state officials including Governor William Milliken. The NAACP
charged Michigan of using de facto public school segregation. De facto segregation means segregation not
by overt law, but by covert means. The original trial started in April 6, 1971 and lasted for 41 days. The
NAACP argued that although schools were not officially segregated (white only), the city of Detroit and its
surrounding counties had enacted policies to maintain racial segregation in schools. The NAACP also
suggested a direct relationship between unfair housing practices (such as redlining) and educational
segregation. District Judge Steven J. Roth held all levels of government accountable for the segregation. The
Sixth Circuit Court affirmed some of the decision, withholding judgment on the relationship of housing
inequality with education. The Court specified that it was the state's responsibility to integrate across the
segregated metropolitan area. Later, the Governor and other accused officials appealed to the Supreme
Court.

The Supreme Court case took up the case on February 27, 1974. The subsequent Milliken v. Bradley
decision had wide national influence. In a narrow decision, the Court found that schools were a subject of
local control and that suburbs could not be forced to solve problems in the city's school district. According
to Gary Orfield and Susan E. Eaton in their 1996 book Dismantling Desegregation, the "Supreme Court's
failure to examine the housing underpinnings of metropolitan segregation" in Milliken made desegregation
"almost impossible" in northern metropolitan areas. "Suburbs were protected from desegregation by the
courts ignoring the origin of their racially segregated housing patterns." "Milliken was perhaps the greatest
missed opportunity of that period," said Myron Orfield, professor of law and director of the Institute on
Metropolitan Opportunity at the University of Minnesota. "Had that gone the other way, it would have
opened the door to fixing nearly all of Detroit's current problems."

John Mogk, a professor of law and an expert in urban planning at Wayne State University in Detroit said
that the decision increased mass white flight to the suburbs and a decease of a tax base. Supreme Justice
William O. Douglas' dissenting opinion in Miliken held that:
"there is, so far as the school cases go, no constitutional difference between de facto and de jure
segregation. Each school board performs state action for Fourteenth Amendment purposes when it draws
the lines that confine it to a given area, when it builds schools at particular sites, or when it allocates
students. The creation of the school districts in Metropolitan Detroit either maintained existing segregation
or caused additional segregation. Restrictive covenants maintained by state action or inaction build black
ghettos...the task of equity is to provide a unitary system for the affected area where, as here, the State
washes its hands of its own creations."

The 1970s and the 1980s


The 1970s in Detroit represented the start of the era of the late Detroit mayor Coleman Young. His legacy
has been debated to this very day. Many liberals love him while many folks of the conservative crowd
blame him for the problems in Detroit. In order to show the truth, we should start from the beginning.
Coleman Young was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in Mary 24, 1918. His father was Coleman Young and he
was a dry cleaner. His mother was named Ida Reese Jones. In 1923, his family moved into Detroit. He
graduated from Eastern High School in 1935. He worked in the civil rights movement and union rights
activism. He worked in the Ford Motor Company. Also, he was backlisted for his work in union and civil
rights activism. He served in World War II as a Tuskegee Airmen. He was part of the 477th Medium-Bomber
Group of the United States Army Air Forces. He was a bombardier and navigator. As a lieutenant in the
477th, he played a role in the Mutiny in which 162 African-American officers were arrested for resisting
segregation at a base near Seymour, Indiana in 1945. He worked with groups who had Communist
members. Young's involvement in progressive organizations including, the Progressive Party, the United
Auto Workers and the National Negro Labor Council made him a target of anti-Communist investigators
including the FBI and HUAC. He protested segregation in the Army and racial discrimination in the UAW. In
1948, Young supported Progressive Party presidential candidate Henry A. Wallace (who opposed Jim Crow,
supported no use of atomic weapons, and wanted a more peaceful foreign policy). Just because someone
opposed the evil of McCarthyism doesnt mean that this person should be disrespected. Communists and
non-Communists have every right to show their views in any society. In 1952, Coleman Young refused to
tell the HUAC (or the anti-democratic House Committee on Un-American Activities) on whether he was a
Communist or not.

On HUACs charge that he seemed reluctant to fight communism, Coleman said: I am not here to fight in
any un-American activities, because I consider the denial of the right to vote to large numbers of people
all over the South un-American. On the HUAC congressman from Georgia: I happen to know, in Georgia,
Negro people are prevented from voting by virtue of terror, intimidation and lynchings. It is my contention
you would not be in Congress today if it were not for the legal restrictions on voting on the part of my
people. Some historians like Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Ronald Radosh accuse Young of being a
secret CPUSA member, but he had the right to believe in what he wants as a human being. Freedom of
thought is a basic human freedom that must maintained in the world. His actions made Young a hero in
Detroits black community. Coleman worked in the East Side in the 1940s and in the 1950s to build his
political base. He worked to form a new state constitution in Michigan in 1960. He was in the state
Michigan Senate in 1964. His most significant legislation was a law requiring arbitration in disputes
between public-sector unions and municipalities. During his senate career, he also pointed out inequities in
Michigan state funding, "spending $20 million on rural bus service and a fat zero for the same thing in
Detroit.

The 1973 mayoral election was polarizing. 92% of blacks voted for Coleman Young, while 91% of the whites
voted for former police Commissioner John Nichols. Coleman Young talked about violence in an
increasingly black city. Detroit was slightly less than 50 percent African American in 1972. Most of the
police department back then was white. He wanted to eliminate one particularly troubled police decoy
unit, STRESS (Stop the Robberies and Enjoy Safe Streets), whose officers had been accused of killing 22
residents and arresting hundreds more without cause during its two-and-a-half-year existence. He
campaigned from the left. He wanted to work in a community policing fashion. He ended STRESS and he
integrated the Detroit Police Department. The proportion of blacks rose to more than 50 percent in 1993
from less than 10 percent in 1974 and has remained at about that level. Both actions were credited with
reducing the number of brutality complaints against the city's police to 825 in 1982 from 2,323 in 1975. He
won reelection by wide margins in November 1977 and in November 1981.

He upgraded the transit system in Detroit and he established massive construction projects. His
administration saw the completion of the Renaissance, Detroit People Mover, the General Motors
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly Plant, the Detroit Receiving Hospital, the Chrysler, the Riverfront
Condominiums, the Millender Center Apartments, the Harbor town retail and residential complex, 150
West Jefferson, One Detroit Center & the Fox Theater restoration, among other developments. Many
neighborhood activists didnt agree with these projects. This opposition typically manifested itself in
rigorous budget debate rather than in serious electoral challenges against Young. Most of the time Young
prevailed over this opposition, seeking jobs and economic stimulus as a way to help rebuild Detroit's
neighborhoods.
There were problems too. Coleman Young emerged from the liberal element in Detroit, but not all of his
policies were progressive. Highly controversial was his using eminent domain to purchase and raze an 465-
acre inner-city neighborhood known as Poletown that was home to 3,500 people, mostly Polish property
owners, in order to make way for a half-billion dollar General Motors Cadillac assembly plant. Rich argued
that he pulled money out of the neighborhood to rehabilitate the downtown business district, because
"there were no other options." He worked with Detroits economic elite on many issues. During the 1970s
and the 1980s, Detroits crime rate increased. The huge homicide rate in Detroit existed long before Young
was mayor. The crime epidemic persisted during the time that he was mayor. It persisted because of
poverty, deindustrialization, the War on Drugs, the growth of gangs, and other reasons. Young is
responsible for some of this trend not all of it. Dozens of violent black street gangs gained control of the
city's large drug trade, which began with the heroin epidemic of the 1970's and grew into the even larger
crack of the 1980's and early 1990's.

There were numerous major criminal gangs that were founded in Detroit and dominated the drug trade at
various times; most were short-lived. They included The Errol Flynns (east side), Nasty Flynns (later the NF
Bangers) and Black Killers and the drug consortiums of the 1980's such as Young Boys Inc., Pony Down, Best
Friends, Black Mafia Family and the Chambers Brothers. The Young Boys were innovative, opening
franchises in other cities, using youth too young to be prosecuted, promoting brand names, and unleashing
extreme brutality to frighten away rivals. There was a serious arson problem in Detroit, especially among
Halloween called Devils Night in the 1980s. This involved vandalism and arson. It peaked in 1984 when
800 fires were set in Detroit. Several times during Young's tenure Detroit was named the arson capital of
America, and repeatedly the murder capital of America. Often Detroit was listed by FBI crime statistics as
the "most dangerous city in America" during his administration. Crime rates in Detroit peaked in 1991 at
more than 2,700 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Many people left Detroit and even today, many
abandoned buildings exist. Scholars and researchers believe that the 1967 rebellion contributed heavily too
many of the problems in Detroit then and now. Also, redlining, white resistance to court ordered
desegregating, aging industrial plants, and a declining automotive industry contributed to economic
problems. A lax of tax revenue (including economic mismanagement, and a radical decline of population
growth) led into lax services and a struggle for investments back during the tenure of Coleman Young.

Detroit civil rights leader Arthur L. Johnson in his memoir, Race and Remembrance blamed the racist policy
of redlining by the banking and insurance industries for much of Detroit's problems. He cites a series of
investigative articles in 1988 by the Press entitled "The Race for Money" which documented the
discriminatory practices of the major banks in metropolitan Detroit. "The Free Press series showed that
black Detroiters were much less likely to qualify for a home mortgage than suburban whites in the same
income bracket...The unfair lending practices of the major banks also made it more difficult for blacks to
secure business, home improvement and auto loans. In effect, banks were punishing blacks who wanted to
make Detroit their home..." During Mayor Young's political tenure, with the unemployment rate trending
from approximately 9% in 1971 to approximately 11% in 1993, when Young retired. However, most
economic metrics (unemployment, median income rates, and city gross domestic product) initially dropped
sharply during economic recessions, reaching their "low points" in the late 1980s and/or early 1990s, with
the unemployment rate in particular peaking at approximately 20% in 1982. Coleman Young was known for
his colorful language. He spoke the truth about racism being a serious problem, but he also used profanity.

By January of 1994, he left being Mayor. He soon passed away at November 29, 1997 in Detroit at the age
of 79 years old. So, Coleman Youngs legacy is mixed. He has great things as standing up against racism,
promoting infrastructure, and working in the civil rights movement. He has made mistakes as supporting
many neoliberal economic policies (when he allied with the corporate world in cutting city services in many
cases, reduced spending, and promoting the private economy. On many cases, Coleman was a fiscal
conservative), and many of his other policies. Also, it is fair to point out that he was mayor during
Reagaonomics and Reagan (via his crippling cuts in social programs during his Presidency) should also be
blamed for much of the economic downturn in Detroit too. Young was the only Detroit mayor since 1950 to
preside over a city with more income than debt, although he relied heavily on tax increases to pay for
services. It is really inaccurate to blame one mayor for the bankruptcy of Detroit. So, Coleman Young was a
man. He was a man who wasnt perfect, but the problems in Detroit existed long before he was mayor.

Ultimately, the urban decline, lax tax revenue, deindustrialization, evil, racist redlining policies, and other
reckless economic policies contributed to the economic problems in Detroit.
Detroit in the 1990s.
By the 1990s, the city of Detroit experienced a revival. Much of it was found in Downtown, Midtown, and
New Center. New buildings arose on the city skyline. Newer downtown residents are predominantly young
professionals. The city has three casino resort hotels - MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and
Greektown Casino - with one of the larger gaming industry markets in the U.S. There were also many
developments in the city too. In November 5, 1992, a black motorist named Malice Green died after
struggling with the white policemen Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn during a traffic stop. The officers were
later convicted and sentenced to prison. The convictions were overturned, but the officers were retried and
convicted of lesser charges. Nevers struck Green in the head with his flashlight approximately 14 times
during the struggle which, according to the official autopsy, resulted in his death. A subsequent report
presented by experts testifying for the defense at the trial stated that Green died of heart failure, caused in
part by an enlarged heart due to years of substance abuse, and aggravated by the struggle with police.
Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young stated that Green was "literally murdered by police on national
television.

The City of Detroit paid a civil agreement of $5.25 million to Malice Green's family. Malice Green was
unarmed. This tragedy represented the continued debate about policing and community issues in America.
President William J. Clinton in 1997 elevated Detroiter Charles Leroy Thomas from Distinguished Cross to
Medal of Honor, citing a past policy of awarding heroic African-American soldiers lesser honors than white
soldiers for similar or greater acts of heroism. Thomas receives the award posthumously for his service in
World War II. Later in 1997, the Detroit Red Wings win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. In 1999, the
Detroit Tigers played their final baseball game in classic Tiger Stadium, which had opened in 1912. The
team relocated to the new Commercial Park downtown in 2000. From 1994 to 2001, under Mayor Dennis
Archer, the city's credit rating rises to a solid investment grade, on the back of a bout of urban renewal (we
know that historically, urban renewal has displaced black and poor communities in America).
21st Century Detroit
The 21st century in Detroit began with many expansions of new buildings and the continued class struggle.
Economic inequality and poverty were still a problem in Detroit and throughout the Earth. New downtown
stadiums were constructed for the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions in 2000 and 2002 respectively. In
2007, Detroit completed the first major portions of the River Walk, including miles of parks and fountains.
The Renaissance Center received a major renovation in 2004. New developments and revitalizations are
mainstays in the city's plan to enhance its economy through tourism. Along the river, upscale
condominiums rose up, such as Watermark Detroit. Some city limit signs, particularly on the Dearborn
border say "Welcome to Detroit, The Renaissance City Founded 1701." In 2004, Compuware made Detroit
in downtown its world headquarters like Quicken Loans in 2010. The city has hosted major sporting events -
the 2005 MLB All-Star Game, 2006 Super Bowl XL, 2006 World Series, WrestleMania 23 in 2007 and the
NCAA Final Four in April 2009 - all of which represented the growth of worldly culture. In 2008, the city
witnessed grand restorations of the historic Book Cadillac Hotel and the Fort Shelby Hotel. The citys
International Riverfront was developed more. Significant landmarks such as the Fox Theatre, Orchestra Hall
Detroit Opera House, and the Gem Theater have been restored and host concerts, musicals, and plays. The
Detroit Institute of Arts completed a major renovation and expansion in 2007. Many downtown centers
such as Greektown, Cobo Center and Campus Martius Park, draw patrons and host activities.
During this time period, Kwame Kilpatrick was the
mayor of Detroit. He was the second black man to be
mayor in Detroit. Both of his parents were politicians.
He was in the Michigan House of Representatives
before he was mayor. He was elected mayor of Detroit
in 2001 and he was inaugurated in 2002. Since his start,
Kwame Kilpatrick was filled with controversy. He was
one of the many Democrats who followed austerity
policies.

During his first term he closed the century-old Belle Isle


Zoo and Belle Isle Aquarium. The City Council overrode
his funding veto for the zoo and gave it a budget of
$700,000. He enacted a no bid contract to a close
personal aide. He received reelection in 2005. By 2008,
things changed. In his 2008 state of the city address,
Kwame Kilpatrick said that Detroit had positive changes
like increased police surveillance, new policing
technologies, and initiatives to rebuild blighted This is the Financial District along the
neighborhoods in the city. He received repeated International Riverfront viewed from
standing ovations from the invitation-only audience. It Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit Financial
is true that Kilpatrick was a victim of racist attacks, even District is a United States historic
against his own family. It is also true that Kilpatrick district in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It
includes 33 buildings, two sites, and one
made mistakes in his mayorship. Scandal hit Kwame other object that are deemed to be
Kilpatrick involving corruption, an affair with Christine contributing to the historic character of the
Beatty, and obstruction of justice. In January, the district, and also three non-contributing
Detroit Free Press began publishing extensive excerpts building. The American Institute of
Architects describes Detroit's Financial
of text messages by Kilpatrick and Beatty, sent out over District as "one of the city's highest
their city-owned cell phones, which confirmed both concentrations of quality commercial
their affair and the retaliatory firing of the policemen architecture. One important point is that
(Gary Brown, Harold Nelthorpe and Walter Harris). On regardless of the architecture of buildings,
March 24, 2008, Kilpatrick was charged with eight human beings need economic justice and
human dignity.
felony counts, including perjury, misconduct in office,
and obstruction of justice. On May 13, 2008, the Detroit
City Council approved a resolution to request that
Michigan's governor, Jennifer Granholm, remove
Kilpatrick from office. On August 8, 2008, Michigan's
Attorney General, Mike Cox, announced two new felony counts had been filed against Kilpatrick for
assaulting and interfering with a law officer.

On September 4, 2008, Kilpatrick announced his resignation as mayor, effective September 18, following a
guilty plea to two felonies for obstruction of justice arising from a complex settlement scheme in a civil case
where he lied about an extra-marital affair under oath, then caused the case to be settled at a premium in
exchange for an agreement by the parties not to disclose his affair. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison
on October 10, 2013. Kwame Kilpatrick, Federal Bureau of Prisons Register #44678-039, is serving his
sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno in El Reno, Oklahoma. There is no parole in the federal
prison system. However, with time off for good behavior, his earliest possible release date will be August 1,
2037when he will be 67 years old.

There are no serious political differences between Kilpatrick and the business and financial elite of the
Detroit area. He has carried out the mandate of the auto bosses and millionaires to hold the line on wages
and benefits of city workers, cut services to the citys impoverished residents, and create a business-
friendly environment in the city, including tax-free enterprise zones and the promotion of casino gambling
that preys on the most vulnerable sections of the working class. The disaffection with Kilpatrick on the part
of the corporate establishment arises because his personal corruption has become an obstacle to the
implementation of their (or the oligarchys) agenda. Even before the current scandal, Kilpatrick had become
notorious for plundering city resources for his familys benefit while demanding incessant sacrifices from
city employees. In 2005, Kilpatrick barely survived a challenge to his reelection mounted by Freeman
Hendrix, a former city deputy mayor. Kilpatrick finished second to Hendrix in the first round of the non-
partisan election, but won a runoff by a narrow margin. In other words, Kilpatrick (and we know that the
real power structure has done more evil than Kilpatrick) was used by the same corporate elites that he
worked for. His actions (which were wrong) should inspire us more to also expose the evils of the one
percent in general and continue to defeat the enemy of the system of racism/white supremacy. Following a
special election on May of 2009, businessman and former Detroit Pistons star Dave Bing became the Mayor
and was subsequently re-elected to a full term of office. The decades long deindustrialization, austerity,
population decline, urban decline, and other problems led into the bankruptcy crisis of Detroit. The crisis
has reached national news by 2013. On March 1, 2013, Governor Rick Snyder announced that the state
would be assuming financial control of the city.
The Bankruptcy of Detroit
The city of Detroit experienced bankruptcy from 2013 to 2014. The following information is the truth and
we know that economic exploitation by the oligarchy is real. There are many reasons for it. It was caused by
many factors like the severe decline in revenues along with massive depopulation. Long term
unemployment and depopulation caused the citys property and income tax revenues to decline. The state
of Michigan also slashed revenues it had shared with the city. This caused more problems. Wall Street
banks sold risky financial instruments to Detroit along with economic mismanagement (as done by
Republicans and Democrats) increased the economic crisis in the city as well. Wall Street derivative deals
(plus predatory lending schemes that harmed disproportionately African Americans and Latino Americans)
were disastrous along with the Great Recession. That contributed to the economic problems. Corporate
entities moved money and other resources from Detroit into mostly white suburbs. For example, the state
of Michigan owed Detroit more than $220 million in revenue-sharing state assistance. But it has refused to
release the money. Meanwhile, the banks that pushed unaffordable mortgages on thousands of Detroit
homeowners during the boom should be maintaining and paying taxes on the foreclosed properties they
repossessed in recent years. Instead, in many cases, they've simply refused to pay up. In other cases, the
banksters have taken homeowners into foreclosure without completing the process and obtaining title to
the homes. Thus, thousands of people have been forced out of their homes, only to find out that the banks
continue to stick them with the tax bill. This crisis existed by virtue of the city no longer bringing enough
revenue to cover its immediate expenses.
In June of 2011, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation allowing Detroit to continue collecting
income and utility taxes. Dave warned in November 2011 that Detroit faced a projected cash shortfall of
about $150 million by the end of March 2012. On Dec. 2, 2011, Michigan launched a preliminary review of
Detroit's finances, citing the looming cash crunch. It found the city had a mounting debt problem with long-
term liabilities estimated to top $12 billion compared with an annual budget of about $3.1 billion. In July of
2012, Dave Bing (or the then mayor of Detroit) imposed pay cuts on workers. City authorities audited
Detroits services. Later, there was the appointment of the emergency manager over Detroit. His name was
the lawyer Kevyn Orr. The problem with an emergency manager system in Detroit is that an emergency
manager is unelected and the democratic voice of Detroit citizens were excluded in the process. The
emergency management plan was instituted against the wishes of Michigan voters who voted against the
establishment of an emergency manager via referendum (on Public Act 4 in November of 2012). Emergency
managers exist in Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint, Pontiac and Allen Park, and in the school districts of
Muskegon Heights, and in Highland Park. All except one of these cities--Allen Park is the exception--have
Black majorities. Orr followed austerity principles just like Snyder (who passed a right to work law in
Michigan). The bankruptcy situation was the Snyder and Orr wanted pensions to be cut and assets to be
sold to creditors (even to the big banks) in order for the bankruptcy to end. They refused to outline other
alternatives, but claimed that they had no choice, but to do it.

In fact, Snyder's office had lobbied Orr to take the job as early as January of 2013 and openly discussed with
him arranging for the Chapter 9 bankruptcy, according to e-mails obtained by labor activist Robert Davis.
Detroit was formally declared bankrupt in December 2013, a landmark ruling by U.S. Judge Steven Rhodes,
who cited the city's dismal finances and $18 billion debt. About 40 percent of the city's streetlights did not
work and about 78,000 abandoned buildings littered the city. Progressive activists like Demos and many
socialists dispute the $18 billion debt number. Rhodes in April 11, 2014 approved a key settlement between
Detroit and 2 investment banks over costly interest rate swaps. There was another deal between retirees
and pension funds aided by an $816 million pledged by foundations, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the
state of Michigan. Barclays bank and others received money. The state constitution protects pensions from
cuts, but workers in Detroit have had their pension cuts for the sake of economic reasons. The banksters
have taken jobs, homes and now massive assets of a major city. Citibank, General Motors, Chrysler, and
other large corporations received a bailout from the federal government, but Detroiters have not. Many
older workers who were retired have been forced to go back into work because of their pensions being
depleted. On September 10, Detroit reached a deal with three Michigan counties over regional water and
sewer services that could eliminate one roadblock to federal court approval of the city's plan to adjust its
debt and exit bankruptcy.

The deal with Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties is that they created the Great Lakes Water Authority,
a new regional water and sewer authority, but it allows Detroit to maintain control of its local system. The
deal was crucial to adjusting the citys $18 billion of debt and exits the biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy.
The end of bankruptcy in Detroit came about in December 10, 2014. In Detroit, the Brewster Projects and
the Jeffries have been torn down and replaced with housing that most poor and low-income people cannot
afford. The promised new housing for the most marginalized sections of the working class has never
materialized in the U.S. There have been water shutoffs in Detroit and many people were forced to pay
huge water rates. The Detroit News said that at least 4,000 households were living without water services
including 66-year-old Fayette Coleman who has been shutoff since 2013. Out of the 200,000 customers,
108,000 were in arrears with 9,200 facing imminent terminations. Since the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009
and the bailing out of the banks, insurance firms and auto companies, the corporations have failed to
reinvest their trillions of dollars in job creation or infrastructural improvements because they would not
guarantee the rate of profit these entities are demanding. The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) was turned
over to a trust for its management and a scheme to construct a new hockey arena by Red Wings owner
Mike Illitch was approved by a compliant City Council even before the bankruptcy had been finalized. As
others have sad, we have seen a decrease in the majority black city of Detroit. The city of Detroit is still
mostly black. We want black people to flourish in Detroit. Also, many schools in Detroit have been filled
with mold and waste. That is why teachers have been protesting for justice. Downtown Detroit has seen
development, but income inequality and poverty are serious problems in Detroit as well. We want the
liberation of people in Detroit.

The New Era of Detroit


Now, we know about the New Detroit. The Detroit of the 21st century is filled with strong, courageous
people making a different. The truth is that tons of Brothers and Sisters in Detroit are creating businesses
and making a difference. There is the Black Nationalist group called New Era Detroit confronting violence,
setting up neighborhood programs, and standing up against police brutality. They show a red, black, and
green flag to outline solidarity with black Americans and all black people of African descent. New Era
Detroit is working on a range of projects, including a street watch program, in which men would patrol
streets looking out for potential criminals. Other plans are boarding up vacant homes, establishing an
afterschool program, and an effort called Come Black Home aimed at convincing blacks in and outside
Detroit to buy property and invest in the city. On Angel's Night last month, they held a kids and family event
in Highland Park with music, games, and sports. And on Thanksgiving Day, they handed out free food to
needy people on public buses. "The reason you're seeing more of them is because some of those older
groups are in decline and there is a void," said the Rev. D. Alexander Bullock, who founded two years ago
the social justice group Change Agent Consortium. "Detroit has always been that kind of place...there is
something unchanging about Detroit. That activist-entrepreneurial 'I am somebody' spirit is still in this city."
Bullocks organization also deals with education and poverty. There is the group Moratorium Now! in
Detroit. Also, there is the Coalition for Black Struggle that deals with police abuse, water shutoffs, and
housing evictions. The Detroit chapters of new national groups Black Lives Matter and Black Youth Project
100 have been active as well. The philosophies of the various groups differ, but they will work together on
many issues. In any movement for social justice, divergent voices exist. Thats normal. Yet, we do agree
with the same goal which is the freedom, justice, and equality given to black people and the rest of the
human race.

The Many Attractions found in the great city of Detroit

The annual Detroit Jazz Festival The Eastern Market is a known


has celebrated jazz greats from place largest historic public market
Duke Ellington to other human district in America. It has over 150
beings. Thousands of people join foods and specialty businesses. On
in the festivals during the Jazz Saturdays, about 45,000 people
The historic FOX Theatre of
Festival too. It takes places over shop in the citys historic Eastern
Detroit was opened in 1928. It
many city blocks in Downtown Market. Murals are readily found
has shown music from across
Detroit from Hart Plaza to in Eastern Market too as to
genres for decades. Its
Campus Martius. It has 5 stages represent its creative aesthetic.
architecture inside and outside
and over 100 acts in over four People buy foods, play music, and
is gorgeous. The 2 griffin
days. It has educational events have a great time in the Eastern
structures are above the
for adults and children, Market.
marquee. Local artists and
musicians nationwide come to fireworks, late night jam
the FOX Theatre. sessions, etc.
Detroit is still here and still strong.
Appendix A: The Culture of Detroit
The culture of Detroit is expansion and large. There can be no mention of the culture of Detroit without the
mention of Detroits African American population. Detroit has 81.2% of its residents being black people.
Before World War I, Detroit had about 4,000 black people. That was 1 percent of its population. That would
change. Black population growth grew massively via the Great Migration. In the Downtown Detroit District,
there is the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. This is the worlds largest institution
dedicated to the African American experience. It wants to celebrate African American history and culture. It
shows all people a wide spectrum of artifacts, archival material, and other exhibits which outlines the
richness of black culture. It has the Blanche Coggin Underground Railroad Collection, Harriet Tubman
Museum Collection, and other collections. And Still We Rise: Our Journey Through African American
History and Culture is the museum's 22,000 square foot, interactive core exhibit. Ring of Genealogy is a
37-foot terrazzo tile creation by artist Hubert Massey surrounded by bronze nameplates of prominent
African Americans in history. Dr. Charles Wright was an obstetrician and gynecologist. He wanted an
institution to preserve Black History after he visited a memorial to the Danish World War II heroes In
Denmark. So, in 1965, he created Detroits first International African American museum. Later, it was
moved in a land between John R and Brush Streets by 1978. In April of 1997, a 125,000 square-foot, state-
of-the-art facility opened, making it the largest African American historical museum in the world. By
1998, it was renamed to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. It has catering services
and it celebrates the labor rights movement and cultures from around the world as well. There is lot of
places in Detroit with great culture. Detroits Music Hall for the Performing Arts has shown great activism,
music, and fun. Many music fans have given their resources to help this music hall (Chaka Khan and other
great artists have performed there).

IT IS GLORIOUS TO WITNESS THE POWER AND THE STRENGTH OF


BLACK PEOPLE. BLACK PEOPLE HAVE MADE GREAT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF HUMAN HISTORY. WE
WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS OURSELVES AND BLESS OTHERS. BLACK IS
ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL.

Mary Wilson has always loved Detroit. She grew up in Brewster Projects and she went to Northeastern High
School. She was one of the founding members of Motown. She has performed in the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra too. Today, we have seen the growth of black owned businesses in Detroit too. Many of them are
found in Corktown neighborhood. Many black entrepreneurs are helping, building, and revitalizing many
areas of Detroit. Hamilton Anderson Associates have been working in Detroit for decades. Rinay Hamilton
has helped in Detroits schools, community centers, and other infrastructure. Nefertiti Harris has started her
business that focuses on natural hair and helping women in Detroit. She has opened a store in West Village
where she has a caf and a small boutique. Erika Boyd and Kirsten Ussery-Boyd have created the Detroit
Vegan Soul restaurant in West Village. They serve many foods like collard greens, barbecue, and mac and
cheese (which are all vegan). Their menu is filled with delicious and healthy foods. Husband-and-wife team
Andre Sandifer and Abir Ali are the founders of Ali Sandifer Studio in Detroits Russell Industrial Center.
There, they make modern furniture with cleverly camouflaged storage compartments out of sustainably
harvested domestic hardwoods. R. Christopher Prater and TaNisha Prater, who recently moved back to their
native Detroit from Atlanta, opened their boutique in Midtown this year with business partner Jessica Glen.
They sell secondhand womens clothing. The business donates 30 percent of its proceeds to Coalition of
Temporary Shelter, a nearby residence for homeless Detroiters. Thrift on the Avenue has started a recurring
event to give full makeovers to women at COTS and raise awareness of the circumstances that lead to
homelessness. If we can help people transition from homeless shelters and put them in a position where
they can land a job and provide for their families, thats worth way more than the couple bucks we make
from a pair of jeans, R. Christopher said. Sisters Jennifer and Charice Espy Thomas run Sweet Potato
Sensations with their parents Jeff and Cassandra, who started the business in 1987. Their bakery is found in
the Redford neighborhood. They make pies, ice cream, cheese cake, waffles, etc. They use sweet potato to
make a diversity of foods.

Sister Pashon Murray is involved in sustainable farming in


Detroit as well. As a black woman, I feel like Im obligated for
our youth and community to set a standard, she said. I would
like the black community to get more involved in
agriculture...Sustainability is not a black and white thing. Its an
all-inclusive thing. Sister Janet Jones has her own bookstore in
Midtown. She has a great collection of books on history,
culture, and spirituality, including other topics. She has
educated and helped countless people. Karen Brown has
opened her boutique in Detroit called Savvy Chic. After running
other galleries, George NNamdi opened the nonprofit
NNamdi Center for Contemporary Art in 2010 in the Sugar Hill
Arts district. It has home goods, antiques, and clothing. After
running other galleries, George NNamdi opened the nonprofit
Aaliyah is known to live in Detroit for
NNamdi Center for Contemporary Art in 2010 in the Sugar Hill
a number of years.
Arts district. The Center has exhibition spaces. It has indoor and
outdoor performance areas, a gift shop, and a separate
vegetarian restaurant. NNamdi has showcased Detroit artists as a way to help artists get support and
promote local galleries. I think we have to make sure we do not lose the soul of Detroit or that Detroit
spirit, he said. People can move here because of the inexpensive real estate, but they stay because of the
soul. Also, it is always important to help the poor and the oppressed. We want living wages, equal treatment
under the law, and equality. We believe in economic and social justice too. Black Detroiters are working
hard to make society better in general. These human beings deserve acknowledgement, respect,
inspiration, and congratulations for their accomplishments.
One huge cultural staple of the great city of Detroit is the Detroit Institute of Arts. It is found in Midtown
Detroit. It was created in 1885 and it has about 65,000 works. Over 600,000 visitors come into the Detroit
Institute of Arts every year. It was founded by Wilhelm Valentiner. The Detroit Institute of Arts has one of the
largest and most significant art collections in America. With its 100 galleries and it space of 658,000 square
feet, the DIA is a large location. Its major renovation and expansion project was finished in 2007 where it
added 58,000 square feet. The DIA collection is classified as among the top six museums in the United
States. It has an encyclopedic collection which spans the globe from ancient Egyptian and European works to
the contemporary art. Its art collection is valued in billions of dollars, up to $8.1 billion according to a 2014
appraisal. It is found near the Detroit Public Library and near Wayne State University. A whole large volume
of American art is found there with collections from American artists like John James Audubon, Leon Dabo,
Martin Lewis, Georgia OKeefe, Sharon Que, and other human beings. There are international works there
from works from Pablo Picasso to other images from legendary artists. The new Beaux-Arts building was
designed by Paul Cret. It has a 1,150 seat auditorium and a 380 seat lecture recital hall. A state of the art
conservation services laboratory and an art reference library exist there too. Today, the museums director is
Salvador Salort-Pons. Art is a momentous part of human culture. It can inspire humanity, develop creativity,
and make people feel joyful. Therefore, I certainly respect the Detroit Institute of Arts a great deal.
There are diverse ethnic groups who live in Detroit too. It is always important to emphasize that all members
of the human race should have justice. The Hispanic population in Detroit has grown for decades. In
southwestern Detroit since 1990, the Latino population in Detroit has greatly increased. Over the last 20
years, Detroits Hispanic population has grown by 70 percent, from 28,473 in 1990 to 48,679, according to
the 2010 Census. The Hispanic community in Detroit is also young, with a median age of 24. Many
immigrants do live in Detroit too. Some Latinos have opened up shops. There is the Detroit Hispanic
Development Corporation or the DHDC. Its purpose is help families in Detroit and to develop the Latino
community in the city of Detroit. They have adult education services that help the youth. Mexicantown is a
historic area in Detroit that has music, food, bakeries, music, and other forms of culture. Back during the
early 1920s, the first Mexican families traveled into the residential areas of downtown Detroit. Today, the
common perception of Mexicantowns boundaries are Michigan Ave, W Fort St, Livernois Ave, and Rosa
Parks Blvd, With Clark park and the Ambassador bridge in the heart of the community. Mexicatown is a
strong community today.

Also, there is a strong Arabic and Muslim community is found near Detroit in Dearborn, Michigan. It has
resources that detail the diverse culture and history of Arabic Americans in America. The Arab American
National Museum is During the first half of the 20th century, there has been an influx of European, Middle
Eastern (i.e. Lebanese and Assyrian/Chaldean), and Southern migrants to work in the burgeoning automobile
industry. The Hamtramck district in Detroit is very historic. It is named after Colonel Jean Francois
Hamtramck who took over Detroit in 1796 after British troops evacuated. In this area, there is a lot of history
from an area of Polish and other immigrants came into back during the early 20th century. The Dodge
Brothers plant began operations in 1914 too. Today, Hamtramck is 2.1 square miles with about 22,423
people as of 2010 census. It has people of diverse ethnic backgrounds. There is a strong Polish culture there
as some celebrate Paczki Day (which has the Polish doughnut that people eat). There is the St. Florian
Strawberry Festival held annually in the first weekend in May at the grounds of St. Florian Church. There is
also the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival with the Polish Day Parade at the Labor Day celebration too. Planet
Ant Film and Video Festival in Hamtramck celebrates independent movies and people who make them.
There are showings of comedies, dramas, documentaries, animation, and music videos. So, Detroit has
diverse cultural celebrations.
You know that I will make the truth plain. People want dignity and
respect. Human beings want quality education, jobs with living wages,
the end to the War on Drugs (with alternatives), and true justice for
all. That is what the residents of Detroit and the people of the rest of
the world blatantly desire wholeheartedly. Life is a journey and we will
continue to believe unwavering in our core convictions of love, of
brotherhood, of sisterhood, and liberty. That is the premise of our core
values and we are all in this together.

By Timothy

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