Where were you during the 1967 Detroit Riot?

**Jimaz** · July-23-12, 05:26 PM

I was waiting for a stack of Detroit News papers for my paper route. They never arrived that day.

My parents were returning from out of town and didn't know about the riot until they were stopped by the national guard at gunpoint. Imagine their surprise!

He just told them to stay on the freeway until they left Detroit.

**corktownyuppie** · July-23-12, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

I was waiting for a stack of Detroit News papers for my paper route. They never arrived that day.

My parents were returning from out of town and didn't know about the riot until they were stopped by the national guard at gunpoint. Imagine their surprise!

He just told them to stay on the freeway until they left Detroit.

I was twenty-one years before being born, and it was 7 years before my parents had come to the USA. Reading this stories of our past is heartbreaking.

It's a hard place...obviously having no familial history with this event sometimes feels isolating. Like we are outsiders who don't belong or relate. But in some ways I'm glad we weren't here for this. It seems ugly in every way for all people involved.

**daveyarm** · July-23-12, 06:31 PM

My wife, my two kids, and I had just moved to the suburbs, specifically Novi. I still worked downtown, so I as acutely aware of all the problems for those four or five days. I spent the next 40 years living in the suburbs, and always feeling slightly guilty about it. I'm happy to report that four months ago I moved back t Downtown Detroit. I love it!

**Jimaz** · July-23-12, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

... having no familial history with this event sometimes feels isolating. Like we are outsiders who don't belong or relate....

That's pretty much how I felt at the time. Although I'm sure my father was aware of the 1943 Detroit race riots, he just never mentioned it.

**rex** · July-23-12, 11:05 PM

my mom was probably playing with dolls, my dad playing cops and robbers

**mediaangel** · July-24-12, 07:41 AM

A few of my relatives still lived in the city around the Van Dyke and Gratiot area and my mom and I were going to visit my Grandmother. As we drove down an Dyke we could see smoke coming from downtown. At my Gandmother's house my uncle advised us to go back home. We did, but ventured out a few days later and went to visit other relatives around the Van Dyke and Outer Drive area. As we turned onto Van Dyke we saw a police cruiser with that had rifles pointed out the window.

My Grandmother and my uncles sat on their front porch during the riots and watched all the goings on, they were either not afraid or just plain stupid.

**jcole** · July-24-12, 07:55 AM

I was at home in the backyard pool when my dad got the call and went and got his uniform on. I barely saw him for the next week.
We spent the rest of the time pretty much confined to our block and porches because of the curfew and our mom's fear. There were 5 policemen on our block and every time a scout car pulled up, everyone froze in fear that one of them had been killed or wounded. Just one was injured though, fortunately.

**GPCharles** · July-24-12, 08:05 AM

Sitting in my bedroom in GPP listening to automatic weapons fire on Monday night. My parents were out of town and my grandparents were staying with us. Alter Road was packed Mack to Jefferson with police from all of the 5 GPs. There was a tank sitting at Alter Road and Jefferson.

**Radiogoon** · July-24-12, 08:17 AM

East English Village...4064 Hereford to be exact.

**Gary** · July-24-12, 09:01 AM

I was 13. Things were fairly quiet in my immediate neighborhood. I don't recall any incidents of looting, sniping or arson, but we could see plumes of smoke in the not too far off distance. There was a lot of police presence in the area and there were National Guard vehicles positioned here and there.

We pretty much stayed home until things got back to normal. But, things never did get back to what once was normal in Detroit again.

**mwilbert** · July-24-12, 09:29 AM

I was a kid, and of course I noticed the people around me freaking out, but I was in the University District [[not called that yet) and nothing actually happened. There was a report of a sniper on the Merchandise Mart roof on Livernois, but I don't think it was actually true. I remember counting 33 helicopters flying over my house in formation at the end of the riots, and I remember driving down through Highland Park to 12th Street to see the smoldering remains of buildings. Maybe I saw an actual fire, but mostly it was over.

Probably because I was young and not very much affected, the riot doesn't have much emotional content for me--I'm mostly interested it as a historical event that I had some tangential relationship to. The subsequent decline of Detroit, the neighbors moving away, the elms dying, the stores closing, those are the things that have more resonance for me.

**EASTSIDE CAT 67-83** · July-24-12, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by mwilbert

I was a kid, and of course I noticed the people around me freaking out, The subsequent decline of Detroit, the neighbors moving away, the elms dying, the stores closing, those are the things that have more resonance for me.

Your last few sentences tug at my heart strings...as I personally watched all these things happen in my own little corner of the city

**Ray1936** · July-24-12, 11:17 AM

I posted much earlier on this thread what I was doing, but thought I'd toss out a comment that I'm probably one of the few here who have a vague memory of the 1943 riot. I was seven then, and remember the family talking about it, and my aunt -- who worked at J. L. Hudson's -- deciding not to go to work for a few days. Didn't really comprehend what it was about, but since Auntie NEVER missed a day at work, I guessed it was important.

Damn, I'm old.

**jcole** · July-24-12, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

I posted much earlier on this thread what I was doing, but thought I'd toss out a comment that I'm probably one of the few here who have a vague memory of the 1943 riot. I was seven then, and remember the family talking about it, and my aunt -- who worked at J. L. Hudson's -- deciding not to go to work for a few days. Didn't really comprehend what it was about, but since Auntie NEVER missed a day at work, I guessed it was important.

Damn, I'm old.

My dad had been on the force 7 years when those riots started. He was in the middle of those too. Never talked about it much, though.

**kirkwood street** · July-24-12, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

My dad had been on the force 7 years when those riots started. He was in the middle of those too. Never talked about it much, though.

I was living near the state fairgrounds. That was where the Michigan National Guard was stationed at. So no problems here with any looting or arson fires.

**oladub** · July-24-12, 02:46 PM

DETROIT 1967; PHOTOS FROM THE 1967 RIOT
- 19 photos from from Time/Life

Note how much local commerce there used to be on these streets.

**Philbo** · July-24-12, 09:40 PM

Check out ebay under 1967 Detroit riot. Lots of interesting Photos.

**Searay215** · July-24-12, 10:29 PM

I was in the US Army taking riot training and preparing to be sent to Detroit, Baltimore or Washington DC.....confined the our barracks, rifles by our side.
Never ended up going anywhere, but still frightning for this 19 year old kid who suddenly might have to draw a weapon on his fellow neighbors.....but the alternative going to Viet Nam was worse....and again did not go there either, someone was watching out for me.......
However I went to Florida nearly every other weekend.....tough to take...but someone had to protect all the pretty women of Panama City Florida

**PMP** · December-31-12, 02:44 PM

Coming home from a visit to Canada on the Ambassador Bridge and it appeated asif Detroit was on fire. Smoke everywhere. Going back to our home; Mich. Ave & 23rd. We owned the Alytaus Bar. We were hoping not to be burned out. Looting everywhere. Machine gun fire heard west grand and grand river area. Then after rhe curfew you can here a pin drop. very quiet National Guard driving on Mich. Ave.
Scary time... I was 15 yrs old.

**Smirnoff** · January-01-13, 10:41 AM

Was their an NBD bank on the corner.....?

serpico · January-01-13, 04:04 PM

So why did most white folk leave? Were the white folk in Detroit more fearful than other whites living in Chicago, Philly or Milwaukee etc..? Riots occured in most northern cities during the late 60's early 70's but most white folk stayed put in other cities except Detroit.... Whites in Detroit fled unlike other whites in other cities....why??

Shollin · January-01-13, 04:13 PM

Originally Posted by serpico

So why did most white folk leave? Were the white folk in Detroit more fearful than other whites living in Chicago, Philly or Milwaukee etc..? Riots occured in most northern cities during the late 60's early 70's but most white folk stayed put in other cities except Detroit.... Whites in Detroit fled unlike other whites in other cities....why??

Unlike those cities, all the jobs moved to the suburbs. The big 3 invested billions in new facilities in the suburbs. Then there was the natural move to more suburban lifestyle. Plus Detroit was the murder capital of the US in the 70's.

serpico · January-01-13, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Shollin

Unlike those cities, all the jobs moved to the suburbs. The big 3 invested billions in new facilities in the suburbs. Then there was the natural move to more suburban lifestyle. Plus Detroit was the murder capital of the US in the 70's.

The last I saw, the city of Detroit still has the most private/public sector jobs of any city in the tri-county area. If you doubt me, just watch the traffic flow into the city on the major freeways at 7-9am and out at 4-6 pm weekdays. Suburban whites are commuting by the tens of thousands into the city everyday to work. Why did they leave the city in the first place? Why didnt whites leave Chicago?
The only time I see traffic moving towards Fowlerville and Shelby Twp is after 4pm..most jobs are still in the city....

Shollin · January-01-13, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by serpico

The last I saw, the city of Detroit still has the most private/public sector jobs of any city in the tri-county area. If you doubt me, just watch the traffic flow into the city on the major freeways at 7-9am and out at 4-6 pm weekdays. Suburban whites are commuting by the tens of thousands into the city everyday to work. Why did they leave the city in the first place? Why didnt whites leave Chicago?
The only time I see traffic moving towards Fowlerville and Shelby Twp is after 4pm..most jobs are still in the city....

"Daytime population change due to commuting: -659 [[-0.1%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Detroi...#ixzz2Glch1uej"

Troy- Daytime population change due to commuting: +64,011 [[+79.1%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Troy-M...#ixzz2Gld7RtnS

Auburn Hills- Daytime population change due to commuting: +37,920 [[+191.2%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Auburn...#ixzz2GldMzY3L

Southfield-Daytime population change due to commuting: +55,509 [[+70.9%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Southf...#ixzz2GldXZwqU

Warren-Daytime population change due to commuting: +28,129 [[+20.3%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Warren...#ixzz2Gldr88bb

For reference Chicago-Daytime population change due to commuting: +142,328 [[+4.9%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Chicag...#ixzz2Gle4bIv4

serpico · January-01-13, 07:04 PM

Show me another city besides Detroit [[in metro detroit area) with 300,000 jobs......
Most jobs are still within the city limits.
Yet this still does not answer my question why most whites fled Detroit but didnt in other major cities.....
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...-s-City-Limits