Where were you during the 1967 Detroit Riot?

[Lily]

I was a jr in highschool. we loaded up our VW bus and went to head into the city to hang out. a bus full of suburban teens at the "indestructible age". we were stopped on the NW side by police who made it very clear we should turn around and go home. our parents were outraged we had even attempted the trip, we were grounded for a week. for me, the reality of the 67 riots didn't really hit home until I met my husband a few years later. my mother.in.law brought out some pictures to go through. burned out buildings, sad faced people, guys in various uniforms. so I asked her how these pictures were part of her life......my in.laws owned a bait and tackle shop, called the yellow front store on 14th & Seldon. key word was "owned". it was burned out and looted. nothing left, no way to support the family. Too much for father.in.law to deal with, a few months later he died of a massive heart attack. it's just empty corner now, with fading memories from my husband and brother.in.law.....and a profound sense of shame on me for being a kid who wanted to be cool and see what was happening. a kid who hadn't a clue about the properties, lives, families who were devastated by the those riots that us kids thought we should go to the city and hang out around. lily

[EASTSIDE CAT 67-83]

I was a jr in highschool. we loaded up our VW bus and went to head into the city to hang out. a bus full of suburban teens at the "indestructible age". we were stopped on the NW side by police who made it very clear we should turn around and go home. our parents were outraged we had even attempted the trip, we were grounded for a week. for me, the reality of the 67 riots didn't really hit home until I met my husband a few years later. my mother.in.law brought out some pictures to go through. burned out buildings, sad faced people, guys in various uniforms. so I asked her how these pictures were part of her life......my in.laws owned a bait and tackle shop, called the yellow front store on 14th & Seldon. key word was "owned". it was burned out and looted. nothing left, no way to support the family. Too much for father.in.law to deal with, a few months later he died of a massive heart attack. it's just empty corner now, with fading memories from my husband and brother.in.law.....and a profound sense of shame on me for being a kid who wanted to be cool and see what was happening. a kid who hadn't a clue about the properties, lives, families who were devastated by the those riots that us kids thought we should go to the city and hang out around. lily

What a great post Lily, it really gives the reader a feel for the times. From the initial contact with the DPD to the ass chewing you all got from the parents to the sad ending of the Yellow Front store....Thanks

[Honky Tonk]

I was a jr in highschool. we loaded up our VW bus and went to head into the city to hang out. a bus full of suburban teens at the "indestructible age". we were stopped on the NW side by police who made it very clear we should turn around and go home. our parents were outraged we had even attempted the trip, we were grounded for a week. for me, the reality of the 67 riots didn't really hit home until I met my husband a few years later. my mother.in.law brought out some pictures to go through. burned out buildings, sad faced people, guys in various uniforms. so I asked her how these pictures were part of her life......my in.laws owned a bait and tackle shop, called the yellow front store on 14th & Seldon. key word was "owned". it was burned out and looted. nothing left, no way to support the family. Too much for father.in.law to deal with, a few months later he died of a massive heart attack. it's just empty corner now, with fading memories from my husband and brother.in.law.....and a profound sense of shame on me for being a kid who wanted to be cool and see what was happening. a kid who hadn't a clue about the properties, lives, families who were devastated by the those riots that us kids thought we should go to the city and hang out around. lily

Great post, Lily. It's a good perspective from a different point of view.

[FEO]

Box 526
12 Th. & Taylor
8:24 Am
Sunday
July 23
1967

Cities Responding

Birmingham, Clinton
Commerce Twp., Dearborn Heights
Dearborn Twp., Detroit
East Detroit, Ecorse
Eloise, Ferndale
Flint , Grosse Ile
Garden City, Garden City Mutual Aid
Gibralter , Grosse Pte Park
Grosse Pte Woods, Harper Woods
Highland Park, Hazel Park
Harrison Twp., Lansing
Livonia, Milford Twp.
Madison Heights, Newport
Plymouth, Plymouth Twp.
Pontiac, Redford Twp.
River Rouge, Roseville
Royal Oak, Royal Oak Twp.
South Rockwood, Sterling Twp.
St. Clair Shores, Southfield
Southfield Twp., Taylor Twp.
Warren, Wayne
Westland, Wyandotte
Windsor, Canada

[mtburb]

Box 526
12 Th. & Taylor
8:24 Am
Sunday
July 23
1967

Cities Responding

Wyandotte

Up until mostly now, I did not know that Wyandotte was also involved in the riots.

[FEO]

I copied this list in 1967 when the Detroit Fire Department, the City of Detroit, the Firemen’s Fund or the Firefighters Association printed it out. I can’t remember who as that was 47 years ago.
Probably some cities sent an apparatus / apparatuses with manpower , just manpower or some firefighters from these cities came on their own. Then it was noted where they came from and this list was printed.

Here is some additional information.

On some pictures of the 67 riot you will see Firefighters in OCD [[Office of Civil Defense) fire gear rather than their regular Detroit issued fire gear. It is assumed that these were Fire Axillaries, not so, most were us regular Detroit Firefighters.
Here’s what happened. We were called back from home, or just seeing a notification on TV, and told to respond to certain command locations rather than to our regular firehouse. I ran at Engine 31,….. Engine 42 was our command post.
Every engine house had OCD fire gear [[coats, helmets & boots) in their basement .Since we didn’t have our stuff we grabbed those to wear. Then we waited till an X-rig [[ Old extra apparatus ) pulled up and jumped aboard.
As there was more men then rigs we piled as many men on a rig as possible. When we left Engine 42 our X-rig held 37 men. We were jammed in the back, in the cab and the outside holding on to anything and everything. We counted as we wanted to remember the number) This was the number of men on the rig I was on. Every X-rig was jammed with men. If some men ran across their own company during that day they left us & went with them. The ones that didn't were dropped off at their regular company Monday morning.

[emu steve]

I was a jr in highschool. we loaded up our VW bus and went to head into the city to hang out. a bus full of suburban teens at the "indestructible age". we were stopped on the NW side by police who made it very clear we should turn around and go home. our parents were outraged we had even attempted the trip, we were grounded for a week. for me, the reality of the 67 riots didn't really hit home until I met my husband a few years later. my mother.in.law brought out some pictures to go through. burned out buildings, sad faced people, guys in various uniforms. so I asked her how these pictures were part of her life......my in.laws owned a bait and tackle shop, called the yellow front store on 14th & Seldon. key word was "owned". it was burned out and looted. nothing left, no way to support the family. Too much for father.in.law to deal with, a few months later he died of a massive heart attack. it's just empty corner now, with fading memories from my husband and brother.in.law.....and a profound sense of shame on me for being a kid who wanted to be cool and see what was happening. a kid who hadn't a clue about the properties, lives, families who were devastated by the those riots that us kids thought we should go to the city and hang out around. lily

At the time, I was at WSU but living at home [[I later moved to campus, in an apartment building even historic preservationists wouldn't want to save. Lol) and drove into an area not far from the problems. Near WSU???? [[I can't remember).

I was told in no uncertain terms by a Michigan State Policeman to get the hell out.

I did.

[carlscomputers]

Thank you all for sharing your stories!!! I just wish I was a Hollywood Movie Producer, I would love to see a "real" movie done about the '67 riots. There are so many different perspectives to view it from; The Police, The Fire Department, The Business Owners, The Looters, etc. I'm sure there are those who hate this thread because it dredges up a dark time in Detroit's History, but I like to think we can learn from the mistakes of the past to help build a better future? It's been 47 years & it seems like we're even worse off now than then?

[Dan Wesson]

Damn after all these years There was a memory that always came to mind about that time in Detroit. Now here it is many years later and because of this thread I'm doing some research on an incident I was a witness to, not up close and personal but as kids being some place we weren't supposed to be that day. But we were always in that area any other day.

Again it involves Joey a fella older than we were. He wanted to go do some looting too, a pair of shoes no less. So we headed up to Harper and Vandyke and things were kinda wild, we were close to the army/ navy surplus store across the street from our elementary school when we saw what I thought was a Cadillac pull up and a white guy get out and end up shooting some guy with a long gun. It freaked us out. But when the crowd started yelling who did it and the response was, some white guy did it. That was when we high tailed it home as fast as we could.

Now Here is that incident it has been archived...http://elibrary.wayne.edu/record=3360028

Damn after all these years.

[FormerDetroiter]

Interesting that the shooting happened in 1967 and the shooter got out of a 1969 red Olds....

[Honky Tonk]

Interesting that the shooting happened in 1967 and the shooter got out of a 1969 red Olds....

It was a prototype.....

[Dumpling]

I don't have the book handy here but St. Brigid's Roman Catholic parish [[closed now)
in Detroit may have a mention in Sugrue's "The Origins of the Urban Crisis" as a place
where the church fathers were preaching against white flight whilst their parishioners
were all leaving for the suburbs. I was baptized at St. Brigid's some while before major
white flight. Fast forward to 1967...I am nine years old, living in the St. Mary's of
Royal Oak parish. Mom keeps all of her children inside and we watch riot footage on
TV. We are somewhat concerned whether it will reach our neighborhood, since the
area of the riot is increasing at least at first, but it never does. My parents were
Roman Catholics of the social justice flavor best typified by Father Gumbleton, and
were very perturbed by the riots, and bought a large number of paperbacks about them,
which stayed in the house library for years, until they fell apart. One of the St. Mary's
priests in that era was Father Cunningham and in the aftermath of the riot he would
stop by at my parents' house and have dinner from time to time and regale them with
the volunteer opportunities available at Focus:Hope. For years also we had a Focus:Hope bumper sticker on the family station wagon too. Others were far and away better volunteers
than my folks were but my Dad did go down to help install doors at the Oakman Ave.
Focus:Hope food warehouse which had previously been a Mario Olives factory and had
concrete worn down by brine inside.

[kmangold01]

We had moved to Warren [[in '65), and I can remember tanks and jeeps from the nearby TACOM facility rumbling down Van Dyke toward Detroit. That facility must have served as a base of operations, as there were lots of helicopters in the air, shuttling back and forth, during the daylight hours. We had a couple of neighbors perched on their roofs with rifles, just in case the disturbance came that far Northeast - even at 8 years of age, I thought their paranoia was laughably amusing.

[Hermod]

We had moved to Warren [[in '65), and I can remember tanks and jeeps from the nearby TACOM facility rumbling down Van Dyke toward Detroit. That facility must have served as a base of operations, as there were lots of helicopters in the air, shuttling back and forth, during the daylight hours. We had a couple of neighbors perched on their roofs with rifles, just in case the disturbance came that far Northeast - even at 8 years of age, I thought their paranoia was laughably amusing.

I was 28 at the time enjoying an all-expenses paid vacation to beautiful southeast Asia, but I do remember reading the reports of "subdivision defense forces" which were half a dozen guys with hunting rifles and shotguns patrolling the main entrance to the subdivisions from the main road and the sheriffs warning that if they shot someone, they had no immunity.

[p69rrh51]

My parents lived at 4875 Harvard in what is now East English Village. They were on Harsens Island that weekend and had to sneak into the city to pick my sister and myself up at my grandparents house. For my parents the week turned into one of the best parties that they still talk about. At the other end of our block was all the Champagne and Alaskan King Crab you could consume every night during riots. People drove for all over the metro area dodging the DPD and the 82nd Airborne to attend the party, and all my parents had to do was stay in the shadows for a quick walk down the block. I still run into people who attended the party 47 years after the fact. The person responsible for the party, Joe Muer.

[CassTechGrad]

Panic in Detroit

David Bowie, dead at 69.

"Panic in Detroit" is a song written by David Bowie for the album Aladdin Sane in 1973. Bowie based it on friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known as a youth in Michigan. It is also interpreted as being written about the 1967 Detroit riots. Rolling Stone magazine called the track "a paranoid descendant of the Motor City's earlier masterpiece, Martha and the Vandellas” "Nowhere to Run”.

He looked a lot like Che Guevara, drove a diesel van
Kept his gun in quiet seclusion, such a humble man
The only survivor of the National People's Gang
Panic in Detroit, I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home, I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit

He laughed at accidental sirens that broke the evening gloom
The police had warned of repercussions
They followed none too soon
A trickle of strangers were all that were left alive
Panic in Detroit, I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home, I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit

Putting on some clothes I made my way to school
And I found my teacher crouching in his overalls
I screamed and ran to smash my favorite slot machine
And jumped the silent cars that slept at traffic lights

Panic in Detroit

Having scored a trillion dollars, made a run back home
Found him slumped across the table a gun and me alone
I ran to the window looked for a plane or two
Panic in Detroit he'd left me an autograph
Let me collect dust I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit
Panic in Detroit
Panic in Detroit

[dguy4evr]

Sitting on our front porch with my dad with loaded shotguns at our side. Saw tracked vehicles going down Canfield, made a hell of a noise! Tore up the pavement too. I worked at a bar supply company and once we were given the all clear to go back into the city, specifically west of St. Jean, I found very few bars still in business. Did a route that usually took three days in just one day. Could never understand why they burned down their own businesses, especially the ones with "Soul Bro" painted on the fronts. Surprisingly, I didn't get all that much hassle working in the area hit by the burning and looting. Got a few choice words now and then but I have a pretty thick skin.
I was supposed to start my senior year at Wilbur Wright High School in September, when later that summer a school official mentioned that it might be wise to switch schools for my senior year due to the unrest. Biggest mistake of my entire school career! I never had any issues with my classmates even though I was the minority student in all my classes. Seniors were allowed to work in the garage located in the school where the public could bring their cars for service being charged for only parts. I missed out on this totally. Wilbur Wright was a great school, we need more of these schools now.

[GMan]

Very young on the northwest side wondering why the sky was smoke filled to the s.e. and all the dads were gathered on my neighbors lawn pointing and talking.
Could sense the tension.

GMan

[Stinger4me]

Working on the Grand Trunk Western RR at the Ferndale yard, and going past the Army troops camped in the infield on the Michigan State Fair. On the way home getting stopped during the curfew and explaining why I was out beyond the curfew.

[emu steve]

Working on the Grand Trunk Western RR at the Ferndale yard, and going past the Army troops camped in the infield on the Michigan State Fair. On the way home getting stopped during the curfew and explaining why I was out beyond the curfew.

Me: Kind of similar.

Was a student, curious and decided I wanted to get '[[kind of) close to the action.'

I was told in no uncertain terms by a Michigan State Policeman to 'get the hell out of there..."

I did... That was my one and only. I felt no inkling to drive up to Baltimore last year. Just watched Wolfe Blitzer get excited on CNN.

[Jimaz]

I thought this deserved some exposure here.

DIA, Free Press seek your home movies for '1967 Detroit' project

With the 50th anniversary of what’s often referred to as the 1967 Detroit riot arriving next summer, several key Detroit institutions are collaborating to collect home movies and other found footage from the era.

The films gathered in the “1967 Detroit: Home Movies” effort will be used in two distinct cinematic projects — one produced by the Detroit Institute of Arts, the other by the Detroit Free Press....

The DIA and Free Press films will arrive as part of what’s expected to be a wide commemoration and remembrance of the civil unrest’s 50th anniversary, with many cultural institutions already deep into plans for programs, exhibits and events next year. That includes the “Detroit 67: Looking Back to Move Forward” project led by the Detroit Historical Society, which the “Home Movies” effort is part of....

Footage is being sought that will provide perspective to the strife that occurred in Detroit in July 1967. The project is especially interested in films shot in 1967 or thereabouts, including everyday scenes and personal histories of diverse Detroit residents.

While the 50th anniversary is the impetus for "1967 Detroit: Home Movies," the project is not interested in merely depicting the violence and its immediate fallout. It wants to contextualize the events — which means that films shot in other years could be a fit. Scenes of Detroit or suburban family life, social gatherings and business or civic activities are all potentially helpful.

Home movies from that era are often in 16mm, 8mm or Super 8, and those formats are of most interest to the project. Footage that has already been digitized may also be useful.

Anyone who loans footage will receive a digital copy of their film, and the original back. If the footage makes the completed programs, they will also be credited and acknowledged at screenings. There will be no monetary compensation for the use of loaned films.

More details at the link.

[carlscomputers]

Well, it's been 50 years! I was at a picnic today and heard a few interesting stories from people I didn't know where even in Detroit at the time? I'm looking forward to both "12th & Clairmount" as well as "Detroit" to see both an updated documentary perspective and a big budget theatrical release perspective of 1967?

[easternshorebird]

Senior year of h.s., still seething at parents for not letting me apply for summer job at recently opened Playboy Club on E. Jefferson. Living in 1300 E. Lafayette high-rise. Large, 3-BR corner apt. Good for great views of the river to south, downtown skyline to west.
Not so good for riots, though. 2 nights of snipers firing at the windows, arsons already starting in the slums just six blocks to the east [[Mt. Eliot)
Not for the faint-hearted.

[DanThornton]

[[First time poster, long-time viewer) I'm 34 so I don't remember much about the riots. But I grew up a few blocks down from where the uprising started. My mom told me her sister's daughter was having a birthday party [[she was turning 7). My mom's two brothers [[both of whom are now deceased) were among the looters during this riot.

[emu steve]

I'm putting this article from the Washington business journal about D.C.'s experience with their riot, 50 years ago this week.

At the bottom of the part not behind a pay wall is a 'then and now' synopsis which describes a city which went to hell for a few days but has risen stronger 50 years later.

Bottom line: Every city writes it own history just like people do. Some [[cities, people, nations, etc.) fall and get up. Others do not.

"In the aftermath, flight to the suburbs accelerated and D.C.’s population began to shrink, from 778,000 in 1968 to 565,230 in 1998 as the city was rebounding from the crack epidemic.But today, the corridors hardest hit by the riots — 14th and Seventh streets NW and H Street NE — are now home to million-dollar condos, the $850 million Washington Convention Center and thriving entertainment and shopping districts. The District, by and large, has been rebuilt and redrawn.

[[emphasis mine).

https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...n-and-now.html

BTW, sometimes I think the same phenomena occur across different cities be they on the east coast, Midwest, etc.

This paragraph describes how young professionals began 'pouring' into D.C. 15 years ago.

We are now seeing that with downtown, Midtown, and now Corktown as well as across the country.

"As the city healed its physical and reputational damage, gentrification took hold. Thousands of young professionals began pouring into the District about 15 years ago, stretching into neighborhoods long considered unsuitable by suburbanites. By 2011, the city’s black population dipped below 50 percent for the first time in 50 years."