Where were you during the 1967 Detroit Riot?

[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.

[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.

[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

[OnyaCobber]

I was in Lexington with my mother & step dad visiting Aunt Mary when we heard. My parents called the White Owl restaurant that they managed at Michigan & Stecker. We left Lexington & drove to the restaurant. When we got to the restaurant it was filled with police. We lived on Renville & Mcgraw & had no problems there. I worked at Blue Cross downtown in the Cadillac Square building & we were off work for a couple of days. In the days after, I drove around Detroit & could not believe the houses & businesses that were burned down.

Bunny - Do you have or can you post a photo of the White Owl restaurant? My cousin - and I'm sure hundreds of others - spent a lot of his time at that intersection, and a photo might jiggle many memories! Thanks!

[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."

[Smirnoff]

Just drive down Grand River, all the way......

[night-timer]

I can tell you why 5 white folk left.

The man who would later become my father in law owned a small hardware store on Grand River. During the riots, his place was cleaned out and burned. Within a few months, he and his family sold their house near Wyoming and Warren and moved the family and the business to Southfield.

"If you're being oppressed by the man, the best way to fix it is with a free TV" - Stefan Molyneux [[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9sTiB6JAiQ&t=114s )

A thought that often crosses my mind, ever since Detroit became a black majority city, is the issue of racial bias and 'profiling' against African Americans by police. Has profiling reduced or been eliminated with many Detroit cops being African American themselves?

[stasu1213]

I was living on French Rd then but could barely remember it saving that the store on the corner of French and E Warren was looted and national guard showed up later

[Former_Detroiter]

The riot broke out just a few days before my 18th birthday. I had just graduated high school and was preparing to move to my first home away from home, the Univ. of Mich. When a recruiter from San Francisco County visited the University a few weeks before graduation I accepted an offer for employment and moved to San Francisco. When I couldn't get my parents to relocate I moved back to Detroit in the early 2000's when they became ill. I admit I was not thrilled about moving back to Detroit after being away for so long. When my parents both passed a few years after returning to Detroit I moved to Santa Fe, NM two years later. My decision to leave Detroit had more to do with quality of life in my later years. I go back to Detroit at least 2 times each year. Each time I visit I have been both impressed by the improvements and saddened by appearance of many of the neighborhoods that have been ignored and seemingly forgotten.

[emu steve]

The riot broke out just a few days before my 18th birthday. I had just graduated high school and was preparing to move to my first home away from home, the Univ. of Mich. When a recruiter from San Francisco County visited the University a few weeks before graduation I accepted an offer for employment and moved to San Francisco. When I couldn't get my parents to relocate I moved back to Detroit in the early 2000's when they became ill. I admit I was not thrilled about moving back to Detroit after being away for so long. When my parents both passed a few years after returning to Detroit I moved to Santa Fe, NM two years later. My decision to leave Detroit had more to do with quality of life in my later years. I go back to Detroit at least 2 times each year. Each time I visit I have been both impressed by the improvements and saddened by appearance of many of the neighborhoods that have been ignored and seemingly forgotten.

A few elements of this story apply to me.

After my widowed father died, my sister joined me and we moved to the D.C. area.

I would not have moved away from S.E. MI while he was alive. Once he passed, I became free to chart my own course.

I would find it very hard to move back to Detroit. Once someone has lived in San Fran or D.C. or some other place with a milder climate it is hard to move back to a cold, cloudy Midwest city [[maybe this post should be under the thread for HQ2).

To me the biggest negative about S.E. MI [[and other Midwest areas) is the weather. And, of course, it is something that no one can do anything about. Even affluent people, say like Miggy or JV, living in a super expensive house still have/had to deal with the cold and snow.

[night-timer]

It's now more than 50 years ago, but did any Detroit Yes'ers witness the 1967 race riots? Which areas were hardest hit?

[Meddle]

Have you searched the board for the previous multiple thread on this, where many of us already discussed it?

[Lowell]

This link will lead you to the 1967 Threads on DetroitYES. https://www.detroityes.com/mb/tags.p...roit+1967+riot

[Former_Detroiter]

It's now more than 50 years ago, but did any Detroit Yes'ers witness the 1967 race riots? Which areas were hardest hit?

Why are you calling it a race riot?