Detroit 67
In the summer of 1967, Detroit experienced several days of civil unrest, marked by destruction and occupation by law enforcement and military units. Sparked by the raid of a party at a "blind pig" (an establishment without a license to serve alcohol), Detroiters in the 12th and Clairmount neighborhood took to the streets. For decades, they had seen police treat their neighbors and children unfairly, and many aimed to express their frustrations. In the end, several days of unrest left hundreds of buildings burned, over 40 dead, and hundreds of people injured.
But these actions did not take place in isolation. Just a month before, Newark, New Jersey had seen similar unrest. The previous year, similar events had taken place in Watts. During the mid to late 1960s, dozens of American cities experienced what they would then call "race riots."
These document sets contain evidence of the events from several perspectives. Students will have an opportunity to analyze, examine, and compare and contrast archival documents to think critially about what happened in 1967 and how it connects to current events.