Bike Tour | 20th Century Detroit African American Civil Rights Sites

Bike Tour

20th Century Detroit
African American Civil Rights Sites

Bike Tour

20th Century Detroit
African American Civil Rights Sites

This material was produced with assistance from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

20th Century Civil Rights movement

The 20th century civil rights movement is largely associated with the struggle of African American’s in the South and their efforts to obtain voting rights and access to public accommodations, but Northern blacks experienced just as much discrimination and prejudice. In Detroit the fight for civil rights focused on equal opportunity in housing, employment, and education and to putting an end to criminal injustice.

Resistance in Detroit

People of color in Detroit were segregated into a handful of neighborhoods, the largest was known as Black Bottom/Paradise Valley. In 1917 and again in 1940, the city experienced two massive waves of immigration of rural Southern blacks who came North to work in Detroit’s auto plants. Crammed into Black Bottom/Paradise Valley, Detroit’s African American community developed a rich business, social, and cultural life, especially in music. But overcrowding and neglect put stress on the neighborhood’s infrastructure, and it was targeted for demolition and urban renewal. The resulting housing shortage caused blacks to seek other housing options. When they tried to purchase homes in white working-class neighborhoods, they were met with restrictive housing ordinances, angry mobs, and violent protests. When black workers demanded the right to hold positions of responsibility in Detroit’s defense plants and unions, they were met with walkouts and strikes by white workers. By the 1960s, black Detroiters were fed up. Tired of being told to be patient, they began to demand an end to discrimination, segregation, and brutality. 1963 became a pivotal year for the civil rights movement when the violence used against black protestors in Birmingham, Alabama, in March shocked the nation. On June 23, 1963 the Walk to Freedom, the first massive civil rights march in American history, took place in Detroit. It was a turning point, and over the next few years the city became an epicenter for the growing Black Nationalist movement. This stands out as one of Detroit’s most significant contributions to the national civil rights story.

More about the Detroit Civil Rights Project

In 2016, the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) received a first-round grant from the National Park Service, African American Civil Rights Program to identify and document historically significant sites in Detroit relating to the 20th Century African American Civil Rights movement. The project will survey thirty Civil Rights related sites in Detroit, prepare National Register of Historic Places nominations for five undesignated sites, and create and install three Michigan Historical Markers to be placed at significant locations. This Civil Rights Sites bike tour creates an added interpretive dimension to the project. Learn more about SHPO's documentation of Detroit Civil Rights sites at www.michigan.gov/dcrp.

Please note: The tour is comprised of properties that must be treated as private and are to be viewed only from the street or public right-of-away. Please refrain from entering or walking on any portion of the properties including driveways.

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