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History of African Americans in Detroit
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History of African Americans in Detroit
Black Detroiters are black or African American residents of Detroit. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Black or African Americans living in Detroit accounted for 79.1% of the total population, or approximately 532,425 people as of 2017 estimates. According to the 2000 U.S. census, of all U.S. cities with 100,000 or more people, Detroit had the second-highest percentage of Black people.[needs update]
Many black Detroiters have moved to the suburbs or Southern cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Birmingham, Memphis, San Antonio and Jackson. Nearby suburbs also had higher Black populations, reflecting the history of settlement of African Americans here during the Great Migration of the early 20th century, when people were attracted to Detroit's industrial jobs: Southfield had a Black population of 42,259, and Pontiac 31,416. In 2002 the Michigan city with the highest percentage of Black residents was Highland Park, where 93% of the population is Black. In the 2010 census, African Americans made up 22.8% of the total city and metropolitan area population in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.[needs update]
Among African Americans who moved to Detroit from the American South before the end of slavery were George and Richard DeBaptiste. They attended classes taught by Rev. Samuel H. Davis, the pastor at the Second Baptist Church in the city. Marcus Dale attended the African Methodist Episcopal church led by Rev. John M. Brown and others. In the days before the Civil War began, Detroit was an important site on the Underground Railroad, in which local people aided the passage of fugitive slaves to freedom. Its location just across the river from Canada, where slavery was abolished in 1834, made it a destination for many seeking freedom. Although Michigan was a free territory, some refugee slaves wanted to go over the border to Canada to prevent being captured by slavecatchers. Others settled in Detroit.
Local blacks involved in the Underground Railroad work included Samuel C. Watson (who later opened a drug store in Detroit), William Whipper, Richard and George DeBaptiste, and others. William Lambert, Laura Haviland, and Henry Bibb were also involved. Many Detroit African Americans served in the American Civil War (1861-1865). The 102nd Regiment United States Colored Troops of Michigan and Illinois was recruited in large part in Detroit.
Blacks in Detroit had to face rising tensions from ethnic whites before and after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in January 1863. A Democratic Party paper, The Detroit Free Press, supported white supremacy and opposed President Abraham Lincoln's handling of the war. In addition, it consistently presented issues of the day as problems due to competition with free blacks, projecting threats to white men's power and forecasting worse labor problems if the mass of slaves were freed. In March 1863, a race riot broke out in Detroit. Catalyzed by the arrest of a mixed-race man for allegedly molesting a white girl, a white mob attacked blacks and their neighborhood, resulting in two deaths (one, white and one black), numerous people injured, 35 houses and businesses destroyed, and more than 200 people left homeless. As a result, the city established its first full-time police force.
After the war, African Americans formed an important political block in the city, led by Watson, George DeBaptiste, John D. Richards, and Walter Y. Clark. Saginaw's William Q. Atwood was an important figure outside Detroit who influenced the city's African-American politics as well.
Before World War I, Detroit had about 4,000 Black people, 1% of its population. In the 1890s, journalist and founder of the black paper, Detroit Plaindealer, Robert Pelham Jr. and lawyer D. Augustus Straker worked in Detroit and throughout the state to create branches of the National Afro-American League. The pair were active, in part through the league, in supporting Blacks in legal trouble. Pelham was also an important figure in the league at a national level.
The first major period of Black growth occurred from 1910 to 1930, during the economic expansion in the auto industry. At the time in Detroit, most Blacks lived in mixed communities containing other racial groups, often recent European immigrants, as both groups were making their way and had to take older housing.
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History of African Americans in Detroit
Black Detroiters are black or African American residents of Detroit. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Black or African Americans living in Detroit accounted for 79.1% of the total population, or approximately 532,425 people as of 2017 estimates. According to the 2000 U.S. census, of all U.S. cities with 100,000 or more people, Detroit had the second-highest percentage of Black people.[needs update]
Many black Detroiters have moved to the suburbs or Southern cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Birmingham, Memphis, San Antonio and Jackson. Nearby suburbs also had higher Black populations, reflecting the history of settlement of African Americans here during the Great Migration of the early 20th century, when people were attracted to Detroit's industrial jobs: Southfield had a Black population of 42,259, and Pontiac 31,416. In 2002 the Michigan city with the highest percentage of Black residents was Highland Park, where 93% of the population is Black. In the 2010 census, African Americans made up 22.8% of the total city and metropolitan area population in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.[needs update]
Among African Americans who moved to Detroit from the American South before the end of slavery were George and Richard DeBaptiste. They attended classes taught by Rev. Samuel H. Davis, the pastor at the Second Baptist Church in the city. Marcus Dale attended the African Methodist Episcopal church led by Rev. John M. Brown and others. In the days before the Civil War began, Detroit was an important site on the Underground Railroad, in which local people aided the passage of fugitive slaves to freedom. Its location just across the river from Canada, where slavery was abolished in 1834, made it a destination for many seeking freedom. Although Michigan was a free territory, some refugee slaves wanted to go over the border to Canada to prevent being captured by slavecatchers. Others settled in Detroit.
Local blacks involved in the Underground Railroad work included Samuel C. Watson (who later opened a drug store in Detroit), William Whipper, Richard and George DeBaptiste, and others. William Lambert, Laura Haviland, and Henry Bibb were also involved. Many Detroit African Americans served in the American Civil War (1861-1865). The 102nd Regiment United States Colored Troops of Michigan and Illinois was recruited in large part in Detroit.
Blacks in Detroit had to face rising tensions from ethnic whites before and after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in January 1863. A Democratic Party paper, The Detroit Free Press, supported white supremacy and opposed President Abraham Lincoln's handling of the war. In addition, it consistently presented issues of the day as problems due to competition with free blacks, projecting threats to white men's power and forecasting worse labor problems if the mass of slaves were freed. In March 1863, a race riot broke out in Detroit. Catalyzed by the arrest of a mixed-race man for allegedly molesting a white girl, a white mob attacked blacks and their neighborhood, resulting in two deaths (one, white and one black), numerous people injured, 35 houses and businesses destroyed, and more than 200 people left homeless. As a result, the city established its first full-time police force.
After the war, African Americans formed an important political block in the city, led by Watson, George DeBaptiste, John D. Richards, and Walter Y. Clark. Saginaw's William Q. Atwood was an important figure outside Detroit who influenced the city's African-American politics as well.
Before World War I, Detroit had about 4,000 Black people, 1% of its population. In the 1890s, journalist and founder of the black paper, Detroit Plaindealer, Robert Pelham Jr. and lawyer D. Augustus Straker worked in Detroit and throughout the state to create branches of the National Afro-American League. The pair were active, in part through the league, in supporting Blacks in legal trouble. Pelham was also an important figure in the league at a national level.
The first major period of Black growth occurred from 1910 to 1930, during the economic expansion in the auto industry. At the time in Detroit, most Blacks lived in mixed communities containing other racial groups, often recent European immigrants, as both groups were making their way and had to take older housing.
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