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Mary VanDerMaas
Mary VanDerMaas was 12 years old and the daughter of a Detroit Fireman. He had a sense something was about to happen and stayed home from a family picnic to be near the phone. When the rest of the family heard what was happening in the city, they…
Virgil Taylor, July 23rd, 2016
In this interview, Taylor describes the looting and chaos that he witnessed during the summer of 1967. He also discusses the many issues Detroit faces today, including racism and disinvestment.
Jay Levinson, August 9th, 2015
Levinson describes his neighborhood in Northwest Detroit as an ideal place to raise a family and free from racial tensions. Levinson’s next door neighbor was Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, whose children he befriended. During the unrest he recalls the smoke…
Anita Gibbs
Anita Gibbs was a child in 1967 and remembers the atmosphere and confusion of the city while the police searched her house.
Carrie Davis
Carrie Davis was a child in the summer of 1967 and remembers the feelings and sights of the week of July 23. 1967.
Ola Takumbo Unger, September 8th, 2016
In this interview, Unger discusses her experiences as a 12-year-old living with her sister who suffered from cerebral palsy and her mother who was dying from breast cancer. She talks about being alone with them in the house while the 1967 unrest took…
Brian Fountain, June 18th, 2016
In this interview, Fountain describes the unrest from a 12-year-old’s perspective. For example, he recalls seeing two men carrying a new couch in the alley behind his grandparents’ house, and realizing the men had looted the furniture. He repeatedly…
Sheila Shelton, June 23rd, 2016
In this interview, Shelton discusses what it was like growing up on the northeast side and how she and her sister were injured in a looting incident in the events of 1967. She discusses what it was like to meet various icons in the city and how…
Sheila Sharp, August 20th, 2016
In this interview, Sharp discusses what it was like to grow up and attend various elementary schools in Detroit. She recounts in detail her memory of staying with her grandmother during the uprising of 1967 and what it was like to see the National…
Tarya Simo
Tarya Simo and her siblings were children whose mother owned a shop in 1967.
Darryle Buchanan, December 13th, 2016
In this interview, Buchanan discusses his experiences growing up primarily in Virginia Park during the 1960s. He notes the escalated police presence in the community, and details several anecdotes of police brutality he experienced as a child. During…
Ann Byrne
Ann Bryne was a child in 1967 and remembers watching the adults around her react to what was happening that summer.
Gary McDonald
Gary McDonald and his family moved to the city from Bloomfield Hills following the unrest of 1967 to take advantage of life in the city.
Marvin Howell
Marvin Howell was eight years old in 1967 and remembers living close to the center of activity.
Amne Talab, November 17th, 2016
In this interview, Amne Talab shares her memories of the summer of 1967 in Detroit and Highland Park when she was eight years old.
