Browse Items (23 total)
Sort by:
Al Calvert, July 18th, 2017
In this interview, Calvert recollects his childhood growing up in the Jim Crow South and the impact he believes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had. He the discusses his move to Detroit and how he fell into a life of drugs, parties, and prostitutes. He…
Anthony Fierimonte, October 10th, 2014
Former Detroit Police officer Anthony Fierimonte discusses his experiences on the force--including his role in the raid on the blind pig at Twelfth Street and Clairmont Street on July 23, 1967.NOTE: This interview contains profanity and/or explicit…
Bessie Ernst Williams, June 16th, 2015
In this interview, Williams discusses growing up in a multi-ethnic community in Detroit and the causes and effects of the 1967 disturbance. She also discusses working in the Detroit school system and the changes that occurred over the years she both…
Brenda Perryman, March 19th, 2016
In this interview, Perryman discusses growing up attending multi-racial parochial schools in the Detroit area, as well as a life-changing car accident and her role in the events of July 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…
Hubert Locke, August 17th, 2016
In this interview, Locke discusses working his work at the Detroit Police Department during 1967. He also describes the tension between government and the department, along with frustration between citizens and the Detroit Police Department. Locke…
Isaiah "Ike" McKinnon, May 16th, 2017
In this interview, Ike McKinnon shares his experience of growing up in Detroit, being a Detroit police officer, and the events of ’67. This interview uses profanity and/or explicit language.
Ivory Williams, August 15th, 2015
In this interview, Ivory Williams recalls his childhood playing on his street and around the neighborhood. Williams tells of his grandparents’ journey to Detroit from Jim Crow South and his grandmother’s influence on him. Williams also sheds light on…
Larry Shirley, February 18th, 2017
In this interview, Larry Shirley discusses his experiences during the events of July 1967 when he first heard about the disturbance and the immediate changes he experienced at his job working at Crawley’s in downtown Detroit.
Leslie Cunningham, August 26th, 2016
In this interview, Cunningham talks about his memories of his community in Royal Oak Township, how he first heard about the events of July 23, 1967, and his views on the systemic oppression of the black community in Detroit.
Loren Colwell, July 5th, 2016
In this interview, Colwell discusses growing up in Northwest Detroit. He discusses his brief experience with the 1967 disturbances, and informs us of the exaggerated stories around 1967.
Mac Douglas, August 31st, 2016
Douglas primarily discusses the racial dynamics within the Detroit Police Department as well as community and police relations. As one of few Black officers, he recalls several anecdotes and practices that illustrate the discrimination within the…
Melvin Dismukes, August 3rd, 2017
In this interview, Dismukes discusses his childhood growing up in the Jeffries Projects and the many jobs he had. He talks about his memories of the week of July 23, 1967 and specifically his memories of what he witnessed at the Algiers Motel and the…
Mike Stacy, August 22nd, 2016
In this interview, Stacy discusses growing up in Dearborn, going to Michigan State after serving in the Marine Corps, and working as a campus cop. He reflects on his time at the Recorder’s Court and how the unrest of 1967 affected his work there. He…
Oliver Cole, April 21st, 2017
In this interview, Cole discusses growing up as a teenager in the city of Detroit. He remembers the city in the summer of 1967 but at the time was not aware of everything that happened. As he grew older, he realized the implications of that summer.
Reverend Wendell Anthony, November 19th, 2015
In this interview, Anthony discusses moving from St. Louis to Detroit, Kenneth Cockrel Sr., and the Big Four. He also discusses the challenges of activism within the church and his role working with the NAACP.
Richard and Janice Powell, June 23rd, 2016
In this interview, the Powells discuss Detroit during their childhoods and their perception of Detroit at the time. They then move to discuss the changes they noticed in the city in the years before 1967, such as the increased popularity of drugs as…
Ronald Acho, August 16th, 2016
In this interview, Acho discusses life as an immigrant in Detroit, as well as his extensive ties with Detroit's Chaldean community.
Ronald Lockett, April 14th, 2017
In this interview, Ronald Lockett shares his memories of growing up Detroit, and the events of 1967. As a teenager, he worked for Famous Furniture but was fired when the store re-opened later in the summer of 1967. He speaks to what he saw at the…
Rosilyn Stearns Brown, August 8th, 2017
In this interview, Rosilyn Stearns Brown discusses growing up in a close-knit Detroit neighborhood. She also discusses her firsthand experiences observing fires and looting during July 1967.
***NOTE: This interview contains profanity and/or…