John Cipolletti

Title

John Cipolletti

Description

John Cipolletti was a 19 year old photographer who captured early moments of the events that occurred in July 1967.

Publisher

Detroit Historical Society

Date

07/10/2015

Rights

Detroit Historical Society, Detroit, MI

Format

Text

Language

en-US

Type

Written Story

Coverage

Southeast Michigan

Text

I was a crazy kid all my life. But I also worked all the time. When I was 10 in 1958, I had nobody who cared where I was. I took the bus (with transfers) from Dearborn Heights to the heart of Detroit...Woodward Avenue near Hudson. In a few years, I spent many hours in Detroit. From Hudson to the Fox theater and down to the river front: I loved Detroit. Having an interest in photography, I became good at capturing events on my Pentax camera.

In 1964, I interviewed with Dianne Edgecomb who ran the Central Business District Association. Even though I was young, she was impressed by my work. In 1967, I was on an assignment when I saw the smoke and fires and heard the sirens. I stayed all night (crazy kid) photographing what was going on: all of the screaming, shooting, looting, the National Guard, the burning buildings, the police and firemen. I had no way of knowing what was going on. I actually thought we were being invaded by Russians! In the morning, tired but still shooting pictures I returned to the CBDA office. Dianne couldn't believe I was there in Detroit all night. I spilled out the many rolls of exposed film as proof. I got paid but never saw my pictures in print.

Original Format

email message

Submitter's Name

John Cipolletti

Submission Date

06/22/2015

Search Terms

photography, arson, cold war

Files

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Citation

“John Cipolletti,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed November 3, 2024, https://oralhistory.detroithistorical.org/items/show/19.

Output Formats