Detroit 1967

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PHOTOGRAPHER: TONY SPINA TONY SPINA COLLECTION, WALTER P. REUTHER LIBRARY
Photograph by Tony Spina, Courtesy of the Tony Spina Collection, Walter P. Reuther Library

DETROIT 1967: A LOOK BACK

It’s been 50 years since violence tore apart the city.
How did it happen, and what have we learned?


There are fewer and fewer people who were around to witness, much less remember when Detroit exploded into several days of looting, burning, and violence. While the scope of what took place in the summer of 1967 is too complicated to adequately explain in the pages of a magazine, it’s important to at least scratch the surface. No incident in Detroit’s history has had as much an impact; its physical as well as psychological scars still show.

We divide our coverage into several sections — from a recap of that week’s events to a look back at the 50 years since through the eyes of two families: one black, one white.


ANARCHY AND ASHES

EYEWITNESSES TO HISTORY

THE CASUALTIES OF ‘WAR’

HISTORICAL SOCIETY EXHIBIT

DEEP DIVE: THE 1943 RIOT

BOOK REVIEWS

CALENDAR OF 2017 EVENTS

PLACEMAKING PROJECT

TWO FAMILIES: ESSAYS ON DETROIT