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Thomas Wilson, July 6th, 2016
In this interview, Wilson discusses moving to Detroit from West Virginia. He enjoyed growing up in a working neighborhood. He then moved to discussing the chaos of the civil disturbance on 1967. He provides examples of how the National Guard…
Edna Baker and Pearl Bonham-Moss, June 18th, 2016
In this interview, Baker and Bonham-Moss divulge their respective upbringings and how they heard about the unrest of ’67. Baker also tells of how she was arrested for breaking curfew when arriving in Detroit during the unrest from a vacation.
Betty Bright
Betty Bright planned to spend the day golfing on Belle Isle but it was closed. When she got home, she heard about the unrest and eventually learned that her cousin, Jerome Olshove, was killed.
Larry Pylar, July 23rd, 2016
In this interview, Pylar describes his upbringing in a white neighborhood on the east side of Detroit and what he witnessed during the unrest of 1967. He also provides a perspective of Detroit residents who were not directly affected by the unrest…
Kathy Conlon, July 23rd, 2016
In this interview, Conlon discusses growing up in non-diverse Grosse Pointe Park and how living there intertwined with her experiences of Detroit. Kathleen also discusses the profound affect the unrest had at her work location and on her husband’s…
William Pannill
William Pannill was a reporter with the Detroit Free Press. When Governor George Romney flew over the city to survey the events, Pannill was chosen by the other reporters to accompany him and share his observations.
Leala Griffith, June 25th, 2015
In this interview, Griffith describes her experiences during the unrest and the fear that she felt during that week. She also compares Alabama to Detroit both in the 1960s and in present day.
Fran Seikaly, July 25th, 2016
In this interview, Seikaly talks about growing up in Grand Rapids and how she moved to Detroit for school. She also talks about her experience during July 1967, where she saw convoys of tanks and helicopters. She also explains how she took the bus to…
Carter Stevenson, July 23rd, 2016
In this interview, Stevenson talks about how he got involved in the civil rights movement in Detroit and his participation in identifying prisoners during the unrest and informing their families. He also discusses at length the history of the Shrine…
Avra Weiss
Avra Weiss lived with her husband and infant son in July of 1967 when the disturbances made them feel unsafe.
Frances Lewis
Frances Lewis witnessed neighbors travel to the city to loot.
Sandra Gross
Sandra Gross was born the week of July 23, 1967.
Don Handy
Don Handy wrote a poem about his memories of the summer of 1967.
LeeRoy Johnson, August 8th, 2016
In this interview, Johnson discusses the racial transition of his neighborhood in the Near East Side in the 1950s and 1960s. He recalls being chased and beaten up by white children on the west side of Chene Street. During the disturbance, Johnson and…
Irene Fedorka, June 20th, 2016
In this interview, Fedorka describes what it was like living in a coal mining town in Pennsylvania and her move to Detroit with her family. She talks about how she met her husband and how he worked as a Detroit Police Officer during the ’67 unrest,…
Jariegel
After spending the summer with FOCUS:Hope in Massachusetts, Jariegel and her family returned home to Detroit where they "strengthened their resolve to work harder for some understanding."
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.
Jean Wynn
Jean Wynn was 21 years old and worked for the Detroit News in July of 1967. She was given a special pass to get to work after the curfew and remembers seeing the destruction from the YWCA where she rented a room.
Sue Williams
Sue Williams had moved just before the events of July 1967. She remembers seeing the door of her old apartment on the news "riddled with bullets."
Patricia Stoppella
Patricia Stoppella was dating a Detroit Fireman in July of 1967. They spent the day on the river and came back to the city to find fires and National Guardsman.