Judith Trzeciak

Title

Judith Trzeciak

Description

Judith Trzeciak had hosted a barbecue and swimming day for children from a local Baptist church. When they drove the children home, their car was surrounded by men who tried to tip over their car.

Publisher

Detroit Historical Society

Date

07/12/2016

Rights

Detroit Historical Society, Detroit, MI

Format

Text

Language

en-US

Type

Written Story

Text

In the summer of 1967, I had a home in Westland. My neighbor, across the street, was a Baptist Minister. His name was Francis Cook and he was the pastor of the Baptist Church in the NorWayne Projects. He resided with his wife and 2 daughters. The oldest daughter, Winifred Cook, worked with inner-city kids in Detroit.
Winifred asked if she could bring 5 or 6 kids to my home for a barbecue/swimming party. I agreed and she and her father brought them over. At that time, I had 3 children and a 4th on the way.
Everyone had a great time (probably ate too much), it was late evening and time to go. They asked me to ride along.
As we got off the freeway, we noticed so many people in the streets, just hanging out.
The car stopped to let the kids out but before we could do that, the car was completely surrounded by many men who began rocking the car trying to tip it over.
So, here we were, 3 white people in a car with 6 black children, not knowing what was going on. The Reverend said, “Please let the children out.” The kids exited the car and asked the men to leave us alone and told them they had been to my home for swimming, etc.
The crowd backed up a bit, and we were told to get out of there – FAST. We did. Later we learned that the riots had just broken out.

Original Format

Letter

Submitter's Name

Judith Trzeciak

Submission Date

06/27/2016

Files

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Citation

“Judith Trzeciak,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, https://detroit1967.detroithistorical.org/items/show/303.

Output Formats