Detroit in 1966
"
Frequently called the most cosmopolitan city of the Midwest, Detroit today stands at the threshold of a bright new future…" [1]
-Mayor Jerome Kavanaugh, Detroit: City on the Move, 1965
In 1966, Detroit was a thriving and prosperous American city. It was the center of automobile manufacturing in the United States, home to four large companies: General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, and American Motors. Detroit was also the fifth largest city in the United States and one of the wealthiest cities per capita. This was accomplished largely because of the efforts of the powerful United Auto Workers union, a champion of labor (well, at least
White labor).
Not only was Detroit the Motor City, it was the Music City. Detroit was the center of the Motown sound, founded by Berry Gordy. Popular artists included the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes, the Miracles, the Supremes, the Temptations, just to name a few. Many Motown hits topped the charts in the 1960s.
Politically, 1966 was shaping up be an eventful year in Detroit, as well as the entire state of Michigan. Two high-profile elections were of particular interest to the voters. Incumbent Governor George Romney, a Republican, would face challenger Zolton Ferency. In the Senate, Republican Senator Robert P. Griffin would be challenged by former Governor G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams (who won a heated primary against Detroit mayor Jerome Kavanaugh early in the year).
But not all was rosy for the city. Detroit had lost several hundred thousand people since 1950, mostly to the suburbs. White flight, as it was called, was the exodus of middle-class White people into the newly-built suburban sprawl around the city.
There were also increasing racial tensions within the city. Despite advancements made possible by the Civil Rights Act, Detroit's Black residents remained socially and economically marginalized. Neighborhoods remained segregated, and police brutality was rampant. In response, Black Detroiters were becoming increasingly militant and the Black Power movement gained popularity. In August, violence erupted between police and Black residents on Kercheval Street, on the city’s east side.
And, like the rest of the country, the Vietnam War was taking a heavy toll. Every week, several local young men killed in battle appeared in the obituaries of the local newspapers. Demonstrations against the war took place at Wayne State University and University of Michigan, in nearby Ann Arbor.
Detroit was a metaphorical powderkeg about to explode. But no one could have anticipated the catastrophe that was about to strike. I’m referring to, of course, the Fermi Nuclear Disaster.
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NOTES:
[1]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-C8DwL2ovQ