Quinones 1

John Quinones
Dr. Rowley
18 September 2017
Honors 1000
Writing Diagnostic: Detroit Historical Museum Detroit 1967 Exhibit
Riot, rebellion, revolution, uprising, or insurrection. These words are the most used when

describing the events that took place in Detroit on July 1967. They all have similar meanings to each

other, but they can mean very different when looked at connotatively. It matters on the perspective,

attitude, knowledge, experience, and personal opinions when a person concludes what to call the civil

disturbance. All these aspects being said, I consider what happened in Detroit of July 1967 to be a riot

before I viewed the Detroit 1967 Exhibit, but after viewing the exhibit I consider the civil unrest to be

a form of rebellion.

I didnt know much about Detroit. I barely went to the city unless it was for a Tigers or Lions

game. I knew little history of the place and didnt pay much attention to it because I lived in the

suburbs outside of Detroit. I was raised to think that Detroit was never a safe place and it is a place to

avoid as much as possible. The way that I perceived Detroit growing up was the main reason why I

thought of the Detroit 1967 events to be a riot. When I visited the Detroit 1967 Exhibit at the Detroit

Historical Museum, I was greeted with an interactive screen that asked me my prior knowledge of the

events. Once I was done answering, I proceeded to enter to see a list of words, in alphabetical order,

and its definitions on a wall. The words on this wall included many words synonymous to rebellion,

revolution, etc. All words a possibility for describing the events of civil unrest. After that, I looked at a

display of how the news perspective can change the opinions of a lot of people. One article that has the

same facts and information can be different due to information that might have been left out, or using

negative connotations to change the story. I then analyzed the events that led to the civil unrest, such as

the Great Migration where many black residents from the south moved to the north in search for jobs,
 Quinones 2

continuous racial segregation in jobs and public areas, urban renewal where black communities like

Black Bottom were removed to make way for new highways and housing, a decaying industry in the

post-war market due to an economic shift, and urban police forces being tough on the predominately

poor and black. Then one display that shows the start of all the civil unrest, a blind pig. On July 22,

1967, a blind pig, located near 12th street and Clairmount, is where the police raided the joint. Violence

sparked since there was not enough officers for crowd control which was the start of the insurgence.

The uprising lasted for four days where events like the Algiers Motel Incident, President Johnson

authorizing the use of federal troops in Detroit, firefighters fighting hundreds of fires, nurses healing

the wounded, police officers working long dangerous shifts, and many reporters/photographers

recording history of the chaos right in front of them. Once things settled down, on July 27, 1967,

Detroit began healing from the horrible events. The last few displays shows Detroits rollercoaster

moments ever since the 1967 events. From uphill improvements such as Coleman Young being

Detroits first black mayor in 1974, to downhill disasters like Detroit filing for bankruptcy in 2013,

back to uphill progress such as new QLine which was recently opened. The Detroit 1967 Exhibit

wanted me to know more of what happened before and what happened after to have a better

understanding of the 1967 events. There was more than just the four days of civil disturbance.

There was one more interactive screen which asked if any perspective has changed when it

comes to the 1967 events in Detroit. I realized that my mind did change after viewing the exhibit. I

consider what happened in 1967 to be a rebellion instead of a riot because of the passive connotation

that rebellion has when compared to riot. My mind changed because I realized that there were

many events, over a period of decades, that led to this rebellion, which suggested that the anger from

unfairness of blacks finally boiled over over a long time instead of happening instantly. There was a

lot more to see other than the violence of the rebellion, and the Detroit 1967 Exhibit at the Detroit

Historical Museum helped me learn and understand that.