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Congressman and City News Anchor Recall the Mayhem
July 23, 1967 began as a typical, hot summer day in Detroit, then one of the largest cities in America.
But that's where most similarities ended. One singular event, the unwarranted police raid of a well-frequented Black, after-hours speakeasy, the Algiers Motel located on the city's Westside, resulting in the deaths of three African-American men and the brutal beatings of nine others, seven Black men and two white women, would serve as the catalyst for five days of revolt, looting, burning and chaos.
The film, "Detroit," scheduled for release on Friday, Aug. 4 nationwide, promises to tell "the unknown story" of the event that led to the 1967 Detroit Riot (also known as the 12th Street Riot) - one of the bloodiest non-military uprisings in U.S. history.
But two Black trailblazers, a then-second-term member of Congress and a well-respected radio host who would later become one of the city's top TV news anchors, say because they were there and on the streets, they know the real deal.
"Life for Blacks back then, even in the North, was one impacted by segregation," said Democratic Congressman John Conyers,...
