Detroit 1967: Origins, Impacts, Legacies Edited by Joel Stone and Thomas J. Sugrue and The Detroit Riot of 1967 By Hubert Locke

Abstract

The recent passing of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1967 Detroit riots reminds us that there remains much to learn from the events. The two books under review take very differ ent approaches to the task. The text edited by Joel Stone, senior curator of the Detroit Historical Society, is part of the society’s Detroit ’67: Looking Back to Move Forward project. Here, the riots are contextualized within three hun dred years of black/white relations as they affect and are affected by the shift ing socio-economic dynamics of the city. That the book is pitched to a very general audience is witnessed by the lack of referenced material throughout its body. Hubert Locke’s book, on the other hand, travels a very different set of inroads to the riots. Locke has held many positions in Detroit through his career, from Christian minister and academic, to director of the Citizen’s Committee for Equal Opportunity and administrative assistant to the Detroit Commissioner of Police. It was within the latter position that he chronicled the events represented in The Detroit Riots of 1967.