12 - Historical Racism in Detroit

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Today, Detroit, despite its large Black population, is a city that still is segregated in an economic sense, with many of the areas in a worse of financial situation being home to many of the Black population. This is further present in the Metro Detroit area, with many cities having many people of African American descent contrasted with cities that have minuscule representation of African Americans. 

Historically, the white supremacism had a large presence in Detroit, many being part of a movement known as the Black Legion. The organization split off from the Ku Klux Klan from the 1920s and reached its peak during the 30’s, where it was reported that it had up to 100,000 members in its ranks. It attacked African Americans, Catholics and organized labor movements, many notable ones being union leader George Marchuk and African American Silas Coleman, whose murder was committed alongside Jessie Owens setting four world records. The legion grew its numbers by performing kidnappings and forcefully making them join, threatening those who quit with violence, forming an aura of paranoia in the organization. There was even one instance in Oakland Country where one man was burnt to death near Pontiac. 

The decline of the Black Legion happened with the murder of Charles Poole, a federal organizer of the Works Progress Administration. One of the murderers, Dayton Dean, confessed his connections, making a domino effect in exposing the legion and its vile practices. There was still a large presence in the form of the Third Ku Klux Klan later in Detroit's history, but it also coincided with the Civil Rights Movement, with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X presenting their greatest speeches in the city. 

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