Between 1914 and 1951, Black Bottom’s black community emerged out of the

need for black migrants to find a place for themselves. Because of the

stringent racism and discrimination in housing, blacks migrating from

the South seeking employment in Detroit’s burgeoning industrial

metropolis were forced to live in this former European immigrant

community.

Local historian Jeremy Williams combines careful research with archived

photographs for an insightful look at Black Bottom’s early beginnings,

its racial transformation, the building of a socioeconomically solvent

community through various processes of institution building and

networking, and its ultimate demise and the dislocation of its residents.