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"Detroit, Michigan. Riot at the Sojourner Truth homes, a new U.S. federal housing project"

This photograph, made for the Office of War Information, is part of a larger series documenting racial conflict surrounding the construction of the Sojourner Truth homes in Detroit, Michigan. White neighbors and tenants of the new federal housing project sought to prevent blacks from moving in through protests and intimidation. Though no one was harmed in the incident, less than a year later, the city, nicknamed the "Arsenal of Democracy" for its role in defense industries, erupted in race riots that killed 25 blacks and 9 whites.

Detroit, Michigan. Riot at the Sojourner Truth homes, a new U.S. federal housing project, caused by white neighbors' attempt to prevent Negro tenants from moving in. Sign with American flag "We want white tenants in our white community," directly opposite the housing project
Source | Arthur S. Siegel, "Detroit, Michigan. Riot at the Sojourner Truth homes, a new U.Sn federal housing project," photograph, Feb. 1942, Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection, Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8d13572
Creator | Arthur S. Siegel
Item Type | Photograph
Cite This document | Arthur S. Siegel, “"Detroit, Michigan. Riot at the Sojourner Truth homes, a new U.S. federal housing project",” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed March 28, 2024, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1100.

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