Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination
    Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination
    Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination
    Audiobook10 hours

    Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination

    Written by Herb Boyd

    Narrated by James Shippy

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    The author of Baldwin’s Harlem looks at the evolving culture, politics, economics, and spiritual life of Detroit—a blend of memoir, love letter, history, and clear-eyed reportage that explores the city’s past, present, and future and its significance to the African American legacy and the nation’s fabric.

    Herb Boyd moved to Detroit in 1943, as race riots were engulfing the city. Though he did not grasp their full significance at the time, this critical moment would be one of many he witnessed that would mold his political activism and exposed a city restless for change. In Black Detroit, he reflects on his life and this landmark place, in search of understanding why Detroit is a special place for black people.

    Boyd reveals how Black Detroiters were prominent in the city’s historic, groundbreaking union movement and—when given an opportunity—were among the tireless workers who made the automobile industry the center of American industry. Well paying jobs on assembly lines allowed working class Black Detroiters to ascend to the middle class and achieve financial stability, an accomplishment not often attainable in other industries.

    Boyd makes clear that while many of these middle-class jobs have disappeared, decimating the population and hitting blacks hardest, Detroit survives thanks to the emergence of companies such as Shinola—which represent the strength of the Motor City and and its continued importance to the country. He also brings into focus the major figures who have defined and shaped Detroit, including William Lambert, the great abolitionist, Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, Coleman Young, the city’s first black mayor, diva songstress Aretha Franklin, Malcolm X, and Ralphe Bunche, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

    With a stunning eye for detail and passion for Detroit, Boyd celebrates the music, manufacturing, politics, and culture that make it an American original.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJun 6, 2017
    ISBN9780062669995
    Author

    Herb Boyd

    Herb Boyd is a journalist, activist, teacher, and author or editor of twenty-three books, including his latest, The Diary of Malcolm X, edited with Ilyasah Al-Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter. His articles have been published in the Black Scholar, Final Call, the Amsterdam News, Cineaste, Downbeat, the Network Journal, and the Daily Beast. A scholar for more than forty years, he teaches African American history and culture at the City College of New York in Harlem, where he lives.

    Related to Black Detroit

    Related audiobooks

    Ethnic Studies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      James H. Cone, Founder Of Black Liberation Theology, Dies At 79

      Apr 28, 2018

      The Arkansas native is remembered for his fierce challenges to traditional Christian norms of his era.

      2 min read

    • Article

      There Is No Right Way To Fight For Your Life

      Jun 5, 2020

      AS PROTESTS SPRING UP ACROSS the country and around the world in response to the video of George Floyd’s murder, there seems to be some confusion about why this moment, this death at the hands of police, has sparked so much outrage. And if it were an

      2 min read

    • Article

      The South Got Something To Say: A Celebration Of Southern Rap

      Aug 3, 2020

      Our list of the best songs, albums and mixtapes by Southern rappers is a celebration that recenters the South as a creative center of hip-hop and honors the region for all that it has given to us.

      13 min read

    • Article

      Harlem’s Renaissance

      Jul 1, 2020

      Harlem’s Renaissance
      3 min read

    • Article

      Jackie Wang: Carceral Capitalism

      Dec 10, 2018

      Jackie Wang is “a student of the dream state, black studies scholar, prison abolitionist, poet, performer, library rat, trauma monster, and PhD candidate at Harvard University.” 1 I was first introduced to her writing in 2012 when some prairie prison

      5 min read

    • Article

      Cornel West on Why James Baldwin Matters More Than Ever

      Mar 2, 2017

      James Baldwin was the prophetic voice of an era that isn’t over. Fifty years ago he was the intense man from Harlem who wrote, in essays and novels, his version of a civil-rights movement. Over the ruins of the 1960s, and specially the assassination

      12 min read

    • Article

      The Case for Abolition

      Jun 19, 2019

      Our belief in abolition is first and foremost philosophical. It grew from watching, experiencing, and opposing decades of reliance on concrete and steel cages as catch-all solutions to social problems. We want a society that centers freedom and justi

      3 min read

    • Article

      Africa RISING

      May 11, 2020

      Africa RISING
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Ku Klux Klan

      Nov 1, 2020

      The Ku Klux Klan
      1 min read

    • Article

      In 'A More Beautiful And Terrible History,' Fuel For The Fight Ahead

      Feb 4, 2018

      Jeanne Theoharis' new book re-examines civil rights history and the way it's been manipulated. "It is used to make us feel good about ourselves, to make us feel good about our progress," she says.

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Black Detroit

    4/5

    12 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This book open my eyes about a lot of things that occurred in Detroit that I was unaware of. This book made me realize the importance of sitting down with your ancestors before they are no longer with us to learn what they experience when they were growing up in America.