A former Black Bottom neighborhood was recently recognized as a state historical marker at Lafayette Central Park, 1500 E. Lafayette, Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Detroit’s historic Black Bottom neighborhood was home to thriving Black businesses and growing Black families. Running from I-75 on the north, to Jefferson Avenue on the south, Grand Trunk railroad and Brush Street to the east and west, respectively, Black Bottom, near the city’s east side, was erased from Detroit history. Plans of community redevelopment and expansion arguably laid the foundation for Detroit’s economics and relationship with its Black citizens.
Getting its name from the black rich soil in the area, Black Bottom residents were mostly renters but had a space to call their own. Not just the homes in the community but local businesses were also exclusively Black creating a network of self-sustainability and independence. Despite its strong African American presence, the neighborhood was also home to early immigrants before becoming exclusively Black.
The marker reveals famous Black Bottom residents such as Coleman A. Young, Joe Louis, and Ralph Bunche.
Local historian Jamon Jordan (who attended the recent marker recognition event) posted on Facebook that when he gives lectures or tours on the history of Black Bottom, Detroit, he tells people “a lot of stuff.”
“I tell them that Black people have been living in the area known as Black Bottom since the 1700s. And that they were enslaved there. We still have the homes connected to some the slaveowners or their families. Like, the Joseph Campau House, the Alexander Chapoton House & the Beaubien House. The Campaus, Chapotons and Beaubiens were French slaveowners in Detroit in the 1700s and 1800s. I tell them that Black abolitionist leaders of the Underground Railroad lived there in the 1800s. People like William & Julia Lambert, William Webb and George DeBaptiste, and others all lived there,” he said in his recent post. “I tell them that from 1914-1950, Black Bottom was the highest concentrated area for African American residents in Detroit. It would be where the first Black public school teacher lived – Fannie Richards, and the site where the main Black elementary schools – Duffield and Barstow were located.”
The Michigan Department of Transportation announced plans to demolish I-375 to pave a new boulevard and business district, as part of a nationwide effort to rethink America’s cities.
The $330 million project will develop a six-lane boulevard that will include bike lanes, pedestrian paths, and green spaces.
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