1941 - Birwood Wall Supporting Documents.

In this section you will find the images, maps and tables used within the video. There are also a few assets that were not used within the video but are related to the subject matter. Click image to view full size.

1919 Map indicating Greenfield Village in the Northwest corner of the mapped area.

20175 Birwood Street with newly constructed wall – 1941

Birwood Street Children - 1941 — Children standing in front of newly constructed Birwood Wall – 1941

“I WANT YOU FOR U.S. ARMY” – World War I recruiting poster.

Front page of Tonopah Daily Bonanza. May 19th, 1917.

Front page of the Butte Daily Post June5th, 1917 regarding Selective Service.

Letter From War Secretary to President Wilson – 1917

1939 Redlining map of Detroit metropolitan area

Redlining report from the Birwood neighborhood of 8 Mile and Wyoming Avenue made before Birwood Wall. construction

The newly constructed Birwood Wall – 1941

Free Press 1941 story about construction of the Birwood Wall.

One of the first families moving into their Sojourner Truth home. 1942

Mother and toddler at Sojourner Truth Homes. Feb, 1942.

Family stand outside their new Sojourner Truth home. Feb. 1942.

Sign with American flag “We want white tenants in our white community,” directly opposite the the Sojourner Truth housing development.

Troops guarding a moving truck as Black families move into their new Sojourner Truth Homes. 1942

Harold Dillard, 14, is arrested by police during the riot at the Sojourner Truth Housing Project as his sister holds onto him in protest – 1942.

A bloodied Black man is forcibly led away from home by uniformed police officers with night sticks during the Sojourner Truth Housing unrest.

Two Home Guard soldiers stand guard at Sojourner Truth Homes 1942.

Tear gas disperses a crowd of people from the area near Woodward and Stimpson during the 1943 race riots.

A mob overturns a car near the intersection of Woodward and Charlotte Street, Detroit, during the 1943 race riots. The fate of the driver is unknown.

People rush past a drug store that is being looted on Detroit’s West Side during the civil unrest of 1967. “Black Power” has been written on one of the windows.

Further Research Material

Original, full size (163MB) Zip file of the Detroit Regional Redlining Map.

1891 – Detroit in History and Commerce. A careful compilation of the history, mercantile and manufacturing interests of Detroit. Published under the direction of the Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Exchange and sanction by the Detroit Board of Trade.

Michigan Public Radio story from 2017 exploring how discriminatory housing policies continue to shape Michigan’s metro areas.

Detroit News article on the Birwood Wall makeover. Local artists created a mural on the Birwood Wall that highlights the Black American experience.

Wikipedia article regarding Black American history in Detroit going back to the early 1800’s.

Images, videos and maps used within this lesson were obtained from The Library of Congress, The Detroit Public Library Burton Historical Collection and The National Archives, et al. and are used under Section 107, 110(2), 112(f) of the Copyright Act and The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (“TEACH”) Act.