Historical Covert, Michigan

Covert, Michigan, is a small town many people don’t know about. You would think such a small town wouldn’t have any significant history. That's not the case for Covert, though. Covert Michigan is a small township located on the southwest side of Michigan. As of 2018, only 2,856 people live in the township.^[1] Around the second half of the nineteenth century, there was an increase in jobs due to the booming logging industry nearby. This led to more people moving here for work. People from the south also moved up to the north for a better future, and Covert was a destination for some. Covert is known for its history with racial integration. The community there set differences aside and wanted what was best for the town. They integrated all the one-room schools and elected people of color into the town’s power structure. Covert, Michigan, is important because of its deep-rooted history with successful job opportunities, racial integration, and long-lasting effect.

^[1]“Covert Township - Place Explorer - Data Commons.”

After the Civil War, Covert started to build up a population of African Americans looking for a better life in the North. People came for many reasons. Some came for job opportunities, and others came for a safe life outside the South. Covert became more developed with the new settlers. A successful lumber company and large fruit farms were in the town, which helped gain interest to bring people to the town.^[1] As people settled in, the community started to bond and integrated their schools and elect people of color into their power system. This was just the start for Covert and its community.

What initially brought people to Covert was all the available jobs Covert had. Covert was made up of just flat farm fields that were disrupted occasionally by a farmstead or fruit orchard.^[2] Then a nearby lumber company had a small boom, leading to more people entering the city. People needed work and saw the lumber industry as a great way to make money since it had been doing so well. While the lumbering industry boomed, some large fruit farms boomed as well. The soil in Covert was sandy and damp, which was great for growing fruit trees and shrubs. The farms would grow apples, peaches, pears, and blueberries.^[3] All these new farms meant one thing for the town, more job opportunities for new settlers. From all these industries in Covert, nearby cities like Detroit, Chicago, and others benefitted.^[4] With nearby cities benefiting from Covert’s industries, the resource demand increased, meaning more jobs opened. People were coming to Covert for a better future and work life. This got Covert up and running, but it was not the only reason that attracted settlers and defined Covert’s history.

The community in Covert was the most significant pull factor for new settlers. Covert did not follow the status quo like the rest of the country. At the time, segregation divided communities in all cities and urban areas. In Covert, though, they did the very opposite. They integrated their school system and elected African Americans into their town’s power structure. At the time, integrated schools were illegal. Covert, although, had gotten around this issue because they left out the race of the students when submitting the papers to the state government.^[5] The only thing stopping them now would be the white families on the school board and having kids attending the school. The families, however, knew about the integration and wanted it for the town. They wanted the town to be built off of equality and closely with African Americans.^[6] They wanted this same ideology for their town’s representatives as well. In 1868, white voters in Michigan made it illegal for blacks to vote, but a gaping hole in Michigan law said nothing about blacks running for public office.^[7] Dawson Pompey, an African American farmer near the age of 70, ran and was elected to overlook road projects in Covert. He was the first African American man to hold elective office in Michigan.^[8] After Pompey’s election, Covert voted twenty-nine other black Americans into office over the next three decades. The offices were diverse and included drain commissioner, township trustee, constable, election inspector, and Michigan’s first black justice of the peace.^[9] People from the outside saw all these opportunities the town provided as an open door to a new and improved life. Covert was the only haven for people who wanted an equal chance and opportunity in life. This town helped change the way people could live their lives. Families could raise their children with a bright and promising future rather than living in segregation and not being given the same opportunities. All these stories above show why Covert has such a significant and deep-rooted history.

All this history still has a long-lasting effect on Covert as well. In the mid-twentieth century, Covert’s population started to decrease. Young African American men and women began to move into neighboring cities or toward the new urban towns in search of work in the manufacturing industry.^[10] Today though, Covert is thirty-five square miles filled with forests and blueberry farms, with nearly 3,000 people living and working in or around Covert. Integration also occurs in town, as Covert is home to a growing population of Hispanics or Latinos. According to the 2010 Census, they make up thirty percent of the people, overtaking blacks as the second-most populous ethnicity.^[11] Even though integration of the African American community may have been a long time ago, integration of another society is still happening today. This integration shows the long-lasting effect of Covert’s community and how they always wanted the town built on equality and intimacy with other cultures, no matter what the race of the people is. In the Covert school system, they plan to teach the history of the town as an attempt to try and carry the significant stories throughout future generations.^[12] They do not want all the stories to go unknown and buried in the rest of Michigan’s history. The community members take great pride in their town's history and desire for it to gain recognition throughout the nation. Another way the town remembers its history is by opening a local history museum. The museum has been working closely with the Smithsonian, with artifacts and stories of the history of this town now on display in Washington, D.C.^[13] Some artifacts they have included are books, pictures, and the globe across the street from the first schoolhouse. All these actions and stories show how Covert still tries to preserve their significant history, remembering and showcasing it. The town is incredibly proud of what its former residents accomplished, and they feel the need to carry those accomplishments and make themselves heard locally and nationally.

Looking back upon Covert’s history, we recognize how special this place was. The town goes against the nation's standards; instead, they go off their perception, even if their actions are illegal. Covert’s community shows how even in a dark period of our nation, there still can be spots of hope within. Covert helped give people a brighter future and set families up to accomplish their goals. Kids had the same fair chance at being taught in an integrated schoolhouse. At the same time, African American men were eligible to hold positions of authority in the town. The more significant part about this is that Covert is diverse and integrated today. The town is now home to a growing Latino community. Covert all around, no matter the period, is a significant historical spot that allows, no matter who you are, to have a more fantastic future and role in life. Covert's next step, which has already begun, is the process of expanding its reach by sharing its history on a larger platform. As said earlier, the town’s museum is putting artifacts from Covert into the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. Covert should be remembered by all for its deep-rooted history and just as a lesson on how to treat others in general. No matter who the person is, everyone deserves a chance at something more extraordinary.

[1] Cox, “A Pocket of Freedom: Blacks in Covert, Michigan, in the Nineteenth Century on JSTOR.”

^[2] Cox, “A Pocket of Freedom: Blacks in Covert, Michigan, in the Nineteenth Century on JSTOR.”

^[3] Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

^[4] Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

^[5] Sprenger, “Covert Twp. Being Recognized for Early Role in School Integration | WWMT.”

^[6] Lyden, “Covert, Michigan: A History in Black and White : NPR.”

^[7] Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

^[8] Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

^[9] Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

^[10] Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

^[11] Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

^[12] Lyden, “Covert, Michigan: A History in Black and White : NPR.”

^[13] Sprenger, “Covert Twp. Being Recognized for Early Role in School Integration | WWMT.”

Cox, “A Pocket of Freedom: Blacks in Covert, Michigan, in the Nineteenth Century on JSTOR.”

Middleton, “Covert, Michigan: The American Town That Never Experienced Segregation — Unique Coloring.”

Sprenger, “Covert Twp. Being Recognized for Early Role in School Integration | WWMT.”

Lyden, “Covert, Michigan: A History in Black and White : NPR.”

“Covert Township - Place Explorer - Data Commons.”