Dr. Ossian Sweet's Doctors Office

The Roaring 20s was a period of surging economic growth and prosperity, rapid innovation, and cultural change within the United States. From jazz music to the Harlem Renaissance to the introduction of the automobile and films confidence within the American public was at an all-time high and it seemed like it would continue this way forever. However, these benefits were not enjoyed by everybody, and within this vibrant period remained much of the same issues plaguing and harming the African American community for decades within the US. The racial intolerance in America was only amplified after World War 1; race riots and mob rule swept across the country like wildfire, inflicting countless deaths and even more injuries between whites and blacks. From the systemic murders of African Americans by law enforcement to the lynchings of innocent black men and women, many African Americans felt abandoned by the government, and took matters into their own hands. Such was the case of Ossian Sweet, an African American physician who opened a doctor’s office in a local pharmacy within the neighborhood of Black Bottom, a majority black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. With racial intolerance at its peak at the time, doctors and hospitals refused African Americans in need of medical attention solely for the color of their skin. Sweet’s personal experiences and medical knowledge prompted him to step in, aiding and potentially saving the lives of a community that has little other options at the time when it came to accessible healthcare. 

The Red Summer of 1919 was the culmination of social and racial tensions spurred on by World War 1 with The Great Migration northward and stiff competition for jobs and housing by all Americans. Dozens of race riots between blacks and whites swept across The United States: lynchings, police brutality, and racial intolerance against African Americans were all too common during this time period and hundreds of people were injured or killed, with blacks disproportionately bearing the brunt of the damage. It was during the Red Summer that an African American man by the name of Ossian Sweet, who was attending Howard University at the time, witnessed outside his fraternity window a white mob pulling a black man out of a streetcar and then beating him senselessly, an image that would stay with him for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, this racial intolerance and discrimination had been a part of his life since he was a child and stayed with him until that fateful spring of 1925 where racial tensions exploded between Ossian Sweet’s family and the surrounding white neighbors, resulting in the infamous Sweet trial spearheaded by the legendary Clarence Darrow. While the trial itself serves as one of many triumphs for The Civil Rights movement and for the black community, it should not be understated the importance of Ossian Sweet as a person. The violence he witnessed, the discrimination he faced, and the contributions he made to his community should be recognized and serve as a reminder of the things we should praise within Ossian Sweet’s life, as well as the issues facing our society today.

Ossian Sweet’s story began in 1895 in Bartow, Florida under cramped conditions and with little income alongside his parents and 9 other siblings on a farm. As stated by Heather Bourbeau, his first exposure to racism would be when he would only be 5 years old when he witnessed a black teenager being lynched and immolated by an angry white mob, picking off charred pieces of skin to take home as souvenirs [1]. He would be 13 years old when he would travel up north to attend prep school and college at Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1909, the university owned solely by African Americans in the US. After 8 years he would study medicine at the historically African American Howard University in Washington D.C whereas mentioned previously took place during a tumultuous time with numerous race riots and lynchings against African Americans happening across the nation. From tiny rural towns to large urban centers many African Americans feared for the safety of themselves and their families. Even in northern states such as Illinois, Washington D.C, and Michigan, where Jim Crow laws didn’t blatantly exist, there were still many cases of lynchings, police brutality, and racial intolerance.  Even the Ku Klux Klan had a large amount of power within the city of Detroit, with a mayoral candidate backed by the KKK almost winning during the election of 1924-1925 as said by Victoria W. Wolcott [2]. Racism, unconscious or conscious, was still very much a large part of people’s lives within the Midwest during this time and was especially prevalent within melting pot cities such as Detroit.

After graduating from Howard University in 1921, Sweet would then move to Detroit, Michigan in search of work, often being rejected from hospitals due to the color of his skin despite his education. Because of this he often had to work in restaurants to make ends meet. After seeing the residents of Black Bottom, an impoverished and predominately African American neighborhood in Detroit, in dire need of medical care, he decided to begin practicing medicine within the neighborhood. According to the Detroit Historical Society, he rented out a space within a local pharmacy named Palace Drug Company and within a short period of time he amassed a large list of patients in need of medical care [3]. A couple years later in 1924 he would become affiliated with Dunbar Hospital, Detroit’s first hospital founded to serve the black community, earning the respect of his colleagues while working there. Even though Ossian Sweet couldn’t practice medicine in a proper hospital for some time after moving to Detroit, it didn’t deter him from helping people who needed it the most, nonetheless. He served as a leader and role model within his family, paving the way for his younger siblings to also obtain an education and obtain opportunities that couldn’t be found in the South. Now, he is serving as a leader within the community of Black Bottom, introducing the neighborhood to proper and accessible healthcare and potentially saving lives as a result, all while still dealing with the stressors of living as an African American man during a tumultuous time in American history.

Sweet was constantly working hard to better himself within his medical career and was not afraid to step out of his comfort zone. Such as in 1923 when he studied medicine abroad in France and Austria with his wife Gladys whom he married just a year prior. It was in Europe where he experienced much fairer treatment and much little discrimination and racism compared to the US. It was only when his wife, who was pregnant at the time, was denied by an American hospital in Paris solely for the color of her skin despite Ossian Sweet’s generous contributions to the hospital that reminded him of what lay back home in Detroit[1]. Soon after arriving home, the birth of his infant daughter drove him to search for a better and safer neighborhood to live in with his wife. During this time, hearing numerous cases of African American families being chased out of neighborhoods by white mobs did not discourage Sweet in pursuit of a better life for him and his wife and daughter, even going out of his way to protect his way of life by force. Ossian Sweet didn’t just move into an all-white neighborhood solely for his benefit, but for the benefit of his community as well. In fact, one of the very reasons why Sweet chose that specific house on Garland Street was due to its proximity to his office in Palace Drug Company. Being in the vicinity of his office meant he could be of a greater service to his community, because without Sweet they have very little options in terms of healthcare. His experience at Paris with the needless endangerment of his wife and unborn child from the American hospital gave him a harsh reminder that the African American community within the US is mostly left to fend for themselves and that self-sufficiency and independence are key in survival. This is the true defining characteristic of Ossian Sweet, through his experiences he recognized that if he wanted, it was up to him and him only to get it and the same thing applies to the African American community. He knew the risks of moving into an all-white neighborhood and he did it anyways, arming himself with firearms and friends during his time there and not once calling for help from the police. With little to no help from the US government, the supreme court, the police, or any other major institution at the time, Ossian Sweets struggle for self-determinization, independence, and self-sufficiency serves as an inspiration to the African American community. His actions have cemented himself within not just the history of Detroit, but also within the history of Michigan as well.

Ossian Sweet was a man born ahead of its time. Predating groups and figures such as the Black Panthers and Malcom X respectively, Sweet demonstrated a level of self-determination and self-sufficiency that was remarkable at the time. The lynching and burning of an African American teenager never stopped him from attaining a high level of education and job discrimination never stopped him from practicing medicine, so therefore it would make sense to believe that a white and angry mob would never stop Ossian Sweet and his family from moving into a house that they rightly paid for. Although Sweet’s life would take a turn for the worse with the tragic death of his wife and daughter due to tuberculosis, his contributions to the neighborhood of Black Bottom have proven invaluable to not only to the neighborhood but to the African American community in the US.

The Ossian Sweet Foundation situated in Detroit, Michigan should know about this Clio point, and the fact that even today the story of Ossian Sweet and his court case aren’t forgotten and is still very much prevalent today. The issues Ossian Sweet faced within his life from violence against African Americans to job discrimination are still very much present today, showing that we still have a long way to go before we reach proper equality and equity within American society. Hopefully this Clio point as well as the foundation will help spread awareness about Ossian Sweet’s contribution to his community, as well as the tragedy that befell him afterwards with the death of his wife and daughter and his eventual suicide in 1960.

[1] Bourbeau, “Dr. Ossian Sweet’s Black Life Mattered”.

[2] Wolcott, “Defending the Home: Ossian Sweet and the Struggle Against Segregation in 1920s Detroit,” 3.

[3] Detroit Historical Society

[4] Boyle, "Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age,” 

Bourbeau, Heather. Dr. Ossian Sweet’s Black Life Mattered, June 17th, 2015. Accessed August 19th, 2023. https://daily.jstor.org/ossian-sweet-black-lives-matter/.

Wolcott, Victoria W. Defending the Home: Ossian Sweet and the Struggle Against Segregation in 1920s Detroit, July 12th, 1993. Accessed August 19th, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25162908.

Boyle, Kevin. Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age. Detroit, Michigan. Henry Holt, 2004.