The dedication of the “Monument to Joe Louis,” informally known by locals as “The Fist,” took place on October 16, 1986. The sculpture is a memorial to Joe Louis, an American professional boxer and the World Heavyweight Champion from 1937 to 1949. Created by Mexican-American sculptor Robert Graham, the artwork symbolizes a correlation between a boxer’s closed fist and the fight against racial injustice. The sculpture has become an icon of Detroit within Harrt Plaza Riverfront Park, which opened in 1975 and was named after Senator Phillip A. Hart. The plaza also includes a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. recognizing the first time he delivered the lines “I Have a Dream” on June 20, 1963, at Detroit's Cobo Hall which was located nearby. King used the phrase in several speeches prior to his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
Historians estimate that as many as 45,000 runaway slaves passed through Detroit on their way to freedom in Canada. Although Michigan was a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it possible for slave catchers (or any white person) to claim that an African American was a runaway slave pending the decision of a special court that required only the testimony of one white person. The Fugitive Slave Law also barred the accused from defending themselves, a situation that caused many free African Americans to leave the nation of their birth and seek refuge in Canada. The anti-slavery movement in Detroit comprised of African Americans, foreign and native-born whites, and Native Americans who defied the law and worked together to provide safety for thousands of women, men, and children. Sculpted by Ed Dwight and dedicated on October 20, 2001, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad pays tribute to the city’s contribution and the thousands of railroad conductors who made freedom possible. Several routes diverged on Detroit, code name “Midnight,” and for many, the city was the final destination for freedom seekers until the mid-1830s. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, many of the runaways then moved to Canada. Thus, across the Detroit River in Windsor, Canada, the second part of the memorial faces the Gateway to Freedom Memorial in Detroit. From characters such as Peter Denison, who returned to Detroit to lead a Black militia, to Thornton and Ruth Blackburn, this memorial pays tributes to Americans who stood for freedom in an era of slavery.
The National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen was located in Fort Wayne for many years prior to a 2020-2021 move to the Coleman A. Young Gallery inside Detroit’s Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The museum offers a repository of sources as well as exhibits and programs that interpret the history of African American aviators, mechanics, and other civilian and military personnel in World War II. Visitors have the opportunity to view model aircraft along with equipment, uniforms, supplies, pictures, and video presentations depicting achievements and participation of African Americans during World War II and in the years leading to integration and the creation of the Air Force.
The Motown Museum is located at Hitsville USA, the original home of Motown Records from 1959-1972. Founded by Berry Gordy, Jr., Motown Records would become the most successful independent record label in the industry and the largest Black-owned company in the U.S. at one time. The "Motown Sound" jump-started the careers of notable artists like The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and the Jackson 5. Visitors to the museum can see Studio A, where some of the most famous Motown songs were recorded, along with a collection of other memorabilia from the era.
Established in 1844 and one of the most active congregations within the anti-slavery movement, the First Congregational Church of Detroit has a rich history in the Underground Railroad nationally and is recognized as a registered historic site.
Founded in 1965 and housing over 35,000 artifacts, this 125,000 square foot museum is located in the heart of Midtown Detroit's Cultural Center. The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the world's largest institution dedicated to the African American experience. The Museum provides exhibitions and programs that explore the diversity of African American history and culture. The Museum houses over 30,000 artifacts and archival materials and is home to the Blanche Coggin Underground Railroad Collection, Harriet Tubman Museum Collection, Coleman A. Young Collection and the Sheffield Collection, a repository of documents of the labor movement in Detroit.
The Dunbar Hospital was the first hospital to serve African Americans in Detroit, Michigan. It was purchased in 1918 by a group of around thirty physicians. It was originally the home of Charles W. Warren, but as the city’s Black population grew it became too much for the thirty Black physicians to handle. To combat this they purchased the home and converted it into a hospital. In 1928 the large demand forced them to move to a larger facility. The building was purchased by Charles C Diggs, who later became Michigan’s first African American Democratic State Senator. Digg’s son took his place later as State Senator, and was also Michigan’s first African American member in U.S. Congress. In the 1970’s the home was repurchased by the Allied Medical Society and converted into a museum (Dunbar Hospital ).
The former residence of Doctor Ossian H. Sweet was the subject of an influential civil rights case in 1925. Dr. Sweet's home was the target of a white mob after Sweet had moved into the predominately white neighborhood of Garland, Detroit. Dr. Sweet moved himself and his family to 2905 Garland after establishing himself as a medical practitioner nearby and wishing to settle in a better living standard than what was available in most African-American neighborhoods. Purchasing the house from a mixed race couple(who were extremely light skinned) Sweet assumed his family would be safe. Even after receiving threats from the white home owners, Sweet decided to move himself into his home in September 1925 Anticipating the angry mob that might form, Sweet came prepared with guns and ammunition along with the enlisted help of several friends to protect themselves and the property. Sweet had called the police but knew they would offer little assistance or protection, they instead stood among the angry mob doing nothing as people started to barrage the house with rocks and threats. Certain of danger, one of the men inside the house fired out of the second story of the house, accidentally killing a white man and wounding another. After these shots were fired, the policed stormed into the house and charged Sweet and his friends with first degree murder. NAACP lawyers took Dr. Sweet's case as an opportunity to showcase the kind of racist violence being exhibited in the North through housing restrictions. Sweet was within his legal right of self-defense when they fired the shots into the mob. The trial of Dr. Sweet ended in a no decision, leading to the individual suits of each person in the house at the time of the angry mob. After in the initial case, Henry Sweet, Ossian's brother was charged not guilty and subsequently all of the charges against the others were dropped.
Mack Park was the original home field of Detroit’s Negro National League baseball franchise, the Detroit Stars. The stadium was constructed in 1914 by Joe Roesink and was located at the southeast corner of Fairview Ave. and Mack Ave. On July 7,1929, Roesink feared that a rain-soaked field might force him to cancel a game between the Stars and Kansas City Monarchs. In an attempt to keep the game scheduled, Roesink tried to dry out the field by lighting small amounts of gasoline. He hoped that small controlled fires would help dry out the field. Unfortunately, he was unable to to control the fire and set the entire stadium ablaze. The Detroit Stars finished that season at Hamtramck Stadium.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
Get a QR Code for this tour
The trail begins at the Second Baptist Church whose members were instrumental in the Underground Railroad. Highlights of the trail include Joe Louis's monument known as "The Fist" and the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial. The trail also includes the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
