Lafayette Park in Detroit in Wayne County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Black Bottom
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, July 30, 2021
1. Black Bottom Marker
Side 1
Inscription.
Black Bottom. . Named for its dark marsh soils, Black Bottom was a neighborhood roughly bound by Gratiot Avenue, St. Aubin Street, Larned Street and Brush Street. European immigrants settle here in the mid-nineteenth century. Between World Wars I and II it became home to thousands of African Americans who migrated from the South in search of a better future offered by factory work. Housing discrimination forced them into neighborhoods like Black Bottom. They paid overpriced rent and often packed multiple families into single homes as they built a new community. Those who grew up in Black Bottom included Coleman A. young, Detroit's first black mayor; Joe Louis, the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949; and Ralph Bunche, the first black recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, honored in 1950 for his role as a mediator with the United Nations., This street was once part of Black Bottom, a residential community that was largely African American during the first half of the twentieth century. Due to segregation, the neighborhood was mostly socially and economically independent, Black-owned enterprises, such as grocery stores, restaurants and shops, occupied its street corners and the business district along Hastings Street. Churches and schools provided residents with social spaces and a sense of belonging. In the 1950s-60s, the Detroit government razed most of Black Bottom as part of its urban renewal and "slum clearance" plan. Lafayette Park and Chrysler Freeway (I-375) replaced the community. Many families were displaced and given no resources for relocation. They retained their connections to each other through several Black Bottom churches that endured into the twenty-first century.
Named for its dark marsh soils, Black Bottom was a neighborhood roughly bound by Gratiot Avenue, St. Aubin Street, Larned Street and Brush Street. European immigrants settle here in the mid-nineteenth century. Between World Wars I and II it became home to thousands of African Americans who migrated from the South in search of a better future offered by factory work. Housing discrimination forced them into neighborhoods like Black Bottom. They paid overpriced rent and often packed multiple families into single homes as they built a new community. Those who grew up in Black Bottom included Coleman A. young, Detroit's first black mayor; Joe Louis, the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949; and Ralph Bunche, the first black recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, honored in 1950 for his role as a mediator with the United Nations.
This street was once part of Black Bottom, a residential community that was largely African American during the first half of the twentieth century. Due to segregation, the neighborhood was mostly socially and economically independent, Black-owned enterprises, such as grocery stores, restaurants and shops, occupied its street corners and the business district along Hastings Street. Churches and schools provided residents with social spaces and a sense of belonging. In the 1950s-60s, the Detroit
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government razed most of Black Bottom as part of its urban renewal and "slum clearance" plan. Lafayette Park and Chrysler Freeway (I-375) replaced the community. Many families were displaced and given no resources for relocation. They retained their connections to each other through several Black Bottom churches that endured into the twenty-first century.
Erected 2020 by Michigan Historical Commission - Michigan History Center. (Marker Number S0758.)
Location. 42° 20.26′ N, 83° 1.967′ W. Marker is in Detroit, Michigan, in Wayne County. It is in Lafayette Park. Marker is on East Lafayette Street, 0.1 miles west of Orleans Street, on the right when traveling east. Located in Lafayette Central Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1500 E Lafayette St, Detroit MI 48207, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Lafayette Central Park, located in the area of Black Bottom
Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 30, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. This page has been viewed 878 times since then and 412 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 30, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.