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Rodney Cole
Prof. Merri Fefles
HIS-202-300
9 December 2017
Capstone Project: Yvonne Sneed
Racial tension has been a constant issue in the world similar to the way volcanoes stay inactive from eruption but there is always a chance the hostility can boil over. During the 1960s,
Detroit experienced gentrification and Black Americans moved into White neighborhoods and there was discrimination amongst both races leading to scarce job opportunities for Blacks
(Miah). My grandmother, Yvonne Sneed, lived in Royal Oak which was a suburb of Detroit. I conducted a phone interview with her on November 11 to inquire about her experience living through the Detroit Riots in 1967. She was twenty years old then …show more content…
In the short film on WJBK FOX 2 News Detroit, there are aerial views of buildings covered in flames with smoke spreading profusely, while a police officer is seen holding a gun in one arm and while trying to plow open a door as a man runs out of the house holding clothes.
From the interview with my grandmother, there were similarities as she remembers having a television in the basement and looking at the local news report covering the destruction throughout the city showing lots of damaged storefronts from arson. Both the film and Yvonne’s memory seem to be comparable and she recalls not going back to work because of the city’s turmoil leading her mother wanting to leave the city. Given that the riots lasted for 5 days, my grandmother didn’t leave the house and stayed home only to watch the newscast to stay updated on the status of the city.
This historical event did change American history and can still be viewed as a reflection too. Racial tension wasn’t a new issue in society and had roots from the previous …show more content…
Five days of chaos affected my family and possibly changed the course of where my mother could’ve been born. Yvonne’s life was turned upside down and forced her to no longer return to work as a cashier and travel to the city where the damage was frightening to see and suddenly things didn’t feel comfortable. My grandmother not only survived the
Detroit riots she became a better person for it. She took what she learned and the struggle she overcame and turned it into a better life for her children. Shortly after the riots, my grandmother like so many others, left Detroit for the promise that Chicago seemed to offer. Instead of allowing the plight of Detroit dig her into the ground, she took the experience and turned it into an opportunity to raise her family. The Detroit riots of 1967 changed the face of America’s motor city and the lives of many Americans. Many took what they learned and bettered their lives, but many still feel the effects of these riots in their daily lives.
Cole 5
Works Cited
Davidson, James West. “U.S. A Narrative History.” vol. 2. 7 th ed., 2015.
Miah, Malik. "Detroit's Rebellion Fifty Years Later. (Cover Story)."
Against the Current
, vol. 32, no. 189,
Jul/Aug2017, pp.
Page of 5
Zoom
Pages
Cole 1
Rodney Cole
Prof. Merri Fefles
HIS-202-300
9 December 2017
Capstone Project: Yvonne Sneed
Racial tension has been a constant issue in the world similar to the way volcanoes stay inactive from eruption but there is always a chance the hostility can boil over. During the 1960s,
Detroit experienced gentrification and Black Americans moved into White neighborhoods and there was discrimination amongst both races leading to scarce job opportunities for Blacks
(Miah). My grandmother, Yvonne Sneed, lived in Royal Oak which was a suburb of Detroit. I conducted a phone interview with her on November 11 to inquire about her experience living through the Detroit Riots in 1967. She was twenty years old then …show more content…
In the short film on WJBK FOX 2 News Detroit, there are aerial views of buildings covered in flames with smoke spreading profusely, while a police officer is seen holding a gun in one arm and while trying to plow open a door as a man runs out of the house holding clothes.
From the interview with my grandmother, there were similarities as she remembers having a television in the basement and looking at the local news report covering the destruction throughout the city showing lots of damaged storefronts from arson. Both the film and Yvonne’s memory seem to be comparable and she recalls not going back to work because of the city’s turmoil leading her mother wanting to leave the city. Given that the riots lasted for 5 days, my grandmother didn’t leave the house and stayed home only to watch the newscast to stay updated on the status of the city.
This historical event did change American history and can still be viewed as a reflection too. Racial tension wasn’t a new issue in society and had roots from the previous …show more content…
Five days of chaos affected my family and possibly changed the course of where my mother could’ve been born. Yvonne’s life was turned upside down and forced her to no longer return to work as a cashier and travel to the city where the damage was frightening to see and suddenly things didn’t feel comfortable. My grandmother not only survived the
Detroit riots she became a better person for it. She took what she learned and the struggle she overcame and turned it into a better life for her children. Shortly after the riots, my grandmother like so many others, left Detroit for the promise that Chicago seemed to offer. Instead of allowing the plight of Detroit dig her into the ground, she took the experience and turned it into an opportunity to raise her family. The Detroit riots of 1967 changed the face of America’s motor city and the lives of many Americans. Many took what they learned and bettered their lives, but many still feel the effects of these riots in their daily lives.
Cole 5
Works Cited
Davidson, James West. “U.S. A Narrative History.” vol. 2. 7 th ed., 2015.
Miah, Malik. "Detroit's Rebellion Fifty Years Later. (Cover Story)."
Against the Current
, vol. 32, no. 189,
Jul/Aug2017, pp.