He had arrived the night before: Details of JFK’s campaign visit drawn from Detroit News, Oct. 8, 1962; Detroit Free Press, Oct. 8, 1962; Washington Post, Oct. 8, 1962; New York Times, Oct. 8, 1962; interviews, Mark Cavanagh, Jack Casey, Raymond Murray.
Raymond Brennan, an engineer: JFK letter to Brennan, White House Central Subject Files, Box 979, JFKL.
Kennedy was much in demand: Detroit Auto Show papers, Box 7, File 8, BFRC. President Eisenhower had attended the show and spoke at Cobo Hall in 1960; Henry Ford Name File, JFKL.
In a telegram earlier that year: Letter to Charlotte Ford, Henry Ford Name File, JFKL. Telegram delivered April 3 1962: “% Henry Ford, Club 2, 2 West 52nd Street, New York City.”
Chapter 3: The Show
The Motor City had an intoxicating buzz: Szudarek, The First Century of the Detroit Auto Show, 179–181; Detroit Auto Show file, BFRC; Detroit Free Press, Oct. 18–19, 1962; Detroit News, Oct. 17–20, 1962.
Charlotte Ford later called her parents’ relationship: Transcript of Charlotte Ford interview with David Halberstam, The Reckoning file, BU.
Anne was a patron of the arts: Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts, 42, no. 3, Spring 1963.
He sounded just like LBJ: Transcript of Cal Beauregard interview with Halberstam, The Reckoning file, BU.
“We will re-live in Asia”: HF2 press conference at AMA Inc. press luncheon, Oct. 19, 1962, File 9, Detroit Auto Show, BFRC.
Saturday it rained in Detroit: Description of auto show drawn from Detroit News, Oct. 20–28, 1962; Detroit Free Press, Oct. 20–28, 1962; Szudarek, The First Century of the Detroit Auto Show; Detroit Auto Show file 9, BFRC.
African Americans in Detroit were as attached: Michigan Chronicle, Oct. 20, 1962. Statistics also showed that Cadillac and Thunderbird were more popular proportionately among blacks than whites.
As Davis described it: Davis, One Man’s Way, 20–24. One day, Davis said, he overheard a white salesman on the telephone say to a customer, “What color do you want? Black? We have them—black as a nigger’s heel.”
“President Has Cold, Halts Trip”: Washington Post, Sunday, Oct. 21 1962; also Oct. 21 editions of New York Times, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press.
Once the big wheels: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 23, 1963.
Reuther was JFK’s most frequent: Reuther Name file, White House Central Subject Files, Box 979, JFKL.
Mayor Cavanagh had prepared: Cavanagh Papers, Box 52, Reuther Library; also Detroit Free Press, Oct. 23, 1962.
Chapter 4: West Grand Boulevard
Mrs. Edwards, her young charges: Interviews, Berry Gordy Jr., Allen Rawls, Robin Terry, Martha Reeves.
Roberta Wright, her close friend: Interview, Roberta Wright. Mrs. Wright was a spry nonagenarian when interviewed at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, founded by her late husband.
Their day of departure: Washington Post, Oct. 24, 1962; also New York Times, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Oct. 23–24, 1962; interviews, Berry Gordy Jr., Katherine Anderson Schaffner.
Soon after arriving in Detroit, Berry Sr.: Account of Gordy family drawn from interviews Berry Gordy Jr., Roberta Wright, Robin Terry, Harry T. Edwards; Gordy, To Be Loved.
The rats part was real: Interview, Berry Gordy Jr., Dec. 4, 2013. Gordy was interviewed in the pool house of his elegant but not ostentatious mansion high in the Bel Air hills of Los Angeles.
Grinnell’s was not just the dominant: Interviews, Dan Aldridge, David Williams, Berry Gordy Jr., Juan Carlos Hearn; also Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org on Grinnell Brothers Music House.
The Gordy family was among Detroit’s piano multitudes: Color, June 1949. The subhead was “The Famous Gordys of Detroit Have What It Takes.”
His sequence on the line: Interview, Berry Gordy Jr.
After the war, the jazz clubs: Drawn from Bjorn and Gallert, Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit; Boland and Bond, The Birth of the Detroit Sound. Also Borden, Detroit’s Paradise Valley “Found Michigan: Legends of Detroit Jazz,” by Lars Bjorn, professor of sociology at University of Michigan, Dearborn.
In the fire song of Detroit: Interviews, Berry Gordy Jr., Dan Aldridge, John Conyers Jr., Paul Riser, David Williams; Borden, Detroit’s Paradise Valley; Boland and Bond, The Birth of the Detroit Sound.
The loan that helped fund Motown: Loan document at Motown Museum; interview, Berry Gordy Jr.
The First Five, they called themselves: Interview, Janie Bradford. Bradford moved to Los Angeles with the Motown operation and still lives there. Through the years she has evolved into a version of Esther Edwards on the West Coast, a keeper of the Motown castle.
West Grand was the place to be: the Hitsville Platter, internal Motown newspaper. “It’s What’s in the Groove That Counts.” Under the headline “Short Cut,” one brief began, “Leave it to Smokey to find the means to the end.”
When Harry was not in Ann Arbor: Interview, Hon. Harry T. Edwards. Judge Edwards was interviewed in his chambers at the U.S. Courthouse on Constitution Avenue in Washington. He had very little contact with his father, he said, until he was graduating from Cornell and deciding where to go to law school. “We then were somehow in touch when one of my mentors at Cornell suggested I ought to think about the University of Michigan. And [his father] said, ‘Yeah, it’s a great school, you really ought to come out.’ I think we both saw it as a way we could get together and really know each other. . . . I really had no connection to Detroit then. I did not know my stepmother then. I did not know the Gordy family. That was my way in.”
The decision to send Motown artists: Description of Motortown Revue drawn from interviews, Berry Gordy Jr., Martha Reeves, Janie Bradford, Katherine Anderson Schaffner; Gordy, To Be Loved; Love and Brown, Blind Faith; Ribowsky, Signed, Sealed and Delivered; Robinson and Ritz, Smokey: Inside My Life; Whitall, Women of Motown.
Twenty years later these points of tension: Michigan Chronicle, Oct. 20, 1962; Sugrue, The Origins of the Urban Crisis.
The theaters where they performed were segregated: Interviews, Martha Reeves, Katherine Anderson Schaffner, Berry Gordy Jr.; Ribowsky, Signed, Sealed and Delivered; Posner, Motown; Whitall, Women of Motown.
Eleven days later: Interviews, Martha Reeves, Katherine Anderson Schaffner; Michigan Chronicle, Dec. 8, 1962. The Chronicle article ran more than two weeks after the accident. As far as could be determined, neither the Free Press nor the News covered the accident.
Smokey returned to the Revue: Robinson and Ritz, Smokey: The Inside Story.
“First of all, we grew up in Detroit”: Account of when Smokey Robinson first encountered Ray Charles drawn from oral history of William “Smokey” Robinson conducted by Steve Rowland, Columbia University Libraries, Center for Oral Histories, June 3, 2008. “I think that the Miracles and I came in, fortunately, on the last legs of vaudeville, because we used to do shows and they were actually variety shows,” Robinson said. “You know, when you go and see a concert nowadays, normally you’re going to see either a band that’s popular or some singers who are popular, and that’s all you’re going to see.”
The temperatures in New York City: Interviews, Berry Gordy Jr., Martha Reeves, Katherine Anderson Schaffner; Motortown Revue, Vol. 1, Recorded Live at the Apollo.
In his last Michigan Chronicle column: Michigan Chronicle, Dec. 29, 1962. Ziggy had been talking to Aretha’s manager, Ted White, whom she had just secretly married.
Chapter 5: Party Bus
Here was the Lindell: Description drawn from photograph of Jimmy Butsicaris standing outside the old Lindell at Cass and Bagley, Reuther Library collection; “Amid Newfound Glory, Echoes of Old Detroit,” New York Times, Oct. 8, 2012; “Lindell Hotel Bar, 1963, The Way It Was,” Hour Detroit, March 2013.
the bar was attracting agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation: Detroit News, Jan. 6, 1963; Detroit Free Press, Jan. 6–7 1963; Edwards unpublished autobiography, Reuther Library, Edwards Papers.
The Party Bus was the movable fe
ast: Account of the Party Bus drawn from Edwards unpublished autobiography, Reuther Library; Stolberg, Bridging the River of Hatred; Detroit Free Press, Jan. 9–10, 1963. One article described Lions “who lived in the openhanded, boozerunning world of Detroit gamblers.”
He had arrived in Detroit in 1936: John Herling Archive, Reuther Library. Edwards wrote many letters to his friend Jack Herling, and also sent along speeches he had delivered. He said he took his first auto job for thirty-seven and a half cents an hour. George Edwards Archive, Reuther Library; Edwards unpublished autobiography, Reuther Library; Stolberg, Bridging the River of Hate.
They had ordered chop suey dinners: Detroit News Archive, six articles, April 1938.
The day after receiving the report: Account of how Detroit police dealt with mob connections to the Lions, and the commissioner’s fears that something might happen to him, drawn from Edwards unpublished autobiography; Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, Dec. 25–Jan. 11, 1963; Stolberg, Bridging the River of Hatred.
Chapter 6: Glow
When it came to his wardrobe: Drawn from interviews, Mark Cavanagh, Maurice Kelman, Bernie Klein, Bob Toohey, John P. Casey. Mark is Jerome Cavanagh’s older son. The others worked in his administration.
“He was charming”: Interview, Bob Toohey.
It was in that frame of mind: Cavanagh Papers, Boxes 103, 104, Reuther Library.
The political conventions seemed out of reach: Interview, John P. Casey.
Detroit seemed to have much going for it: Depiction of first meeting of Detroit Olympic Committee drawn from Cavanagh Papers, Boxes 103, 104, Reuther Library; Romney Papers, Box 34, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan; Brundage Papers, LA84; interview, John P. Casey; Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, Feb. 15–17, 1963.
Wayne State University’s Institute for Regional and Urban Studies: “The Population Revolution in Detroit,” Wayne State University, Feb. 1963; Detroit Free Press, Feb. 21, 1963.
Detroit dying and thriving at the same time. Detroit Free Press, Jan. 1, 1963.
Cavanagh’s own momentum came to a sudden stop: Cavanagh Papers, Box 52, Reuther Library; Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, Jan. 2, 1963.
Life magazine hit the newsstands: Life, Jan. 11, 1963. The magazine cost twenty cents. More than half the full-page advertisements in the eighty-four-page issue were for automobiles, some shown in photographs, others in sensual night-lit full-color illustrations. In a sixties variation of “the rich get richer,” the Imperial ad for Chrysler was titled “A provocative challenge to directors of America’s major corporations” and began, “In the next few days, you and the executive officers of your firm will be invited to accept new Imperials for personal comparison with your present cars.”
Found on Road Dead: Interview, George Largay.
Detroit aglow and modern: Hill and Gallagher, The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture.
Over on East Grand, the House of Diggs: Michigan Chronicle, Nov. 3, 1962 and Jan. 25, 1963.
In the months since Berry Gordy Jr.: Interview, Berry Gordy; Gordy, To Be Loved; “Gordy Captures Record Awards,” Michigan Chronicle, Feb. 2, 1963. “Since he turned out hits for Jackie Wilson when Wilson was starting his drive to fame seven years ago, Gordy is rated one of the nation’s most prolific composers and since that time has over two dozen hits to his credit.”
“Come and Get These Memories”: Interviews, Martha Reeves, Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy Jr.; The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 3, 1963. The excellent liner notes in this set were written by Craig Werner.
the music teachers and programs in the Detroit schools: Interviews, Martha Reeves, Paul Riser, David Williams, Berry Gordy Jr., Dan Aldridge, Allen Rawls.
“I walked up to the lobby”: Interview, Martha Reeves.
The song’s live premiere: The Hitsville Platter, Vol. 1, Motown file, EAH.
Los Angeles was the common enemy: Account of Detroit’s victory over Los Angeles drawn from Cavanagh Papers, Box 103, 104, Reuther Library; Romney Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan; Brundage Papers, LA84; Los Angeles Times, March 1–20, 1963, Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, March 1–20, 1963.
Chapter 7: Motor City Mad Men
Four agency men from J. Walter Thompson: Colin Dawkins Papers, Box 9, J. Walter Thompson collection, HO.
J. Walter Thompson was one year short of its hundredth: JWT News, Dec. 4, 1964, Norman H. Strouse Papers, Box 1, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC.
Strouse brought vast experience dealing with Ford: Norman H. Strouse Papers, Box 1, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC
In developing its advertising plan for Ford: Norman H. Strouse Papers, Box 21, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC.
As the secret meeting in Dearborn: Colin Dawkins Papers, Box 9, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC.
The Detroit offices of J. Walter Thompson: Norman H. Strouse Papers, Box 1–3, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC.
This was William D. Laurie: Account of Bill Laurie at work and home drawn from Box MN1, J. Walter Thompson collection, Box MN1, HC; Norman H. Strouse papers, Box 1, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC; and interview, son David Laurie.
The forward planners had set up shop: Colin Dawkins Papers, Box 9, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC.
After a few false starts: Oral histories, Donald Frey, Henry Ford II, John Najjar, BFRC; Colin Dawkins Papers, Box 9, J. Walter Thompson collection, HC; Fria, Mustang Genesis; Clor, The Mustang Dynasty; Iacocca and Novak, Iacocca: An Autobiography.
Chapter 8: The Pitch of His Hum
For the flock of New Bethel Baptist: Michigan Chronicle, March 1963.
C. L. Franklin, who had just turned forty-eight: Depiction of Rev. C. L. Franklin drawn from interviews, Nicholas Hood, Ronald Scott, Wendell Anthony, Dan Aldridge; transcript of oral history interview with Erma Franklin conducted by Nicholas Salvatore, Franklin collection, Bentley Historical Library; Salvatore, Singing in a Strange Land; Franklin, Give Me This Mountain; Ritz, Respect.
The interplay of story and storyteller: John R. Bryant theology thesis, Franklin Papers, Bentley Historical Library.
The makings of a united front: “Declaration of Detroit,” Detroit NAACP, Box 24, Reuther Library; City of Detroit Inter-office Correspondence, to R. V. Marks, from J. C. Coles, May 22, 1963, Detroit Commission on Community Relations, Box 19, Reuther Library.
Franklin’s preemptive bid: Detroit NAACP, Box 24, Reuther Library; “NAACP Opens Drive for 50,000 Members: A Gala Evening,” Michigan Chronicle, April 4, 1963; “Call for 100,000 to Greet Dr. King,” Michigan Chronicle, May 25, 1963; Salvatore, Singing in a Strange Land.
Johnson had been friends with King: Arthur L. Johnson oral history interview, Salvatore, Franklin Papers, Bentley Historical Library; Johnson, Race and Remembrance.
And once Cleage heard about attempts to constrain him: Albert B. Cleage Papers, Box 1, Bentley Historical Library; “Rev. Cleage, Zuber Blasts ‘Old’ Leaders,” Michigan Chronicle, June 1, 1963.
As the contretemps continued: City of Detroit Inter-office Correspondence, Box 19, Reuther Library; “Franklin Denies Blast of Leaders,” Michigan Chronicle, June 8, 1963; Salvatore, Singing in a Strange Land; Johnson, Race and Remembrance.
Then there was the sensitive matter of Walter Reuther: Oral history interviews, Horace Sheffield, Buddy Battle, Reuther Library; Marc Stepp interview, Franklin Papers, Bentley Historical Library; Salvatore, Singing in a Strange Land.
Chapter 9: An Important Man
Walter Reuther spent much of his time: Reuther depiction drawn from Reuther Papers, Boxes 536, 577, 599, Reuther Library; and two first-rate books, Lichtenstein, The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit; Boyle, The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism.
Reuther’s relationship with JFK: Reuther Papers, Box 367, Reuther Library; Reuther Name File, White House Central Subject File 979, JFKL.
Attorney General Robert Kennedy called Reuther: Boyle, UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism; Lichtenstein, The
Most Dangerous Man in Detroit.
Months after Birmingham, Reuther asked for: Reuther Papers, Box 577, File 14, Reuther Library.
That same day, thousands of miles away: Cavanagh Papers, Box 112, Reuther Library; transcript, JFK speech at Honolulu, June 9, 1963; JFK Library.
Two days later, on June 11: New York Times, June 12, 1963; Washington Post, June 12, 1963; Daily Diary of JFK, June 11, 1963, POF Box 44, JFKL.
For Reuther, the Evers assassination: Depiction of 1948 Reuther assassination attempt drawn from Frank Cormier Papers, JFKL; Dickmeyer, Putting the World Together; Lichtenstein, The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit; Reuther testimony before National Labor Relations Board trial examiner John T. Lindsay.
Eleven years later, after Reuther survived: Reuther Papers, Box 157, File 8, Security for Walter Reuther, Reuther Library.
The question was not power itself: Reuther Papers, Box 552, Reuther Library. “There is a tendency within the camp of unreconstructed conservatism to view democracy as a completed conquest, rather than as a continuing campaign,” Reuther said. “There is too much complacency over past accomplishment, not enough awareness of present and emerging problems; too many Americans take refuge in a timid conformity which prevents our coming to grips with the over-riding need to renew our basic principles in terms relevant to our time. We desperately need to see our society as it has become; to distinguish, in terms used by President Kennedy in his Yale address, between Myth and Reality.”
Civil rights was not a new issue for Reuther: Detroit News, April 12, 1943.
“The cry for freedom”: Reuther Papers, Box 536, Folder 12, Reuther Library.
As his brother Victor later recounted: Boyle, The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism; Frank Cormier Papers, JFKL.
On the Thursday evening of June 20: Jerome Cavanagh Papers, Box 112, Reuther Library. Among those in attendance was Mrs. Margaret Edwards, the wife of Police Commissioner George Edwards, representing the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity.
Reuther was back in Washington: Depiction of June 22 meeting in Oval Office drawn from Lee C. White file POF 97, JFKL; Branch, Parting the Waters; Lichtenstein, The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit; Reuther diary, Reuther Library.
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