A National Guard bayonet shown on the street where the Rebellion struck during July of 1967 in Detroit.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos.
1967 Detroit Rebellion
LESSONS LEARNED Conference April 20 & 21, 2007 Detroit, MI
In July of 1967, Detroit exploded in what has been characterized as the most deadly urban rebellion in the United States to date. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of that historic rebellion, a group of activists and scholars have organized: "Detroit 1967 Rebellion: Lessons Learned"; a two day conference on April 20 and 21, 2007 that will examine the causes and consequences of the Detroit revolt.
The conference is an oral history conference focusing on the Black radical political movement in Michigan from 1963-1975; specifically: the cultural mobilizations promoted by the independent media and artists, the 1967 Detroit Rebellion as catalysts for social/economic changes, the connections with events abroad, the ways we remember, dis-remember and employ the histories of the 1967 Revolution as living lessons for the present and to vision activism in aggressive action and advocacy to pursue political and social change in the future.
The conference is being held for interested community members, leaders, activists, educators, academic researchers, students and parents, anyone interested in visions of a better world inspired by collaborative grassroots action. The gathering seeks to accomplish three goals a) to acquaint a younger generation of activists and scholars with the black radical tradition in the state of Michigan, b) to find oral-written–visual materials that can be used in the creation of teaching units by community organizations, labor unions, schools and universities and c) to identify gaps in our understanding of the present that can be addressed through a critical examination of the un-official past.
Organized by a group of faculty members from several educational institutions, community activists and organizations, the conference activities will include; panel discussions featuring commentary from local activists and media entities of the 1963-1975 time period, discussion of the significance of the events for today’s society; collection of activists’ oral histories, a bus tour of the sites of the 1967 Detroit uprising; Proclamation of Assata Shakur Day, viewing of the Assata Shakur video, “Eyes on the Rainbow” as well as a cultural celebration.
For the bus tour on Friday, buses will be leaving Liberty Baptist Temple parking lot, 17188 Greenfield and McNichols at 1:45p.m. The Friday evening program, also at Liberty Baptist Temple, will start at 6pm. Saturday activities will be held at the University of Michigan Downtown Detroit Center, 3663 Woodward & MLK Drive.
Event Organizing Committee:
Gloria Aneb House, Ahmad Rahman, Melvin Peters, Malik Yakini, Charles Simmons, Sandra Simmons, Ebony Roberts, Abayomi Azikiwe, Ron Scott, W.F.Santiago-Valles, Stephen Ward, Monica White, John C. Williams
For more information about registration and venues on Friday and Saturday 20-21, April 2007 please contact W.F. Santiago-Valles at 269.388.3809, email a.picago@gmail.com or visit the conference webpage: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~a5joersz/
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