# data[].attributes.body
In 1944 the Orsel McGhees, a black family, moved into what was then an all white neighborhood. A neighboring family won a court order revoking the McGhees purchase of the house on the basis of a restrictive covenant forbidding non-white residents, The McGhees, aided by the NAACP and represented by Thurgood Marshall, appealed the case to the US. Supreme Court. The court's 1948 decision in favor of the McGhees upheld the principle of freedom from discrimination in the enjoyment of property rights. The Supreme Court had ruled in 1922 that restrictive covenants were legal but in their 1948 decision in Shelley v. Kramer, the Supreme Court decided that while there was no federal prohibition against including restrictive covenants in property deeds, no state or federal court could enforce them. Civil rights activists viewed this as a great victory since restrictive covenants could no longer be used to keep Jewish or Black people out of a neighborhood.

# data[].attributes.body
Fortune Records was an American family operated, independent record label located in Detroit, Michigan from 1946 to 1995. The label owners were Jack and Devora Brown, their son Sheldon Brown recorded for the label. Original releases tapered off after 1972 aside from a few albums in the mid-1980s. Fortune specialized in R&B, blues, soul and doo-wop music, although the label also released pop, big band, hillbilly, gospel, rock and roll, and polka records. Releases on Fortune Records were often characterized by raw, unrestrained vocal performances and relatively simple instrumental arrangements, recorded without excessive care for production values. The recording was accomplished via a few microphones to an Ampex one-track tape deck. As a result, the label's records have a distinctively direct sound and often packed considerable emotional power. It is estimated that Fortune Records and its subsidiaries, Hi-Q Records and Strate-8, released over 600 78-RPM shellac/45-RPM vinyl records, as well as two dozen long-playing albums, during its existence.

# data[].attributes.location_name
Black Bottom Properties, Oakland Avenue, North End, Detroit, MI, USA

# data[].attributes.headline
Black Bottom Properties, Oakland Avenue, North End, Detroit, MI, USA

# data[].attributes.subject
Black Bottom Properties, Oakland Avenue, North End, Detroit, MI, USA

# data[].attributes.body
Although the name "Black Bottom" is often erroneously believed to be a reference to the African-American community that developed in the twentieth century, the neighborhood was actually named by early French colonial settlers for the dark, fertile topsoil found in the area (known as river bottomlands). Black Bottom Neighborhood was one of the most prominent business districts in Detroit, but the Federal Highway Act of 1956 cut the district into pieces. By 1950, 423 residences, 109 businesses, 22 manufacturing plants, and 93 vacant lots had been condemned for one freeway project. In the early 1960s, the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods were demolished for the purpose of slum clearance and to make way for the construction of I-375. Although the city's urban planners promised new public housing projects in replacement of Black Bottom, these developments were never affordable or open to Detroit's black residents. The once-thriving business district of Black Bottom was also bulldozed. Black Bottom, as it used to be, exists now only as a symbol for both resilience and tragedy. In the face of deeply unjust housing practices and concentrated urban poverty, the neighborhood's African American residents created and maintained a lively and successful community, only to be later pushed out by city urbanization and highway construction.

# data[].attributes.location_name
1249 Washington Blvd, Detroit, Michigan, USA

# data[].attributes.headline
1249 Washington Blvd, Detroit, Michigan, USA

# data[].attributes.subject
1249 Washington Blvd, Detroit, Michigan, USA

# data[].attributes.body
The Graystone International Jazz Museum & Hall of Fame was founded in 1974 but closed in the aughts as the original board members passed away and funds ran out. Some of the artifacts –photographs, posters, records, musical instruments, paperwork, historical research, and physical materials from the Graystone Ballroom itself (torn down in 1980) — were left in a local warehouse by the last board president. The rest of the artifacts were left in the Book Tower, the last location of the museum. In 2014 we were gifted those remaining artifacts from the Graystone Museum and in the summer of 2015 we salvaged them from the warehouse and tower with the support of volunteers and the Detroit Historical Society.

# data[].attributes.location_name
315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

# data[].attributes.headline
315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

# data[].attributes.subject
315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

# data[].attributes.body
In 1941 the Army Air Corps created the now famous segregated pilot training program at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Among those graduates was the late Detroit Mayor, Coleman Young. This museum honors the 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, and the 477th Bombardment Group which became known as the Tuskegee Airmen; during the WWII air campaign over Europe. While suffering major casualties themselves, not a single American bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen was lost. The Airmen’s heroism helped pave the way for mainstream America to accept the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

# data[].attributes.location_name
315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

# data[].attributes.headline
315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

# data[].attributes.subject
315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

# data[].attributes.body
For over half a century, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History has dedicated itself to exploring and celebrating the rich cultural legacy of African Americans.

Through dozens of permanent and visiting exhibitions, over 150 learning and engagement programs, as well as education and research opportunities for adults, children, and visiting scholars, The Wright inspires visitors toward greater understanding, acceptance, and unity by reflecting on the triumphs and tragedies of African-American history.

Home to the Blanche Coggin Underground Railroad Collection, the Harriet Tubman Museum Collection, and the Sheffield Collection—a repository of documents regarding the labor movement in Detroit—among many other notable materials, The Wright houses more than 35,000 artifacts pertaining to the African American experience.

# data[].attributes.body
Joe's Record Shop on 8434 12th Street, owned by Joe Von Battle, was one of the businesses that was destroyed in the 1967 Detroit Riot. The business was founded in 1945, on 3530 Hastings Street, where Battle sold records and recorded music with artists like John Lee Hooker, The Reverend C.L. Franklin and Aretha Franklin. He operated from the Hastings store until 1960 when the street was razed in order to build the Chrysler Freeway. Battle along with other business owners on Hastings St. moved to 12th Street, where his shop operated until the events of July 23, 1967. During the '67 riots, Battle stood guard in front of his shop with his gun and his "Soul Brother" sign. After the first day of rioting, police authorities no longer permitted business owners to guard their shops. Days later, Battle returned to his record shop with his daughter Marsha Battle Philpot and they were met with "wet, fetid debris of what had been one of the most seminal record shops in Detroit." Joe's Record Shop and much of the stock within —including tapes and recordings of musicians— were ruined. Ultimately, Battle's store was unable to reopen due to the damage caused by the 1967 riot.

# data[].attributes.body
In the early hours of Sunday (3:45 a.m.), July 23, 1967, Detroit Police Department (DPD) officers raided an unlicensed weekend drinking club (known locally as a blind pig) in the office of the United Community League for Civic Action, above the Economy Printing Company, at 9125 12th Street. They expected a few revelers inside, but instead found a party of 82 people celebrating the return of two local GIs from the Vietnam War. The police decided to arrest everyone present. While they were arranging for transportation, a sizable crowd of onlookers gathered on the street, having witnessed the raid. Later, in a memoir, William Walter Scott III, a doorman whose father was running the raided blind pig, took responsibility for starting the riot by inciting the crowd and throwing a bottle at a police officer.

# data[].attributes.body
The Underground Railroad was a network of routes throughout the U.S. that led to Canada, where slavery was outlawed and everyone had equal protection under the law. Because of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, slaves captured in the northern U.S. could still be sent back to their slave owners. Detroit’s “stations” (or hiding spots) were essential in the path toward freedom because of its close proximity to Canada. Croghan Street Station is in the basement of Second Baptist Church in what is now Detroit’s Greektown neighborhood. The street the church is now on was honorably renamed after Rev. William C. Monroe, who was a conductor on the Underground Railroad at this particular stop. This basement hiding spot was refuge to about 5,000 escaped slaves.

# data[].attributes.body
April Anderson and Michelle Anderson are the owners of  Good Cakes and Bakes was founded in 2103 their mission is to provide quality baked goods that are wholesome and organic in nature; and to provide our baked goods in an environment that is positive, creative, educational and friendly to our employees and our community. Their goal is to provide the most natural and freshest ingredients; and their pledge to their customers is to use organic and locally grown produce when available.