Detroit Commission on Community Relations

Detroit Commission on Community Relations (DCCR) / Human Rights Department Photographs and Other Material

drice — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:35:46 -0500

The Commission on Community Relations evolved from the City of Detroit Mayor's Interracial Committee in 1953 and was renamed in 1974 as the Human Rights Department. All three iterations served a common purpose: to make recommendations to improve governmental services affecting racial relations, and to promote understanding between the races.

Collection consists of photographs documenting its efforts to overcome racial discrimination and improve race relations in the Detroit metropolitan area and ephemera related to the “March to Freedom” civil rights demonstration held in Detroit on June 23, 1963.

John Musial Papers

drice — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:16:56 -0400

John J. Musial was a student at University of Michigan who later worked for the city of Detroit. He served on the Commission on Community Relations as the Research Director in 1963. Musial wrote articles related to programs and projects in the city of Detroit.

The John Musial Papers consist of reports and other published materials created by or regarding the development of the city of Detroit. As Research Director of the Commission on Community Relations, he authored some of the reports. The reports are related to housing, population, income, and community projects in Detroit during the administration of Jerome Cavanagh until the beginning of the Coleman Young administration.

Poorly Described Folders and Human Hair: Processing Report with ALUA Archivist Shae Rafferty

teller — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 09:41:31 -0400

Shae Rafferty, the Reuther Library’s Labor and Urban Affairs Archivist, explains what happens behind the scenes to get donated collections ready for researchers. She discusses how collections are prioritized for processing, or organizing and describing them to make it easier for researchers to find the information they’re looking for. read more »

The Detroit Interracial Committee and Racial Pragmatism, 1944-1950

teller — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 17:04:26 -0500

Sean Henry discusses the Detroit Interracial Committee’s (IRC) pragmatic attempt to ease racial tensions in the city following the 1943 Detroit riots. Assuming that it could not completely eliminate racial antagonism, the IRC instead used its Community Barometer initiative and the Detroit Public Schools program for intercultural education to identify and manage systemic racial inequities in the city. read more »

[Podcast] Detroit Under Fire: Police Violence and Racial Justice in the Civil Rights Era

teller — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:08:52 -0500

Dr. Matthew Lassiter shares stories uncovered in Detroit Under Fire: Police Violence, Crime Politics, and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Civil Rights Era, a collaborative digital exhibit created by undergraduate history students documenting nearly 200 civilians killed between 1957 and 1973 by the Detroit Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the city. Because identifying information was rarely included in official reports or the city’s mainstream media, the students instead searched the archives of local activists and community organizations to identify the victims and the circumstances of their deaths. read more »