Black Bottom, Detroit

Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. The term has sometimes been used to apply to the entire neighborhood including Paradise Valley, but many consider the two neighborhoods to be separate.[1] Together, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were bounded by Brush Street to the west, the Grand Trunk railroad tracks to the east, south to the Detroit River, and bisected by Gratiot Avenue. The area north of Gratiot Avenue to Grand Boulevard was defined as Paradise Valley.[2]

Although the name "Black Bottom" is often erroneously believed to be a reference to the African-American community that developed in the 20th century, the neighborhood was actually named by early French colonial settlers for the dark, fertile topsoil found in the area (known as river bottomland).[3] During World War I, Black Bottom was home to many Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and the Great Migration influx of southern African Americans combined with redlining created a majority black neighborhood within Detroit.[4] As the Black Bottom grew, it became a lively area with jazz bars and nightclubs.[4] From the 1930s to the 1950s, residents in Black Bottom made significant contributions to American music, including blues, Big Band, and jazz.[5]

Despite the rich cultural and musical hub of Black Bottom, the neighborhood was plagued with urban poverty. Most of Black Bottom's residents were employed in manufacturing and the automotive factory jobs. Some black business owners and clergymen operating in the neighborhood were able to rise to the middle class, however many moved to the newer and better-constructed Detroit West Side neighborhoods.[4] Historical lack of access for the general population of African Americans to New Deal and Veterans Administration housing benefits combined with redlining segregated the neighborhoods from surrounding areas.

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.[4] Homes and businesses were demolished, and residents relocated to outside neighborhoods.[2][6]

  1. ^ "Black Bottom Neighborhood". Detroit Historical Society. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  2. ^ a b MacDonald, Cathy. "Detroit's Black Bottom and Paradise Valley Neighborhoods". Walter P. Reuther Library. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  3. ^ Binelli, p. 20. "The name was not as racist as it sounds: the area was originally named by the French for its dark, fertile topsoil."
  4. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jazz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood: See it then and now". Detroit Free Press. February 26, 2017.