A city divided : Detroit race relations, the 1967 riot, and the Detroit Tigers' role in restoring the city's image

• Main Author: Wing, Jeffrey R.
• Other Authors: Mjagkij, Nina
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Race riots > Michigan > Detroit.; Municipal government > Public relations > Michigan > Detroit.; Detroit Tigers (Baseball team); Detroit (Mich.) > Race relations.
• Online Access: http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/handle/188487; http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1391470

This thesis examines how local leaders in Detroit, Michigan attempted to use the Detroit Tigers' World Series victory in 1968 to repair the city's image following the 1967 riot. First, this study looks at the history of race relations in Detroit, beginning with the founding of the city in 1701. Second, it analyzes the 1967 riot, which, up to that point, was the most destructive urban riot in American history. Finally, this thesis examines the public relations campaign of local leaders in 1968. They tried, unsuccessfully, to convince the public that Detroit's race relations could be healed through a sense of unity that the Tigers' success brought about. This study argues that Detroit's racial problems ran too deep and lasted for too long for a single, transient sporting event to have any sort of permanent effect. === Department of History