Once a thriving hub of Black culture and business, Black Bottom was a beloved community in Detroit before it was wiped out by urban renewal projects.
Now, two sisters, Marcia Black and Lex Draper Garcia Bey, are leading the charge to preserve its history and ensure its legacy lives on.
As co-executive directors of the Black Bottom Archives, Black and Garcia Bey have dedicated themselves to documenting and celebrating Black Bottom’s history through storytelling, community engagement, and historical exhibits.
“Black Bottom became a community that Black Detroiters made home,” Black explained in a recent CBS News report. “They built cultural institutions, icons that we still celebrate today.”
Some of the most influential figures in Black history had roots in Black Bottom, including Detroit’s first Black mayor, Coleman A. Young, civil rights activist Irma Henderson, and boxing legend Joe Louis.
Rebuilding Black Bottom’s Story, Piece by Piece
One of their most impactful projects is the Black Bottom Street View, created with the help of historian Emily Kudel. Kudel discovered old city survey photographs taken before Black Bottom was demolished and digitally stitched them together to recreate the streets as they once were.
The project has sparked emotional reactions. At a recent storytelling salon, a woman named Ms. Debbie was able to identify her childhood home on the reconstructed map.
“Sharing those stories, preserving those stories is important because we want to be able to start with a neighborhood that was completely lost—so that we can help prevent other neighborhoods from being lost,” Garcia Bey said.
The Fight for Black Detroit’s Future
While Black Bottom’s physical structures were destroyed, its erasure remains a painful reminder of displacement and the struggles Black communities still face today. The land where Black Bottom once stood remained vacant for years before redevelopment, raising long-standing concerns about gentrification and the lack of affordable housing for Black residents.
“What would it have looked like for that development to actually result in affordable housing?” Black questioned. “Which is still a debate in the city today.”
For Black and Garcia Bey, preserving Black Bottom is about more than just remembering the past—it’s about protecting Black culture, Black businesses, and Black communities for the future.
As Black put it: “We must remember—and learn from—the past.”
