Black Scroll Network History & Tours

04/23/2025

If you watched the “We Want The Funk,” documentary on Independent Lens | PBS, directed by Stanley Nelson and Nicole London, then you know that although Dayton-Cincinnati are major sites in the development of Funk Music, Detroit is very important too.

Although the documentary showed how Detroit and Motown Records played a part in the creation of P-Funk, there were many Detroit funk stories that were not told in the film.

And one of them is about a group known as The Fabulous Counts.

The group started out mainly performing as a backing band for major performers who toured to Detroit.

But they were also making their own music.

And it was Funky.

Their first records came out in 1968 on Detroit-based Moira Records.

In 1971, they signed with another Detroit-based record label - Westbound Records - and shortened their name, to “The Counts.”

The new lineup was:
Mose Davis - vocals, keyboards
Demo Cates - vocals, alto saxophone
Jimmy Brown - vocals, saxophone
Leroy Emanuel - vocals, guitar
Jimmy Jackson - vocals, drums

One of their funk hits that year was, “What’s Up Front That Counts.”

Funkadelic was already signed to Westbound prior to the Counts, and in 1972, after The Counts were already on the label, Westbound signed The Ohio Players.

Westbound was creating a Funk army.

However, the Counts would leave the label by 1972, and sign with Aware Records.

04/21/2025

If you watched the Independent Lens | PBS documentary “We Want The Funk,” you should know that Detroit was one of the centers of Funk Music in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

You should also know that Motown - both directly and indirectly - played a role in the evolution and spread of Funk music.

If you didn’t know, before developing the P-Funk sound, George Clinton was a songwriter and producer at Motown. When he recorded his 1st hit - “I Wanna Testify,” in 1967, his bandmates were unable to get to Detroit from New Jersey, so Clinton brought in musicians and singers from Detroit - including some of the Funk Brothers - the Motown house band.

But another Detroit music act that needs to be discussed is Richard “Popcorn” Wylie.

Popcorn Wylie was born and raised in Detroit. While a student at Northwestern High School, he started on the football team - the Wildcats - and played against a Motown legend - Smokey Robinson, who was on the Northern High School football team - the Jayhawks.

And like Smokey, Popcorn was into music.

Smokey’s group the Five Chimes, went on to become the Matadors and eventually, the Miracles.

Popcorn’s group was the Mohawks. You probably haven’t heard of them.

But these are the members:

James Jamerson
Norman Whitfield
Clifford Mack
Lamont Dozier
Eddie Willis
& Mike Terry

Bet you heard of some of them now.

Popcorn Wylie signed with Motown in 1960, and after not having a hit, became a backing musician. He became the bandleader for The Motortown R***e and that’s him on piano on the Miracles’ “Shop Around.”

After leaving Motown for nearly a decade, he came back in 1971, and recorded his biggest hit - “Funky Rubber Band.”

This mostly instrumental funk single was a hit on the R&B charts.

Popcorn Wylie died in 2008 in Detroit at the age of 69.

04/16/2025

100 Years Ago - On April 15, 1925 - a major housing battle between Black residents and a racist white mob would take place on Detroit’s westside.

WHAT HAPPENED?

In March 1923, Fleta Mae McCrary left Georgia and joined her older brothers - Magellan & Horace; her family friends - James Burton, Austin Burton, and Susie Burton; and her future husband, Aldine Mathis, who had already moved to Detroit.

In November of that year, Fleta and and Aldine Mathis got married here in Detroit.

2 years after her arrival - in March 1925 - they moved to the Old Westside neighborhood into the lower flat at 5913 Northfield with their friends from Georgia - another Black couple - Austin & Susie Burton. They were immediately threatened by white so-called neighbors, and the K*K.

In April, mobs of white residents gathered outside of their home. Aldine and his friend Austin Burton, both WWI veterans, had to stand on the porch with their rifles to get the crowd to move away.

On April 13, bricks were thrown through the window. With threats hurling from the white mob, Fleta Mathis, Black woman in her 20s, grabbed the pistol from the bedside table and fired 2 shots out the window.

No one was hit, but the crowd ran away. She was arrested.

Her attorneys were W. Hayes McKinney & Cecil Rowlette.

McKinney was the former President of the Detroit Branch NAACP, and was, at the time, their lead attorney. Rowlette was a respected Black attorney, received his law degree from the Detroit College of Law (now, Michigan State University College of Law), and established his own law firm in Detroit.

The judge eventually ruled that she fired in defense of her home, and that her act was legal.

The Mathises were not forced out.
They would live there for the next few years.

They lived in a number of other places in and around Detroit, including Ecorse, MI, and the Conant Gardens, neighborhood in Detroit.

But the self defense argument of Fleta Mathis would play a prominent role in another case that year - the case of Dr. Ossian Sweet.

*Pictured here - 5913 Northfield - the home of the Mathises and Burtons.

04/11/2025

Here at Dossin Elementary-Middle School for a presentation on Detroit’s Black History. And I see this mural in their hallway.

04/08/2025

You probably know that Dr. Ossian Sweet & his wife Gladys Sweet, along with family and friends, defended their home against a racist white mob on Garland & Charlevoix in September of 1925.

Two white men were shot, one of them died.

You may even know that after the shooting, the Wayne County prosecutor charged everyone in the house with FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.

Essentially arguing that they moved into the house in order to shoot white people.

Maybe you know that the NAACP hired a legal team, led by famed attorney Clarence Darrow, who argued that the Sweets had a right to defend themselves and their home.

After a mistrial and an acquittal, the charges were dropped.

You MAY not know that due to her being locked up in the Wayne County Jail, Gladys Sweet contracted tuberculosis and spread it to her 2-year old daughter.

The baby died from TB within a year of the trial. About 2 years after that, Gladys Sweet, who had been suffering with TB, died too.

She was only 27 years old.

Sweet’s brother Henry, who was also part of the trials, and had been locked up, died from TB after her.

You probably don’t know that the K*K in Detroit lobbied the state legislature to pass a gun registration law that would keep Black people from buying guns to protect themselves from mobs like the Sweets did.

You didn’t know that the FIRST gun registration law in Michigan was passed in 1927 - about a year after the Sweet trials in order to keep Black people from buying guns to protect themselves from white racist mobs.

You didn’t know that the insurance company, the IRS, and others came after Dr. Sweet for YEARS to penalize him for standing up to the racist mob.

And you may not even know that Dr. Sweet himself became a casualty of su***de, when he aimed his shotgun under his chin and pulled the trigger, after years of depression and despair.

But now you know.

04/07/2025

193 years ago - on April 6, 1832, Gordon Lloyd was born in Cambridge, England.

Gordon Lloyd would become the architect of some of the greatest buildings in Detroit’s history - especially churches, and most especially - Episcopal churches.

*Pictured here:
1.) A photo of Gordon Lloyd (date unknown by me)

2.) St. James Episcopal Church in Grosse Ile, built in 1867, founded and funded by Elizabeth “Lisette” Denison Forth, formerly enslaved Black woman, who achieved wealth in business and real estate - oldest church in Grosse Ile.

3.) Joseph Moross & Robert Oakman Manor, built in 1872, at 6371 Woodward & Baltimore. The house, built for Joseph Moross, of the wealthy Moross family, and the main designer of Grand Blvd., passed the house down to his daughter, Mamie Moross, who married Robert Oakman, massive landowner and developer, who sold most of the land in Highland Park to Henry Ford for the Model T Factory, and was the main developer of Oakman Blvd. Moross is the namesake of Moross St. and Oakman is the namesake of Oakman Blvd.

4.) Our Lady of Help Catholic Church, built in 1867 on Elmwood & E. Congress (Present-day site of Martin Luther King High School), destroyed in 1968 as part of the urban renewal destruction of Black Bottom/Elmwood Park.

5.) D.M. Ferry Seed Company Building, built in 1891, at 400 W. Monroe (Black Bottom, present-day Greektown), and founded by Dexter M. Ferry, successful business owner, landowner, and the namesake of Ferry St. This building still stands, albeit with major modifications. If you’ve gone to the building that houses the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office, and the Wayne County Register of Deeds. Or, if you’ve eaten at Fishbones in Greektown, you’ve been in this 1891 building.

03/30/2025

On March 29th, 1969, the Provisional Government - Republic of New Afrika, also known as the PG-RNA and RNA, held their first Annual Convention. The group was founded on March 31st, 1968 at the 20 Grand Motel in westside Detroit.

For the anniversary conference, the RNA rented the banquet hall of New Bethel Baptist Church-, the church led by Rev. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin.

His daughter was the Queen of Soul - Aretha Franklin.

On that night, 2 police officers attempted to assault a Legionnaire - a member of the RNA’s security team. 2 officers - Raymond Worobec and Michael Czapski - were shot in the exchange, and one officer - Czapski - would die.

Police backup was called, and officers fired 800 rounds into the church windows, walls and doors, injuring several people, causing extensive damage, and resulting in the need for financing to repair the “bullet-scarred” building.

They then raided the church and arrested 150 people. The attendees were held and questioned without counsel, and held in jail incommunicado, without being charged.

People in the community, including Rev. Franklin, state representative James Del Rio, and Rosa Parks contacted Judge George Crockett, who went to the jail and arraigned those arrested and released most of them on a personal bond.

The arrests included RNA founders Milton Henry (Brother Gaidi), and Richard Henry (Imari Obadele).

Most of them would be represented in court by activist attorney Kenny Cockrel, and almost all of them would be acquitted, including Chaka Fuller, who was charged with the killing of Ofc. Czapski.

Chaka Fuller was assassinated months later.

03/21/2025

03/14/2025

SEE Y’ALL TONIGHT!!

03/14/2025

BE CLEAR OF WHAT’S HAPPENING.

03/04/2025

In 1941, Thomas “Rooster” Hammond, owner of the Frog Club, Irving Roane, owner of the Arcade Barbershop, and the Red Rooster Café, and Walter Norwood, owner of the Norwood Hotel and the Club Plantation, financially backed John White to buy what became the Hotel Gotham in 1943.

John White, was a bookkeeper for Hammond and Roane, who along with Norwood, were major numbers/policy men in Detroit.

He was able to buy the hotel with less pushback, because John White looked white.

Eventually, Norwood would be forced out of this partnership due to his testifying on the top numbers men in Black Detroit – John Roxborough and Everett Watson.

John White would then use his profits to buy Hammond out too.

In 1949, he would buy Roane out as well, and own the hotel outright. Black professionals, celebrities, middle and wealthy African Americans would stay at the Gotham.

Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Sammy Davis Jr., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others stayed at the Gotham.

However, as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were being destroyed in the 1950s and 60s, the venues that were bringing so many wealthy and famous Black people to Detroit were diminishing. This was hurting the businesses in the Sugar Hill District.

On top of that, white-owned hotels began to open their doors to successful African Americans.

And the medical center was expanding, buying land and property from the Black-owned businesses near the Gotham.

Together, these factors devastated the remaining Black business districts in Detroit.

The Gotham closed in 1962.

But it operated semi-secretly as a gambling club.
It was raided by federal, state and city law enforcement in 1963.

While John White was waiting for trial, he died of a heart attack.

The hotel was destroyed for the expansion of the Detroit Medical Center in 1963.

It’s over 60 years later, and the medical center has never expanded to that vacant lot.

Urban Renewal.

03/04/2025

In 1941, Thomas “Rooster” Hammond, owner of the Frog Club, Irving Roane, owner of the Arcade Barbershop, and the Red Rooster Café, and Walter Norwood, owner of the Norwood Hotel and the Club Plantation, financially backed John White to buy what became the Hotel Gotham in 1943.

John White, was a bookkeeper for Hammond and Roane, who along with Norwood, were major numbers/policy men in Detroit.

He was able to buy the hotel with less pushback, because John White looked white.

Eventually, Norwood would be forced out of this partnership due to his testifying on the top numbers men in Black Detroit – John Roxborough and Everett Watson.

John White would then use his profits to buy Hammond out too.

In 1949, he would buy Roane out as well, and own the hotel outright. Black professionals, celebrities, middle and wealthy African Americans would stay at the Gotham.

Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Sammy Davis Jr., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others stayed at the Gotham.

However, as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were being destroyed in the 1950s and 60s, the venues that were bringing so many wealthy and famous Black people to Detroit were diminishing. This was hurting the businesses in the Sugar Hill District.

On top of that, white-owned hotels began to open their doors to successful African Americans.

And the medical center was expanding, buying land and property from the Black-owned businesses near the Gotham.

Together, these factors devastated the remaining Black business districts in Detroit.

The Gotham closed in 1962.

But it operated semi-secretly as a gambling club.
It was raided by federal, state and city law enforcement in 1963.

While John White was waiting for trial, he died of a heart attack.

The hotel was destroyed for the expansion of the Detroit Medical Center.

It’s over 60 years later, and the medical center has never expanded to that vacant lot.

Urban Renewal.

02/27/2025

It’s Black History Month!
As the Official Historian of the City of Detroit, I’m going to present a Black Historic Site in Detroit Every Day Of This Month!

Site #22
The Detroit Homes of Smokey Robinson!

William “Smokey” Robinson was born in Detroit.

His parents divorced when he was 3, and his mother passed away when he was 10 years old. He lived with his eldest sister and her husband and their 10 children in the 2 family flat shown below.

This 2 family flat on Belmont had 2 addresses. One of them, the one on the left - 581 Belmont - was the home that Motown legend Smokey Robinson grew up in.

He lived down the street from Diana Ross until her family moved away when she was about 10 years old, and around the corner from Aretha Franklin who lived in that neighborhood from the age of 4-12 years old.

He attended Northern High School where he formed a doo-wop singing group known as the Five Chimes. When he graduated from Northern, he had a 3.8 GPA, was a starter on the football team, was the lead singer in the school glee club, and won Most Popular, Most Likely To Succeed and Best Singer.

The Five Chimes became the Matadors.
When they signed with Motown Records, they became The Miracles.

In 1959, Smokey Robinson and Claudette Robinson - nee’ Rogers, both of The Miracles, married and moved into Apt 101 at 2750 Sturtevant - the large beige apt building shown below.

In 1962, they moved into this home at 19357 Santa Barbara in the Bagley neighborhood on Detroit’s west side. You can see them moving in, and another photo of the house as it looks today.