Black History Month Lecture - Saginaw: Race & Riot in 1967

Saginaw: Race & Riot in 1967, Presented by Dr. Jennifer Vannette

In 1966, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission said that Saginaw was a powder keg about to explode.  Housing conditions, redlining, and urban renewal played a significant role in that statement.  Redlining was the systemic denial of services (loans, insurance, investment) to Black and other minority neighborhoods, often using government-backed maps that literally drew red lines around "hazardous" areas, leading to disinvestment, blight, and the displacement/destruction of vibrant communities for projects like freeways, creating lasting segregation, wealth gaps, and environmental injustice.  This talk will examine the historical conditions that led to this moment and how they produced an uprising in 1967.  We will also consider why understanding this period in history still matters today. 

Dr. Jennifer Vannette earned her PhD in History, primarily focusing on 20th Century U.S. History, from Central Michigan University.  She is currently the Outreach Coordinator at the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History.