Sojourner Truth Homes

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

The federal government built Sojourner Truth Homes on Nevada Street in northeast Detroit as public housing during the World War II defense-industry boom, when the city desperately needed housing for war workers. When the project opened to its intended Black tenants in February 1942, white residents in the surrounding neighborhood organized to block the move-in, and Congressman Rudolph G. Tenerowicz was among the local figures who lobbied to keep the project reserved for white families instead. The standoff turned violent over several days, with mobs, burning crosses, and gunfire, and Michigan National Guard troops were eventually called in before Black families were able to move into their new homes. The riot became one of the most visible early flashpoints in Detroit's long fight over housing segregation, a fight that would resurface in bigger form the following year during the 1943 Detroit race riot. The complex still stands on Nevada Street today, renovated and occupied, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2022 for its role in that history; a historical plaque was dedicated at the site in 2023.

1. Federal public housing project, opened in 1942
2. Opening to Black tenants triggered the 1942 Sojourner Truth housing riot
3. Congressman Rudolph G. Tenerowicz opposed integrating the project
4. Michigan National Guard troops were called in during the standoff
5. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022