Detroit officials are scheduled to announce plans today to renovate a home in the city that experts say played a key role in the civil rights movement.
In 1925 African American Ossian Sweet moved into an all-white area of Detroit near the corner of Garland and Charlevoix… and it became clear his neighbors did not want him there.
A white mob stoned his house and someone shot back killing a person.
In the ensuing trial of about a dozen black men… one was acquitted and charges were dropped against the rest.
The case helped establish that blacks could live wherever they chose without fear of reprisal.
A historical marker was placed in front of the home…but the structure itself began to deteriorate.
Now Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says a federal grant from the National Park Service will pay for restoring and upgrading the home and two others nearby that were part of the incident involving Sweet.
