StoryCorps Detroit: “It seems like fewer of us make it now.”
A Detroiter who lived not far from 12th and Clairmount in 1967 recalls fire, bullet holes and giving pop to soldiers.
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In 1967, Bill Williams was a teenager living with his extended family not far from the intersection of 12th Street and Clairmount Avenue. His mom, uncles and grandparents had pooled their money to purchase their home. He remembers it being a big step up from the farmhouse they come from that was located near Tiger Stadium.
And then, July 23, 1967 happened.
In segment of StoryCorps Detroit, Williams tells his friend Cindy Muñoz about the destruction he witnessed living so close to what he calls “the riot.” He remembers neighbors guarding firefighters with rifles, finding bullet holes that went through brick, and that the soldiers his grandmother made him bring pop to were anxious but nice.
At one point Muñoz asks Williams about the legacy of 1967, and in his response he says, “It seems fewer of us make it now.”
Click on the audio player at the top of this page to hear this segment.
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The StoryCorps Detroit music is by Sam Beaubien.
