As I mentioned before, I’ve been planning out a new writing project using the 1967 riots of Detroit as a backdrop. What I was searching for were first hand accounts of what had happened during that event. During my continued research I landed on a book entitled Eyes on Fire: Witnesses to the Detroit Riot of 1967. Now prior to this, I spent my time on web forums reading posts about that day. I was also fortunate enough to get some first hand accounts from some Detroiters themselves. I though this book might help, but there weren’t any reviews so I had no idea if it would be sufficient or not. Unfortunately, I found this book was very unpolished and filled with amateurish writing.
The book contains 13 accounts of what happened during the riots, but unfortunately this book is filled with throwaways and fillers which detract from any concrete recollections that one could consider worthy of research or understanding. I’d like to start off by saying that I respect that Mary Moceri’s grandchildren wanted to immortalize her words in the book, but there is no substance to it. It adds nothing to the book. There is also the case of some repeat wring from Dorothy Jackson Kimble, who more or less repeats in verbatim what her daughter wrote much earlier in the book and Walter Campbell’s 3 paragraphs were the epitome of a throwaway.
In fact, the only stories that are truly worth reading are Rayne Showers recollection of her brave Grandfather who tried to stop some “punks” from throwing molotov cocktails at a gas station and ending with her Grandmother making sandwiches for scared and clueless National Guardsmen who were treading unknown territory. Also, Brenda Cornish’s somber and endearing reflection of a community that lost on all ends by destroying their own city. This is refreshing, much better than Sylvia’s McClain’s feelings of vindication and her unrelated political slants that have no place in this book.
Mono D’Angelo’s tale of how naive he was didn’t do anything for the book, as well. In fact, his story had almost nothing to do with the riot except how he once knew this black guy that was decent man and how he felt empathy for him … complete waste of space. It almost had nothing to do with the riots. Wanda Kimble Keys story was also bland and overshadowed by her mother Dorothy Jackson Kimble’s account of the riots. Her mother’s account of the riots was treading the right direction but unfortunately needed a bit more substance. I especially enjoyed her breakdown of the “order to the disorder”, in that rioters were being guided by men who were breaking windows of businesses, encouraging looting, then eventually setting those places on fire.
One note, the story by Elder Minor Palm, Jr had an interesting tidbit that I wasn’t aware of. He talked about how Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael ruined the progress that black people had made in Detroit up to that point. Going as to far as to talk about Rap Brown shouting, “Burn, Baby! Burn!” with a loudspeaker. I didn’t know this and if there had been more to the story I would’ve given the book a better endorsement. I’d like to know how those two controversial figures played a part in the riots.
If you want to truly learn more about the riots, do some googling and find some web forums where everyone talks about their experience. This book doesn’t do a good job of providing people with detailed and well-written accounts of the 1967 riots. It’s more or less a collection of amateurish essays pasted together into a book and sold for a higher price than the value contained within.