Marker commemorates racist Detroit police murders – 57 years after the fact

July 26 was the 57th anniversary of the murder of three Black teenagers by Detroit police. Auburey Pollard, 19, Carl Cooper, 17, and Fred Temple, 18, were beaten and then shot outside the Algiers Motel during the historic 1967 Detroit Rebellion, which was sparked by racist police brutality. They were gathered at the motel when the murders and beatings of others occurred.

The three officers who murdered the youths were charged with murder but were acquitted by all-white juries.

Marker unveiled on July 26, 2024, at site of racist police killings in 1967 during the Detroit Rebellion.

Now, finally, a historic marker has been erected to remember Cooper, Temple and Pollard. Their family members and friends attended an unveiling of the marker on July 26. Among them was Cooper’s best friend, Lee Forsythe, who said: “I saw my best friend die. I heard him take his last breath.” (wfmj.com, July 26)

The rebellion began July 23, 1967, after police raided an unlicensed after-hours bar. Anger had been building after two attacks on the Black community by racist mobs and the police killing of a Black woman. Thousands of federal troops, National Guard, Michigan state police and Detroit police were deployed to put down the mass revolt, leaving scores of people killed, injured and arrested. 

Exactly one year later, on July 23, 1968, the Glenville uprising began in Cleveland.

Martha Grevatt

Share
Published by
Martha Grevatt

Recent Posts

Boston demands: ‘Free Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk!’

Thousands of people converged on Tufts University on March 26 to demand that U.S. Immigration…

March 28, 2025

Memorial highlights accomplishments of Bilal Sunni-Ali

Atlanta Sheikh Baba Bilal Sunni-Ali was a dedicated revolutionary, accomplished musician, political prisoner, beloved father…

March 28, 2025

Cleveland demonstration condemns genocide

Hundreds of militant protesters marched through Cleveland on March 22 to protest the latest genocide…

March 28, 2025

Women of Venezuela, Nicaragua speak out at NYC meeting

Women leaders from Venezuela and Nicaragua held an open discussion, complete with Q&A, at a…

March 28, 2025

Call for anti-war actions: German weapons, German money fund worldwide massacres

by ResistNato&alpas The following is a copyedited version of the March 22, 2025, statement of…

March 28, 2025

Seattle postal workers rally

In Seattle, 200 postal workers rallied and marched in the rain, “just like mail carriers…

March 28, 2025