Motor City Saga

Ohio State's Kevin Boyle wins the 2004 National Book Award for his Arc of Justice

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When Americans think about the Civil Rights era, they tend to think about the 1950s and 60s and the dramatic events in the South.

But in a new book selected as the 2004 National Book Award winner for nonfiction, Ohio State University historian, Kevin Boyle, sheds light on a key civil rights case that occurred decades before in Detroit, in the heart of the industrial north.

The book, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age (Henry Holt, 2004), tells the story of a black doctor and his wife who moved into a white neighborhood in Detroit in 1925.

Just days after moving in, the doctor, his family and several acquaintances were confronted by an angry white mob who gathered outside the house and threw rocks, shattering windows. One of the terrified occupants fired a rifle into the crowd, killing one man and injuring another.

What followed was two dramatic court cases involving legendary attorney Clarence Darrow, cases that highlighted the early fight against housing segregation, and the right of blacks to protect their property...

(excerpted from a news release written by Jeff Grabmeier, Ohio State Research News)

(read the full release)

Related links:

Ohio Senate recognizes National Book Award recipient

Department of History

National Book Award (off-site)