Publication Date
4-2020
First Advisor
Louis Moore
Abstract
The decade of the 1960s was pivotal in Detroit’s history. At a time when people struggled against imperialism and racism, Detroit’s Black community was especially cognizant of their role in this struggle. Based on extensive archival research findings, Detroit’s Black community intensely opposed racism and oppression, and Black auto workers were at the vanguard of this struggle within Detroit. These workers had strong reactions to the Vietnam War. The Inner City Voice and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers were militant groups in Detroit’s Black community during the Vietnam War. The politics and ideals of these Black groups were aligned with the North Vietnamese, as both vehemently detested imperialism, capitalism, racism, and oppression. These organizations opposed America’s involvement in the war on numerous grounds, but most important was their affinity with the Vietnamese people based on ideals, economic philosophies, and a perceived common enemy: the American Government.
ScholarWorks Citation
Busby, Nicholas, ""What's Happening Brother": Detroit's Revolutionary Black Workers and the Vietnam War" (2020). Student Scholars Day Oral Presentations. 6.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ssd_orals/6
