Black Bottom Walking Tour with Jamon Jordan

Acre for acre, Black Bottom is the most significant historic neighborhood in the state of Michigan. The history includes the Indigenous Anishinaabe people who lived there before Europeans arrived in Detroit. It also is important when the French arrive in 1701. The French farmers would name the area “Fond Noir” – Black Bottom.

It would be highly important for European immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Greece.

But its importance for African Americans in Detroit is what this neighborhood is most known for.

Black Bottom recently gained a Michigan Historical Marker and has been the subject of books, research projects, and the Black Bottom Street View project.

We’ll meet along the Dequindre Cut at the base of the Lafayette + St. Aubin entrance ramp. We will then leave the Dequindre Cut and tour the Lafayette Park neighborhood to see the area that once was Black Bottom and learn about the people, places, and events that tell the story.

Please note that this tour includes about 2 hour of standing and walking. Comfortable shoes and water bottles are encouraged.

Registration is required as class capacity is capped. Please only register if you are able to attend.

Jamon Jordan serves as the official historian for the City of Detroit and the founder of the Black Scroll Network History & Tours. Learn more here.

Tour sponsored by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and hosted in partnership with Black Bottom Archives.