Sweet, Ossian. Sweet, Mrs. Ossian H. . 1 neg.

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Description:

Portrait of Gladys Sweet, wife of Ossian, an African American physician who became the center of a highly publicized murder trial. "Dr. Sweet, a graduate of Howard University Medical School, bought this two-story brick house in an all-white Detroit neighborhood in 1925, on July 14, the neighborhood's residents protested his plans to move in and stated that they intended to retain what they called "the present high standards of the neighborhood," on September 8, Dr. Sweet, his wife, and nine gun-carrying associates moved into the house under police escort, the next night a large crowd of whites began pelting the house with rocks and bottles; they then rushed the house, a volley of gunshots issued forth from the second story windows, killing one man and seriously wounding another, the Detroit police arrested Dr. Sweet and his companions and charged them with first-degree murder, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hired Clarence Darrow, America's most famous lawyer after his defense of evolution in the Scopes Monkey Trial, to defend Dr. Sweet, after 26 hours of deliberation, the jury returned without a verdict, Judge Frank Murphy, later to become governor of Michigan and a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, declared a mistrial and released Dr. Sweet, subsequent trials upheld the right of Sweet and his companions, regardless of race, to protect life and property in dangerous situations," from the National Park Service website.

Notes:

Collection located at the Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. To schedule an appointment to view the original image, order high resolution copies, or seek permission to use an image, contact the Walter P. Reuther Library Audiovisual Department at reutherreference@wayne.edu., Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University, and This metadata was created by Wayne State University Library system based on original description by the Walter P. Reuther Library

Date Issued:

1925-12-01T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Wayne State University. Libraries and Walter P. Reuther Library

Collection:

Virtual Motor City

Place:

Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, and Detroit

Subject Topic:

Physicians' spouses and African American women

Subject Name:

Sweet, Ossian, 1895-1960, Darrow, Clarence, and 1857-1938

Format:

photographs

Rights:

Copyright Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University

URL:

http://digital.library.wayne.edu/item/wayne:vmc3334