course material

1. HUM110 Introduction To The Humanities
Answers:
Motor City's Burning
The largest riot in American history happened in Detroit in 1967. In the 1960s, Detroit
produced wave after wave of music that caught the sound of a country in turmoil when one
wonderful thing occurred in the music business "they swoop in from the coasts." In 1948,
John Lee Hooker moved to Detroit in search of a job with Ford Motor Company.
His natural approach would become a model for Detroit rock 'n' rollers. After drawing
inspiration from his service on the front lines, Berry Gordy Jr. founded a record company
(Worcester & Offernburger, 2021). Motown aimed to make pop music with a consistent
sound. The motor that fueled Motown was its in-house composers, Holland, Dozier, and
Holland. As The Supremes would discover, the performers had no say.
Berry Gordy had unlimited creative authority. By 1965, Motown had become the music of
young America, as its slogan proclaimed. However, circumstances in Detroit's inner-city fell
well short of their expectations. Overcrowding, unemployment, and a tough all-white police
force produced a ghetto in which some residents were enraged. According to Marvin Gayle,
Motown was the end of racial music.
'It went down in history as a love movement, not an insurrection or a protest.' The MC5
were Detroit downriver youngsters who lived in the city's abandoned areas. The British
first wave had transformed popular culture, and the Americans were scrambling to catch up
(Lawrence, 2109). England was the focal point, while New York, as usual, wielded influence.
In the mid-1960s, the Grand De Ballroom was the origin of Detroit's music scene.
It was a feat if you got it past the doors unscathed. It was ideal for swing dancing,
jitterbugging, and spectacular sex activities. Marvin Gaye of Motown believed that if he had
sung a song about dancing in the street, it would end the Detroit riots. Motown was drawn
into this reality when one of Martha Reeves' classic singles became the riots' unofficial
anthem. The civil rights movement had reached a tipping point, and riots had broken out.
The following is a 2-minute song (30 words) that explains/pays tribute to not only that art,

2. but also that music genre in Detroit.
Oh yes, there has to be some word today from my sweetheart so far gone. I have been
standing here anxiously, for just a card or a letter, saying he is returning home to me. You
witnessed the sorrow on my face, but you did not deter to make me feel great by sending me
a card or a note.
References
Lawrence, S. (2019). Afropolitan Detroit: Counterpublics, Sound, and the African City. Africa
Today, 65(4), 19–37. https://doi.org/10.2979/africatoday.65.4.03
WORCESTER, L., & Offenburger, A. (2021). A Pragmatic Professional, 1881–1893. In The
Aimless Life: Music, Mines, and Revolution from the Rocky Mountains to Mexico (pp. 15–
40). University of Nebraska Press.
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1n9djxk.8