In 1967, police raided an unlicensed speakeasy in Detroit, the Blind Pig, arresting all of its occupants, all of them black.
The move sparked a widespread riot in the city, as black citizens retaliated against the police’s reign of prejudice and brutality.
As part of a new featurette for Bigelow’s Detroit, US Congressman John Conyers Jr. relays that “it reminded me of my military experiences… it was like an invasion.”
In response, Governor George Romney sent in the National Guard, while President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in paratroopers.