DETROIT – On July 26, 1967, a police raid at the Algiers Motel took the lives of three Black teenagers. The incident would intensify the 1967 Detroit riot that changed the city for years to come.
The Algiers Motel used to sit along Woodward Avenue, just north of Grand Boulevard. Where it once stood is now a park, but the people who visit will now know the site’s important history.
A ceremony was held Friday, July 26, to commemorate a new historic marker.
Background: Site of 3 killings during pivotal, bloody 1967 Detroit riot receives historic marker
For the families of those who died and the survivors, returning brought back a flood of emotions.
“I don’t know if you ever heard a person take their last breath,” said Lee Forsythe. “And this is my best friend. And I heard him take, it’s just like I could hear air the go out.”
Forsythe lost his best friend Carl Cooper during the raid. Cooper, Fred Temple and Auburey Pollard were shot and killed by Detroit police at the Algiers Motel and Manor House Annex. They were unarmed.
The three officers involved were acquitted of all charges by all-white juries.
“People tell me, ‘Let it go,’” Forsythe said. “I can never let it go. I will always remember that day, that night.”
The motel was torn down in 1979, but a new historical marker details what happened that night, 57 years ago.
The families of Pollard, Temple and Cooper shared their stories at the dedication ceremony for the historical marker.
Pollard’s family wore red to symbolize the blood he shed, Temple’s family also wore special T-shirts in his memory.
“Fred Temple was killed by Detroit police, unarmed,” said Ramia Temple, Fred Temple’s niece. “We are still dealing with the same issues today. It’s unfortunate.”
Ramia Temple never got the chance to meet her uncle, but she’s heard so many stories about him from those who did.
“He was the sweetest, kindest, most gentlest person,” Ramia Temple said.
Some of the family members of the victims had no plans to speak during the ceremony, but they were so moved by being there that they felt compelled to go up to the podium.
They know if history isn’t shared, it will be forgotten and that’s what the new historic marker is all about.