The Motor City is Burning

The Detroit Riot of 1943 figures prominently in my upcoming book Hastings Street Blues, but it’s hard to write about the history. If you lived through 2020 in a city where fury erupted over George Floyd’s murder, you don’t need a history lesson. You already know.

John Lee Hooker wrote “The Motor City is Burning” after the Detroit Riot of 1967. The song tells the story of a riot in Detroit better than any history.