Jim Crow laws, the grinding poverty of sharecropping, and the lure of a newly industrial north drew millions of Black Americans north in the Great Migration in the early 20th Century. But racism, and discrimination greeted the new arrivals. White, Blacks and newly arrived European immigrants competed for jobs and housing in the North. Whites were not willing to give up their neighborhoods without violence.
In this volatile setting, Detroit physician, Dr. Ossian Sweet attempted to move from Detroit’s “Black Bottom” into a previously all White neighborhood in July 1925. Dr. Sweet knew he would likely have to fight to keep his home, so he asked his brother and several other Black men to help defend it. When the rocks started to crash through windows into the house, someone fired back from inside and a White man lay dead. Henry Sweet, the doctor’s brother, was put on trial for murder. The NAACP hired Clarence Darrow to defend Henry. In Darrow’s closing argument he put the 12 White jurors on trial for prejudice in a case that profoundly affected American history.
Come join Ron Silver, retired Assistant U.S. Attorney as he sets the stage for the conflict that played out in July 1925 at the Sweet home on Charlevoix Street in Detroit, Darrow’s closing argument and the case’s impact on America.
When: Tuesday, November 4, 2025, 12pm-1pm
Where: State of Oregon Law Library, 1163 State Street, Salem, OR 97301
Pricing: OWLS members $15; Non-members $20; Judicial law clerks, students, and new admittees $10. Free to those not seeking CLE credit.
CLE credit will be sought for this program.
Visit this webpage for details about optional lunch purchase & registration.
