Today In Black History: Celebrating the Intersection of Labor and Jazz Movements in Detroit
And how the wealthy heiress to the Carhartt Company used her wealth to support and uplift Jazz Music in Detroit.
Issue #919 Today In Black History, Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Introduction
Today in Black History, we commemorate the dynamic intersection of the labor and jazz movements in Detroit, a city that served as a vibrant hub for African American culture and activism.
As many of you know, I am continuously repping my hometown of Detroit, one of the largest majority-Black cities in America. I was born and raised in Detroit, and we still live here. And yes, I fully understand the ugly racist history of Detroit, but…
In this post, I reflect on the collective power and cultural richness that emerged from the historic alliance between labor and music in Detroit, showcasing how both movements shaped Detroit’s identity and contributed to the broader narrative of Black resilience and creativity in America.
I will also discuss how a wealthy native Detroiter, whose company was active in both the Labor Movement and the Jazz Movement, is using her wealth to improve the musical lives of current and future jazz musicians.
The Labor Movement in Detroit
Detroit has long been recognized as a cornerstone of American industry, particularly during the early to mid-20th century. Known as the "Motor City," Detroit's automotive industry provided numerous job opportunities but also presented challenges, especially for African American workers who faced racial discrimination and inequitable working conditions.
Amidst these challenges, the labor movement in Detroit became a powerful force for change. African American workers actively participated in unions, with the United Auto Workers (UAW) leading efforts to secure fair wages and safe working conditions. The UAW instituted the “sit-down strike” efforts, which later became commonplace in other labor movements. Labor leaders such as Coleman Alexander Young, who later became Detroit’s first Black mayor, emerged from these efforts, advocating for civil rights and worker equality.
The labor movement in Detroit was more than just an economic struggle; it was a fight for dignity and equality, playing a critical role in the broader civil rights movement. The collaboration between Black workers and labor organizers laid the groundwork for significant social progress, making Detroit a focal point for labor activism.
The Jazz Movement in Detroit
Parallel to the labor movement, Detroit also experienced a flourishing jazz scene that became an integral part of the city's cultural fabric. Jazz originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
By the 1930s and 1940s, Detroit had established itself as a hotbed for jazz, producing legendary artists such as Elvin Jones, Kenny Burrell, and Donald Byrd. The city's Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods were vibrant centers of music and nightlife, drawing both local and national talent.
Both of those areas in Detroit were destroyed in the 1950s by racist efforts to eliminate Black advancement in business and the arts, led by Detroit’s racist then-mayor, Albert Cobo, who ran on a platform of segregation and keeping Black people from moving into white neighborhoods in the City.
Jazz offered a creative outlet and a form of resistance for African Americans in Detroit, providing a space for cultural expression and solidarity. The genre's improvisational nature used music as a means to overcome adversity and celebrate identity.
A Company Founded in Detroit Using Its Wealth to Uplift Jazz in Detroit
The Carhartt Company was founded in Detroit by Hamilton Carhartt in 1889 to build a better bib overall for railroad workers. The company is now also known worldwide for durable workwear and outerwear. According to its website, Carhartt is “…committed to supporting organizations that ensure this generation partners with the next to build an even better future.” Now headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, Carhartt employs over 3,000 associates worldwide.
Hamilton’s granddaughter, Gretchen Carhartt Valade, was born in 1925. She married Grosse Pointe native Robert C. Valade in 1948, and he would eventually serve as Carhartt’s president for four decades while they raised three children. Gretchen Valade remained an active participant and adviser in the business, serving on the board of directors since 1958. Upon her husband’s death in 1998, she took over as chairman of the board.
According to Gretchen’s obituary published in the Detroit Free Press, Gretchen Valade “…was also known among the regional arts community and beyond as ‘the angel of jazz’ for her long-lasting contributions to Detroit’s arts and culture scene as well as the global jazz community. At age 74, she founded the Mack Avenue Records jazz label, which subsequently earned 11 Grammy Awards and more than 50 nominations. At age 82, she opened the Dirty Dog Jazz Café, an award-winning jazz and dinner club in Grosse Pointe Farms.”
This past weekend was the 46th Annual Detroit Jazz Festival, which is the largest free jazz festival in the world, and is held every Labor Day Weekend, while Detroit is also celebrating its Labor Movement history.
There were festival musicians and audiences from all over the Detroit area, the country, and the world; all races, ages, sexual orientations, and religions, all getting along and having fun together for four days without incident—Donald Trump’s and Stephen Miller’s greatest fear.
The Gretchen C. Valade Foundation is the largest corporate sponsor of the Detroit Jazz Festival, and has been for the past several years.
In 2024, the Valade Foundation’s gifts, totaling $9.5 million, to jazz studies and performance at Wayne State University in Detroit, funded the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center (GVJC), which features a main hall designed specifically for jazz performance and a club-style venue.
In addition, the Gretchen C. Valade Endowed Chair will serve as the artistic director of the GVJC. The Gretchen C. Valade Endowed Scholarship in Jazz Studies, a graduate assistantship that supports the endowed chair role, will also support jazz education and performance at the GVJC.
Gretchen Carhartt Valade was very wealthy. Not nearly as wealthy as Gates, Zuckerberg, or Musk, but she used her wealth and her foundation to enhance and support the arts, specifically jazz music, in her hometown of Detroit and the surrounding areas, including scholarships and mentorships for up-and-coming high school and college jazz musicians.
Other wealthy people and foundations could learn a lot from Detroit’s labor and music histories and the Gretchen C. Valade Foundation.
Today In Black History
In 1783, Rev. Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, purchased his freedom with his earnings as a self-employed teamster.
In 1838, Frederick Douglass, disguised as a sailor, escaped from slavery.
In 1846, the American Missionary Association was founded to educate and train. slaves.
In 1891, Black cotton pickers in Texas organized a union and staged a strike for higher wages.
In 1891, John Stephens Durham was named minister to Haiti.
In 1919, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, owned by African Americans Noble Johnson and Clarence Brooks, released its first feature-length film, “A Man’s Duty.”
In 1922, Bessie Coleman, the first licensed Black aviator, made her first U.S. flight. Due to racism in America, Coleman was trained and licensed in France.
In 1960, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three Olympic Gold Medals in track and field in the same year.
In 1970, representatives from twenty-seven African nations, the Caribbean nations, four South American countries, Australia, and the United States met in Atlanta for the first Congress of African People.
In 1990, Jonathan A. Rodgers became president of CBS’s television stations division, the highest-ranking African American in network television.
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This is fun to know! Thanks so much.