Historians Seek to Preserve Stories of Detroit’s Black Bottom, Paradise Valley Neighborhoods Amid I-375 Planning
Plans are progressing to rebuild Interstate 375 in Detroit. However, a growing legion of historians and residents want to preserve the histories of two neighborhoods, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, that were demolished when the freeway was built.
During a meeting held Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, individuals gathered to share stories about the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods that existed before 1964. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the museum, and the Detroit Historical Society hosted the evening’s panel discussion.
MDOT officials explained their plans to replace a roughly mile-long stretch of I-375 with a street-level thoroughfare that connects Jefferson Avenue with Interstate 75. MDOT aims to begin the early stages of the project’s construction in late 2025. Officials said they plan to honor Black Bottom’s history throughout the reconstruction by preserving stories related to former residents in their archives.
“Black Bottom, acre for acre, is the most historically rich, culturally significant area in the whole state of Michigan’s history,” said Detroit city historian Jamon Jordan in comments shared by The Detroit News. “Why? Because so many people’s history is tied to that place.”
According to information shared during the discussion, Black Bottom takes its name from the fertile, dark soil farmed by 18th-century French settlers. The neighborhood was ethnically diverse, with many nationalities represented. The nearby Paradise Valley neighborhood was the Black community’s commercial center, featuring clubs, drugstores, and grocery markets.
As the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley communities yielded to the construction of I-375, what’s become of their legacies is a subject for future discussion. Joshua LeMere, who attended the meeting, said he’d like to see specific plans for reparations to the residents and business owners displaced from both neighborhoods.
“Let’s give people their 40 acres and a mule; it ain’t that hard,” he said. “There’s people in this room who got displaced from Black Bottom, and they won’t live to see this. So my question is, what do we do?”
