Migrations: Detroit

Between 1910 and 1970, nearly seven million Black Americans fled the Jim Crow South. The so-called Great Migration was the largest mass exodus in U.S. history.

As these migrants moved to the urban areas of the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast, they were met with new social hurdles. They were often forced to live in specific parts of the cities due to "redlining," the discriminatory practice of denying financial services based on race or ethnicity.

The devalued real estate in the redlined areas was often used for municipal golf courses, which became cultural battlegrounds for courageous pioneers like Charlie Sifford in Philadelphia, Bobby Anderson and Ted Rhodes in Chicago, Ben Davis in Detroit and Maggie Hathaway in Los Angeles.

Fire Pit Productions spent two years going to these cities to interview Black Americans, many of whom were part of the Great Migration. After John Nichols and his team combed through 30 hours of footage and interviews, a clear picture emerges of these vibrant communities and the golfers who helped get us to where we are today.

This is the story of Detroit, the Ford Motor Company, Rackham Golf Course and Ben Davis.