“Let That Boy Boogie”: The 1967 Detroit Uprising and the Political Function of Black Rock

This study analyzes the socio-political dynamics and Black cultural landscape of Detroit before, during, and after the 1967 Uprising. This research employs an interdisciplinary approach that integrates Black studies, musicology, and cultural history to examine the transformative shifts within Detroit's musical landscape. This work explores how Detroit’s societal conditions and Black music scene were intricately intertwined and influenced by social factors that culminated in the 1967 Uprising. As music developed in the 1960s, the emergence of Black rock both reflected and responded to the racial and economic inequalities that preceded the Uprising. Black rock became an artistic expression of collective grievances, addressing race, and class. This paper explores the parallel development of Black music and music industry entrepreneurship by tracing key events and the Detroit government’s policy decisions that deepened Detroit’s structural inequalities. It will illustrate how these cultural movements emerged in response to adversity and contributed to the evolution of Black rock. Drawing on archival sources, lyrical analysis, and oral histories, this paper argues that Black sound in post-1967 Detroit functioned as a sonic agency, transforming music and performance into sites of resistance and self-determination. By centring music as an epistemological and historical resource, this study contributes to broader discussions on Black resistance, urban unrest, and the enduring cultural legacies of the 1967 Uprising.