The Sweet Taste of Justice - Barbara A. Wilson

“The Sweet Taste of Justice” Barbara A. Wilson

During the 1920’s Dr. Ossian Sweet, an African American doctor purchased a home for his family in an all white neighborhood. The neighborhood he chose was in located in Detroit Michigan, on the corner of Charlevoix and Garland Avenues. Dr. Sweet’s decision to move into an all white neighborhood was based on necessity and I presume false hope in the freedom to do so.

Due to an influx of African Americans from the South, and other economic factors, Detroit experienced a significant housing shortage. The most common dwelling areas for African Americans, Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, suffered the weight of the housing scarcity.

It was with much trepidation that Dr. Sweet moved his family in on September 8, 1925. On the move in day he was accompanied by friends and family which brought the total of adults in the house to eleven. His trepidation stemmed from previous news of the fate of other African American families that moved into all white neighborhoods. This deeply entrenched fear led Dr. Sweet to arm his home with weapons to defend it if necessary. Unbeknownst to Dr. Sweet, he was not the only one dreading his move.

When the news of Dr. Sweet’s purchase spread, a meeting was held at the school located across the street from the house. The primary speaker was a representative from the Waterworks Neighborhood Improvement Association. Chapters of the Neighborhood Improvement Association were growing in numbers all over Detroit. According to the testimony of Eben Draper, a member of the Waterworks Association, the meeting was held primarily to discuss the plot to prevent Dr. Sweet from occupying a home in the all white neighborhood.

Dr. Sweet’s apprehension proved to be well founded. On the night of September 8th a disputed number of people began to gather in the area around his home as an intimidation tool. Some witnesses for the defense claim that the crowd grew to well over 500. On the other hand, witnesses for the prosecution claimed the crowd range was 30 to 50 in number. By the morning of September 9th the crowd had dispersed.

On the night of September 9th, a large crowd began to gather. According to a reporter with the Detroit News, who was on the scene, he estimated the crowd to be at least 400 to 500 in number. An African American who testified at the trial stated that there were between 1,000 and 1,500. He and two of his relatives happened to drive by and were themselves threatened with bodily harm from the angry mob.

As the night progressed, Dr. Sweet and his family grew more and more afraid.

According to the occupants of the house, rocks were thrown sporadically. Some of the stones broke windows. At some time during the night Dr. Sweet’s brother, Henry Sweet and one of his friends arrived at the house. As they exited the cab the mob rushed towards them in a threatening manner. Stones were hurled at them as they entered the house. It was during all of this confusion and mayhem that the first shot was fired. Several shots were fired that night. In the aftermath, one person was wounded and another, Leon Breiner, was killed.

Both victims were among the people outside of the house and it was later determined that the shots that mortally wounded Leon Breiner came from inside the Sweet house.

All the adult occupants of Dr. Sweet’s home were arrested and charged with first degree murder. All defendants except Gladys Sweet were denied bail. Clarence Darrow was hired by the NAACP to represent Dr. Sweet and the other 10 defendants. The trial of Dr. Sweet began on October 30, 1925.

The trial of The People of Michigan v. Ossian Sweet et al. was prosecuted in a Wayne County, Detroit Michigan courtroom with Robert Toms as prosecuting attorney. The presiding judge was the Honorable Frank Murphy. The jury consisted of 12 white men. The trial lasted approximately 4 weeks. The jury deliberated for 46 hours but was unable to reach a verdict. Judge Murphy subsequently released all of the defendants on bail. The prosecutions intent was to retry the case on a later date. The defense argued to have separate trials for each defendant.

Ironically, two of the most effective tools in the defense’s favor were the testimonies of the prosecution’s witnesses, Eben Draper and Inspector Norton Schuknecht. Eben Draper, a member of the Waterworks Improvement Association, was outside of Dr. Sweet’s home at the time of the shooting. His testimony established the fact that there was a meeting to prevent Dr. Sweet’s occupation of his property. Inspector Norton Schuknecht was in charge of the police assigned to guard the Sweet’s