Detroit's little-discussed, nearly successful bid to host the Olympics
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President John F. Kennedy signs Detroit's bid to host the 1968 Summer Olympics, with Michigan officials behind him. Photo: Courtesy of Abbie Rowe, White House Photographs, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
With the Paris Olympics underway, it's an apt time to reflect on a surprisingly little-known piece of history — when Detroit nearly hosted the 1968 Olympics.
Why it matters: A documentary released last month, "Detroit's Olympic Uprising," details the Motor City's efforts to host the Summer Olympics amid the Civil Rights Movement, when the city was one of the centers of the struggle against racism.
- It was created by the local director of "Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale," Aaron Schillinger, with two U of M professors: Stefan Szymanski and Silke-Maria Weineck.
What they're saying: "Detroit is the center of a great sports community," former President John F. Kennedy said in 1963 when signing a statement in support of the city's 1968 bid.
Flashback: A local philanthropist, Fred Matthaei Sr., led unsuccessful Detroit Olympic bids from the 1940s to '60s.
- The 1968 bid was considered the finest attempt, when Detroit became the U.S.' endorsed city.
- However, International Olympic Committee delegates chose Mexico City on Oct. 18, 1963, a little more than a month before Kennedy was assassinated.
- The last time Detroit mounted a bid was for the 1972 Games, according to Weineck.
Between the lines: At the time, Detroit was considered a hip, famous place that birthed Motown and the auto industry.
- White flight had begun, but the city still had a population of nearly 1.7 million in 1960 — compared with just more than 630,000 in 2023, per census estimates.
Yes, but: As the city's Common Council rejected an ordinance to ban housing bias and a police officer shot a Black woman named Cynthia Scott who was walking down the street, some Black activists protested the bid, the documentary says.
- They argued that the city couldn't treat its own citizens right, and therefore shouldn't be picked to host the Games.
The intrigue: The documentary ends with "what if" questions: How would hosting the Olympics have changed Detroit?
- What would have happened with the civil rights struggle in Detroit, where the 1967 uprising changed the landscape amid civil unrest and clashes between police and residents?
"Would the planners have engaged with some of the problems people in the city were facing and would it have made a difference?" U of M sports management professor Szymanski asks in the documentary.
How to watch: "Detroit's Olympic Uprising" will air on Fox 2 Detroit at 2pm Saturday and then begin streaming on Fox 2's website.