Audrey Stahrr

Dr. Aaron Martin

Honors 1000
November 8, 2016
Essay #2
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. started what became the most successful African American
record company in history.1 It was successful in the fact that Motown was the first music label
that promoted integration and sold records to different races, such as blacks and whites. The
Motown sound shaped American culture,2 and more specifically Detroit culture, for the better.
This is because Motown music was able to put an end to cultural segregation in the 1960s and
70s. During the 1960s there were race problems throughout the nation, including housing3
rights, but Motown was able to end segregation in the entertainment world. Berry Gordy and the
singers of Motown, such as Diana Ross, helped merge together two different cultural races that at
the time could not be merged.
Berry Gordy borrowed $800 from his family to start what would become a successful
money making business that lead to cultural integration. He came up with the name Motown
1The Detroit Free Press says, Gordy would also become a millionaire many times
over as his Motown Records became as synonymous with the city as automobiles
and as Motown becameand remainedthe No. 1 black owned industry in
America (7).
2 Cohen states, Mass culture provided an ideal vehicle for expressing
independence and becoming more American (127).
3 Dean Heron talks about the break in Democratic Social Space with the Ossian
Sweet case (most blacks lived in Black Bottom).

by incorporating the nickname of Detroit, Motor City. He combined the history of Detroit with
his business and came up the name. Gordy made such a commitment to Motown Records that he
even moved his family into the building to be there at all hours. He felt that talent did not just
come during the normal work day so he left the record label house open at all hours so people
could come in and record.4 His goal was for people to come in the door and leave as a star.5
Motown was made for audiences of all ages and races and was even called, the sound of young
America.6
Even though the population was decreasing between 1950 and 1970 in Detroit7, race
differences were still a problem, such as with housing that was previously mentioned. In this
time of unrest between races,8 Motown Records was started. Motown produced music that
portrayed the idea that everyone should get together and love each other.9 In fact, at concerts
blacks and whites would begin at separate places in the venue but by the end they would all be
together dancing and singing along.10 Gordy did not care the color of peoples skin or even their
gender; he would hire anyone if he felt they were the best. Motown helped women to get into the
4 According to the tour guide at the Museum.
5 Heard on the tour of the Hitsville Museum.
6 According to the Hitsville Museum website.
7 Dean Heron showed a graph that represented the population decreasing from
1,849,568 to 1,500,00 between 1950-1970.
8 Martelle says, Racism still plays a formative role in the differing ways in which
black Detroiters view local police and political authorities and the ways in which
whites view them (132).
9 Kurlansky states, It was no longer about black or white (85).
10 This was said on the tour of Hitsville, U.S.A. Motown Museum.

music industry both as singers and producers. During our discussion about this, I realized that I
think this is good for the advancement of women in the music industry; however, Ariel disagrees
because she thinks this has led to problems for women like the oversexualizing of women in both
music lyrics and videos.11 In fact, Motown hired more women to the highest positions in the
industry, more than anyone else in the market.12 For example, Berrys older sister Esther Gordy
Edwards held a senior executive positon at Motown. The workers spent long days together and
everyone who worked at Motown felt like their own family13. Motown music helped to increase
integration and helped people, such as blacks and whites, to realize that they should be seen as
equal.14 Motown was the first record company that aimed its music toward both races. Motown
brought races together and became so popular that radio stations began playing their music.
While Motown did not end segregation totally, it helped close the gap between the races,15 and
this is one of the reasons that there were 180 Motown songs on the top Billboard list.16

11 From our In-Group Collaboration.

12 According to the tour guide during the tour of the museum.
13 The Detroit Free Press states, From the outset, Gordys record company had a
family atmosphere (12).
14 In The Great Gatsby, Nick says, And it occurred to me that there was no
difference between men, in intelligence or race, so profound as the difference
between the sick and the well (124).
15 Boyle states, Prejudice was still a mighty force, he admitted, but its decline had
already begun, and in time it would be defeated (337).
16 In the photograph, it shows Berry Gordy Jr. sitting with many different artists
records and many of them had the No. 1 spot on the billboard music list.

Since Motown was able to grow and prosper despite the hard times that Detroit faced,
regarding segregation, Motown represents Detroit17 as a whole since this is what Detroit has had
to do. In 2014, Detroit faced bankruptcy and has begun to make a financial comeback despite the
hardships. Hitsville U.S.A. shows its true Detroit roots since it resides in a neighborhood with
less economic development compared to other neighborhoods in Detroit, such as Midtown.
Hitsville museum is open to anyone to tour this iconic place in American music culture. When I
toured the museum it proved that Motown was for everyone. There were whites, blacks, older
people, and younger people on the tour, proving that diverse people visit Hitsville daily just to be
able to walk in the footsteps of Berry Gordy and his musical history makers. Visitors can see
Studio A where greats like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, and the Jackson Five once stood and
recorded their #1 hits. They can see the upstairs of the building which was the living space where
Berry Gordy Jr. himself, along with his wife and two kids at the time, lived. This museum
represents us all, since it provides the people with an experience to be able to live back in the
day when Motown became the music it is today and influenced the different cultures.
In October 2016, Hitsville Museum announced a 50,000 square foot addition that will be
added to the existing museum. They will be making it bigger while keeping the house in the
same location to preserve the memories that were made there. The urban form of this location is
changing since the way of seeing it is becoming more prominent and Detroiters are
acknowledging that Motown music is important to the city. This expansion will increase the
number of visitors to the museum spreading the history and knowledge of Motown. This future
of the museum represents the city today, since Detroit is trying to expand as well. Officials are
17 Quispel agrees, Berry Gordy was born in Detroit, and this fact alone may be
sufcient to explain why Motown happened in Detroit and not in another city.
However, it can be argued, that at least the urban environment of this city, made
the rise of Motown easier (235).

putting more money into the city trying to make it safer and economically stable. As music
continues to change and grow, so does the city of Detroit. Detroit, just like Motown, was unique
in the past and will be unique forever.18

Works Cited
"Berry Gordy, Dream Maker." Detroit Free Press 15 May 1983: 6-19. Print.
Boyle, Kevin. "Chapter 10 Judgement Day." Arc of Justice. 300-37. Print.
Cohen, Lizabeth. "Chapter 3 Encountering Mass Culture." Making a New Deal: Industrial
Workers in Chicago, 1919-1939. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990. 99-130. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. Print.
Gordy, Berry Jr.; President Motown Records Corporation. Photograph. Walter P. Reuther
Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University.
https://digital.library.wayne.edu/digitalcollections/item?id=wayne:vmc26608

18 The tour guide at Hitsville called Motown unique both in the 60s and today.

Kurlansky, Mark. Ready for a Brand New Beat: How "dancing in the Street" Became the Anthem
for a Changing America, 2013. Print.
Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A biography. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated,
2012. Print.
"Motown Music - The Sound That Changed America." Motown Museum. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
<https://www.motownmuseum.org/story/motown/>.
Quispel, Chris. Detroit, City of Cars, City of Music. Built Environment (1978), vol. 31, no. 3,
2005, pp. 226236. 3 Nov. 2016

Picture of the famous Studio A where all the greats recorded their songs.

Picture of the Hitsville, U.S.A. Motown museum on 2648 W Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48208.
Bibliography Worksheet
Citation Style Selection: MLA
Source 1: University Press-published book
Title: Ready for a Brand New Beat: How "dancing in the Street" Became the Anthem for a
Changing America
Source 2: Peer-reviewed scholarly article
Title: Detroit, City of Cars, City of Music
Source 3: Primary Source

Type: Photo

Title: Gordy, Berry Jr.; President Motown Records Corporation

Source 4: Martelle

Chapter: 10

Page: 132

Title: Detroit: A biography

Source 5: Fitzgerald

Chapter: 7

Page: 124

Title: The Great Gatsby

Source 6: Detroit Free Press
Title:"Berry Gordy, Dream Maker
Source 7: Cohen

Page: 127

Title: Encountering Mass Culture

Source 8: Boyle

Page: 337

Title: Arc of Justice

Source 9: In-Group Collaboration (Informal)
Source 10: Dean Herron lecture (Informal)