Black Bottom, Detroit — Welcome to the Black Wall Streets

Welcome to the Black Wall Streets

Black Bottom, Detroit

Before it was erased, it was everything.

With more than 350 booming enterprises — from restaurants and jazz clubs to doctors and dentists — Black Bottom, and specifically Hastings Street, became known as the city's major artery for the African-American economy. A self-sustaining world built on excellence, community, and culture.

Its legacy lives through the giants it produced: Ralph Bunche, the first African-American to earn a Nobel Peace Prize; Charles Diggs, Jr., Michigan's first Black U.S. House member in 1955; and the iconic actress and recording artist, Della Reese.

And contrary to what most would assume — Black Bottom's name was derived from the area's rich, dark soil, not the residents who lived there.

This piece is more than a shirt. It's a monument. Wear the history.