38 stunning photos of women's protests in Detroit

By Metro Times editorial staff on Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 7:38 pm

Over the years, Detroit has seen a number of strikes and protests led by women. From sit-down strikes in major department stores and restaurants to picket lines in support of UAW, the city has seen how powerful women's voices can be. Enjoy this nostalgic look back, courtesy of Virtual Motor City.

All photos are courtesy of Detroit News Collection, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.

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1940s | Group of primarily female striking workers picket in front of AT&T building in Detroit, Michigan.

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1930s | Uniformed police officer leads away two striking female employees of Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company during sit-down strike in Detroit, Michigan. "In the Thirties, Yale & Towne resisted unionization so bitterly that it closed a plant in Detroit rather than deal with a union, at one point a federal judge censured the company for its anti-labor activity," from Rainbow at Midnight: Labor and Culture in the 1940s, by George Lipsitz.

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1930s | Four women play cards sitting at lunch counter at Woolworth department store in Detroit, Michigan during sit-down strike.

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1930s | Uniformed waitresses sit on lunch counter at Woolworth department store in Detroit, Michigan during sit-down strike.

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1930s | Striking employees sit on floor under blankets during sit-down strike at Woolworth department store in Detroit, Michigan.

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1930s | Uniformed police officer carries woman (striking employee?) in his arms, during sit-down strike at Mazer-Cressman Cigar Company in Detroit, Michigan.

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1930s | Striking workers pose at hair care products display at Woolworth store in Detroit, Michigan, during sit-down strike.

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1930s | Striking workers pose at hair care products display at Woolworth store in Detroit, Michigan, during sit-down strike.

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1930s | Uniformed waitress offers tray of food to striking workers at lunch counter at Woolworth department store in Detroit, Michigan, during sit-down strike.

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1930s | Female employees participate in sit-down strike against Mazer-Cressman Cigar Company in Detroit, Michigan.

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1930s | Large group of primarily female restaurant workers participate in sit-down strike at Huyler's Restaurant in Detroit, Michigan.

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1930s | Five women sit on lunch counter reading newspapers at Woolworth store in Detroit, Michigan during sit-down strike.

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1930s | Striking employees, some in waitress uniforms, pose eating food, during sit-down strike at Woolworth department store in Detroit, Michigan.

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1930s | Two women push broom while others watch at Woolworth department store in Detroit, Michigan during sit-down strike.

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1930s | Women in waitress uniforms stand near make-up counter at Woolworth department store, with men in background, during sit-down strike in Detroit, Michigan.

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1930s | Large group of primarily women, some carrying picket signs march in front of movie theater, one sign reads, WPA workers are human beings."

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1930s | Striking female employees stand on chairs and window ledge to look out windows of the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company building during sit-down strike in Detroit, Michigan. "In the Thirties, Yale & Towne resisted unionization so bitterly that it closed a plant in Detroit rather than deal with a union, at one point a federal judge censured the company for its anti-labor activity," from Rainbow at Midnight: Labor and Culture in the 1940s, by George Lipsitz.

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1980s | African American woman stands on a crate and speaks into a microphone attached to a bull horn at the City-County Building at a picket against KKK & Nazi Groups

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