Details
June 18, 2025
5:30PM - 7:00PM EDT
Rhythms of Resilience and Change: Looking Back at Detroit’s Paradise Valley and Black Bottom
Juneteenth Event
Detroit Public Library – Main Branch
Rod Arroyo is a city planner and photographer researching historical jazz clubs and Black-owned businesses in Detroit’s Paradise Valley and Black Bottom neighborhoods. In this special presentation, Rod will share photographs, maps, and stories describing and illustrating the many changes in this historical part of Detroit. Paradise Valley, Black Bottom, and Sugar Hill once had over 40 jazz clubs and hundreds of Black-owned businesses. This area, rich in history and culture, was decimated by freeway construction and several urban renewal projects. There is much to learn from these neighborhoods and the stories of those who lived and worked there.
About Rod Arroyo, FAICP:
Rod has a Master’s degree in City Planning from Georgia Tech and is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He has worked as a city planning consultant in the Detroit region for over 35 years and served as adjunct faculty in the graduate urban planning program at Wayne State University. Rod has also owned his own photography business since 2000, and he is the featured photographer in the 2018 book, A History Lover’s Guide to Detroit from History Press, and over 40 of his images are featured in the 2024 Documentary, The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit.
