Description

Henry Sweet was the brother of Dr. Ossian Sweet, a highly educated and respected African American doctor in Detroit. Dr. Sweet had purchased a home in a lower middle class white neighborhood and moved there with his wife an infant daughter. Knowing such actions had led to violence in similar instances, he moved in with guns, ammunition and the help of two of his brothers and four other friends. When a large white mob arrived, throwing bricks and breaking windows and chanting, one of the occupants fired, a white man was killed and all the black men were arrested. Ossian’s younger brother was on trial for murder before an all-white jury. He was represented by famed defense attorney, Clarence Darrow. In a dramatic and history-making case, Darrow achieved a verdict of “not guilty” from the jury. We will look at the context that made this case commonplace and verdict history-making as well as Darrow’s special gifts as a defense attorney.