The Black Migration to Detroit
Black Population in Detroit, 1870-1930
Increase in Black Population in Detroit 1910-1930 Compared to Other Cities
Increase in Black Population of Detroit Compared to Other Cities, 1910-1930
| CITY | % INCREASE, 1910-30 | BLACK POP. IN 1910 | BLACK POP. IN 1920 | BLACK POP. IN 1930 |
| DETROIT | 1,991% | 5,741 | 40,838 | 120,066 |
| CLEVELAND | 751% | 8,448 | 34,451 | 71,899 |
| CHICAGO | 430% | 44,103 | 109,458 | 233,903 |
| NEW YORK | 257% | 91,709 | 152, 467 | 327,706 |
| PHILADELPHIA | 160% | 84,459 | 134,229 | 219,599 |
| PITTSBURGH | 115% | 25,623 | 37,725 | 54,983 |
| BIRMINGHAM | 89% | 52,305 | 70,230 | 99,077 |
| MEMPHIS | 84% | 52,441 | 61,181 | 96,550 |
| ATLANTA | 74% | 51,902 | 62,796 | 90,075 |
Black Population in Detroit, 1870-1930
Detroit's 1924 Mayoralty Election
| Candidate | Primary Issues | Main Supporters | Votes Received | Votes Received in 6 most heavily black precincts |
| John Smith | Control of Klan, more and better services | Recent immigrants, Catholics, blacks | 116,775 | 4,355 |
| Charles Bowles | Strict law enforcement, American values | KKK, white lower and middle-class Protestants | 102,602** | 7 |
| Joseph Martin | Clean government, better services | Businessmen | 84,462 | Not reported in source |
** Bowles was a write-in candidate. Had ballots with misspellings of his name been counted, he would have won the election by over 1,000 votes.
Bowles and Smith faced off again in the 1925 Mayor's race. Smith won, this time by a vote of 140,000 to 110,000.