Upon returning to Detroit, the Sweets sought to own their own home in a nicer neighborhood than Black Bottom—or the other predominantly black neighborhoods. They bought a house at 2905 Garland Street. Aware of the brewing tensions in the city—and the dangers of moving to an all-white neighborhood—Sweet waited to move until after the summer, when things might be calmer.
The Ku Klux Klan was powerful in Detroit at this time, with more than 100,000 members in the city. In 1924 and 1925, the Klan ran Charles S. Bowles as a candidate for mayor, and he nearly won the first year as a write-in candidate. His opponent was declared the winner only after 15,000 write-in ballots were disqualified for misspellings and other errors. The Klan was not the only organization to be fearful of. In the two years from 1923 to 1925, Detroit police killed 55 African Americans with impunity.
As soon as neighbors heard a black family was moving in, they organized the Waterworks Improvement Association.
The Sweets sent their young daughter to stay with her grandmother and, after requesting police protection from the local precinct and help from a handful of friends and relatives, they moved into their new home.
On the first night, Sweet and his wife were joined by his brother, Henry, and three friends. In anticipation, they brought guns and ammunition. “Well, we have decided we are not going to run. We are not going to look for any trouble,” said Sweet. “But we are going to be prepared if trouble arises.” Crowds formed near the house, but the night was relatively peaceful. By the second night, however, the crowds had increased, so Sweet invited more friends to help.
The local police inspector and a detail of officers stood outside the house, ostensibly to protect the Sweets, as People threw rocks relentlessly, and the police did nothing but look on… until a shot was fired from inside the house by Henry Sweet, Ossian’s brother. A white man outside was killed. All eleven adults in the house were arrested, initially denied counsel, then denied bail by Judge John Faust who presided over the preliminary hearing, and tried for murder.
But mob justice and a prejudiced police force did not rule the day. The NAACP agreed to support the Sweet defendants. Fundraisers were held in large cities throughout the country, and the NAACP contacted Clarence Darrow, the famous Scopes Trial lawyer, who took on the case for a small fee. Darrow’s defense was based on the history of race relations in the country, including testimony about the history of racial violence and lynching.
In his testimony, Ossian Sweet explained, “When I opened the door, I saw the mob and I realized I was facing the same mob that had hounded my people throughout our entire history. I was filled with a fear that only one could experience who knows the history and strivings of my race.”