Krainz Woods
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Krainz Woods (colloquially known as Krainz and Krainz Park) is a neighborhood in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. The neighborhood was named after Captain John Krainz Jr., a World War II hero from Detroit. The neighborhood was once home to
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...
, who lived on Keystone Street in the 1950s, and Spencer Haywood in the 1960s. The Sojourner Truth housing project is located there. Many Motown singing groups, such as
The Dramatics The Dramatics are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1964. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs " In the Rain" and "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", both of which were Top 10 Pop hits, as well as their late ...
and
The Floaters The Floaters were an American R&B vocal group, from the Sojourner Truth housing projects in Detroit, Michigan, that formed in 1976. The group are best known for their 1977 song " Float On", which reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ...
, were from the Sojourner Truth housing projects. In 2009,
Mayor of Detroit This is a list of mayors of Detroit, Michigan. See History of Detroit, Michigan, for more information about the history of the incorporation of the city. The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014. History ...
Dave Bing led a ribbon-cutting dedication of Krainz Park.


History

Originally, Krainz Woods was a deeply wooded area located west of the Village of Norris. It later became a part of Hamtramck Township, and the
City of Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the ...
annexed the area in 1916. Between 1923 and 1940, about 1,000 houses were constructed in Krainz Woods.Scott, Gene, p
55
"Once a deeply- wooded area west of the village of Norris, Krainz Woods is part of an area of Hamtramck township annexed in 1916. Approximately 1,000 homes were built there between 1923 and 1940. It is just east of Conant Gardens."
In 1966 the Krainz Woods Neighborhood Organization was mostly White. During that year, the organization posted an advertisement in an
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
newspaper that asked
Conant Gardens Conant Gardens is a historically Black neighborhood in northeast Detroit, Michigan. The neighborhood was once the most exclusive Black neighborhood in that city, and residents of Conant Gardens comprised the most highly educated Black enclave in De ...
residents to go to a meeting at an area church to protest a proposed scattered-site housing and open occupancy. The whites in Krainz Woods wanted to recruit middle class blacks in Conant Gardens to oppose public housing. Ten prisoners escaped from the Ryan Correctional Facility on August 21, 1994. Nine prisoners were recaptured and, according to authorities, one died of a drug overdose.Scott, Nathaniel.
Community continues prison demonstration
" ''
Michigan Citizen ''The Michigan Citizen'' (sometimes called just ''Michigan Citizen'') was a weekly newspaper distributed in Detroit, Michigan. ''The Michigan Citizen'' has been published on Sundays since November 1978. Charles D. Kelly (1932-2006) was the newspaper ...
'', in the ''
Michigan Quarterly Review The ''Michigan Quarterly Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1962 and published at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The quarterly (known as "MQR" for short) publishes art, essays, interviews, memoirs, fiction, poetry, and ...
''. November 26, 1994. Retrieved on December 28, 2012. Available on
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.
On Monday August 29, 1994 a group of about 500 area residents held a meeting in the W.L. Bonner Cultural Center about the prison, and the residents decided that they needed to have the prison closed. The residents said that, prior to the prison's construction, the state had said that "harden" and "violent" criminals would not be held in that facility.Scott, Nathaniel.
PRISON BREAK: Two Views. OUTSIDE: Community wants Ryan prison closed
" ''
Michigan Citizen ''The Michigan Citizen'' (sometimes called just ''Michigan Citizen'') was a weekly newspaper distributed in Detroit, Michigan. ''The Michigan Citizen'' has been published on Sundays since November 1978. Charles D. Kelly (1932-2006) was the newspaper ...
'', in the ''
Michigan Quarterly Review The ''Michigan Quarterly Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1962 and published at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The quarterly (known as "MQR" for short) publishes art, essays, interviews, memoirs, fiction, poetry, and ...
''. September 4, 1994. Retrieved on December 28, 2012. Available on
HighBeam HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was headq ...
.
On November 5, 1994, about sixteen members of the Krainz Woods Neighborhood Organization, including at least eight elderly people, demonstrated in front of the Ryan Correctional Facility, saying that the state did not implement promised measures, improving neighborhood lighting, hiring employees from the neighborhood, and implementing a grant to pay for security doors on the houses of the residents.


Cityscape

The Krainz Woods Neighborhood Organization serves a 17- city block area, east of
Conant Gardens Conant Gardens is a historically Black neighborhood in northeast Detroit, Michigan. The neighborhood was once the most exclusive Black neighborhood in that city, and residents of Conant Gardens comprised the most highly educated Black enclave in De ...
, and adjacent to the Detroit Reentry Center (formerly the Ryan Correctional Facility), and the
Mound Correctional Facility Mound Correctional Facility was a Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) prison located in eastern Detroit, Michigan. It was adjacent to the Detroit Reentry Center (formerly the Ryan Correctional Facility). The facility which housed Mound was re ...
.Mound Correctional Facility
"
Michigan Department of Corrections The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) oversees prisons and the parole and probation population in the state of Michigan, United States. It has 31 prison facilities, and a Special Alternative Incarceration program, together composing appr ...
. Retrieved on December 28, 2012.
The community is bounded by Ryan Road, Mound Road, Nevada, and 7 Mile Road East. Due to its proximity to
Conant Gardens Conant Gardens is a historically Black neighborhood in northeast Detroit, Michigan. The neighborhood was once the most exclusive Black neighborhood in that city, and residents of Conant Gardens comprised the most highly educated Black enclave in De ...
, Krainz Woods is often mistaken for, and erroneously considered as part of, that neighboring community. The Krainz Woods business community consists of The Bay at Cranbrook Health and Rehabilitation Center, three party stores (F&S Market, Moore Market and Piper Liquors), and two restaurants (Nevada Coney Island, and 7's Deli).


Education

Residents are zoned to
Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...
. Mason Elementary-Middle School serves K-8.
Pershing High School John J. Pershing High School is a four-year public high school in Detroit, Michigan. It is in Conant Gardens in proximity to the residential areasNational Heritage Academies Legacy Charter Academy, located in the former Atkinson Elementary School, is in Krainz Woods. Previously Atkinson Elementary School in Krainz Woods served the community as the zoned elementary school. At one time Van Zile Elementary School served the community.Elementary School Boundary Map
" ''
Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...
''. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
Previously Farwell Middle School served the community.Middle School Attendance Areas
" ''
Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...
''. July 10, 2003. Retrieved on November 2, 2012.
Middle School Boundary Map
" ''
Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...
''. Retrieved October 20, 2009.


References

*Scott, Gene. ''Detroit Beginnings: Early Villages and Old Neighborhoods''. Detroit Retired City Employees Association, September 2001. Comerica Charitable Foundation *Shaw, Todd C. ''Now Is the Time!: Detroit Black Politics and Grassroots Activism''.
Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 D ...
, September 4, 2009. , 9780822345084.


Notes


Further reading

* Krains Woods Community Council, n. d. "All
Conant Gardens Conant Gardens is a historically Black neighborhood in northeast Detroit, Michigan. The neighborhood was once the most exclusive Black neighborhood in that city, and residents of Conant Gardens comprised the most highly educated Black enclave in De ...
Home Owners Should Attend. ''
Michigan Chronicle ''The Chronicle'' is a weekly African-American newspaper based in Detroit, Michigan. It was founded in 1936 by John H. Sengstacke, editor of the ''Chicago Defender''. Together with the ''Defender'' and a handful of other African-American newspap ...
'' (Detroit, MI). Papers of the Commission on Community Relations. Archive of Labor and Human Affairs.
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
, Detroit, MI. "Welfare Rights, 1960s" Box 78, File 28. {{Coord, 42.4297, -83.0542, type:landmark_region:US-MI, display=title Neighborhoods in Detroit