Arc of Justice Tour of Detroit

The “Arc of Justice” Narrative Tour began as a request in 2013 to provide an  experience that would “Identify Benchmark Places and Moments of Racial Tension and Challenge in our City” and shed light on how these have contributed to decades of environmental and economic disparity and challenge. The designer and co- host of the tour, Pastor Robert Hoey, is a native Detroiter who witnessed a tremendous amount of racial inequity and injustice throughout his childhood, his youth, and ongoing throughout his adult life. He was also greatly impacted by two books: “Arc of Justice” by Kevin Boyle, which recounts much of Detroit’s early racial history, and after which this tour is named, and Thomas Sugrue’s Bancroft award winning book: “The Origin of the Urban Crisis, Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit”.

Sims Friday, a long-time Detroit resident, retired Detroit firefighter, elder in his church, and mentor of many young men in his community has co-hosted from the onset. Sims adds to the tour through his own narratives and unique perspectives of the history of racial inequalities and ill treatment of blacks in this city. His insight and narrative helped grow the tour’s intent of showing how Detroit’s history of racism, both institutional and personal, contributed to the condition of the city today.

Now in its tenth year, the tour includes three additional hosts: Jason Ridgeway, Mark Friday, and Chris Turner. These younger hosts share their personal stories and perspectives, highlighting growing up in Detroit in different decades.

Each of the hosts identifies himself as a follower of Jesus, with the agreed mutual intent and hope that the tone and spirit of these tours reflect a true gospel of mercy, compassion, and justice, clearly proclaimed throughout the biblical narrative, yet often ignored by significant entities of organized religion.