flâneur

When Detroit Was Revolutionary

jacobin.com · 224 words · saved by 1 readers

In the 1960s and 1970s, when Detroit was home to a vibrant radical Left, photographer Leni Sinclair, cofounder of the White Panther Party and the Detroit Artists Workshop, stood at the center of a local scene where political and cultural ferment merged. We spoke to her about those years of upsurge. Photographer Leni Sinclair, cofounder of the Detroit Artists Workshop and the White Panther Party. (Photo courtesy Detroit Artists Workshop) Our new issue, “Aging,” is out now. Follow this link for $20 introductory print subscriptions! Leni Sinclair is something of a legend in Detroit. Her portraits of iconic musicians like Prince, Iggy Pop, Fela Kuti, Patti Smith, and the Grateful Dead have given her a reputation as a veteran rock photographer, but her archives reveal a lifetime dedication to political activism. Raised in East Germany during the Cold War, Sinclair relocated to the United States in the late 1950s. While studying at Wayne State University, she helped cofound the avant-garde a

Leni Sinclair is something of a legend in Detroit. Her portraits of iconic musicians like Prince, Iggy Pop, Fela Kuti, Patti Smith, and the Grateful Dead have given her a reputation as a veteran rock photographer, but her archives reveal a lifetime dedication to political activism. Raised in East Germany during the Cold War, Sinclair relocated to the United States in the late 1950s. While studying at Wayne State University, she helped cofound the avant-garde art cooperative Red Door Gallery, which became the Detroit Artists Workshop. In 1968, she cofounded the White Panther Party (WPP,…

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