Ossian Sweet

Ossian Sweet (Aussprache [ŏshʼən swēt]) (30 October 1895 - 20 March 1960) was an American physician. He is most noted for his self-defense of his newly-purchased home against a white mob attempting to force him out in Detroit, Michigan in 1925, and the acquittal on murder charges of his family by an all-white jury.

EARLY LIFE

Ossian Sweet was born in Orlando, Florida on October 3oth, 1895. Ossian's parents, Henry and Dora, named him in memory of a Reconstruction governor who had made Doar's uncle a government official. Ossian's father, Henry, was born into freedom in ALabama on December 16th, 1865. Dora DeVaughn was not more than seventeen years old when she fell in love with Henry and in March on 1893 they had their first son, Oscar, who unfortunately died eight days after their second son, Ossian's birth. By the summer of 1898, when Ossian was only three years old, Henry was fortunate enough to buy a plot of pland in a small town in Bartow, which is located directly between Orlando and Tampa, Florida. As a young boy, Ossian helped his parents tend the fields on their central Florida farm. He spent hours doing backbreaking work to assist his parents.While growing up, it was difficult for Ossian to receive sufficient schooling; the academy he attended in Bartow was open only four months out of the year with a limited amount of teachers. The white part of Bartow had a magnificent high school, but Ossian and his siblings were not allowed to step foot inside. However, Ossian was fortunate enough to finish eigth grade in 1909, just as times were getting rough. Racial violence at this time was escalating. Ossian recalls the memory of witnessing the hanging and burning of Fred Rochelle, a sixteen year old boy on an eight oclock evening in 1901. This image was forever locked into Ossian's brain. After the completion of eigth grade, Ossian's parents knew they must send him away because in the North he would have a much greater chance of earning a good education. In the first week of September 1909, Ossian arrived by train in the Zenia depot located in Ohio. This would be where Ossian would begin his long and difficult process of transforming himself. Although it took time and hard work, twelve years later Ossian finished his schooling that made him the intelligent, educated man that he was proud to have become.

SCHOOLING

The Sweets had always had their sights set on Ossian going to college. After arriving in Xenia, Ossian heard od the scholarships available to Wilberforce University. In the autumn on 1909, hoever, Wilberforce was in a $32,000 debt, which made it impossible for Ossian to receive the scholarship he was hoping for. Ossian went to prep school for the first year, where he studied history, math, english, music, Latin and drawing, soon adding an intorductory science course as well as a second language. By the time he started college at Wiberforce in the autumn on 1913, Ossian had begun to define his interests, which soon narrowed down to becoming a doctor. During the 1910s, medicine became synonymous with the well-to-do and highly educated men, which in turn gave doctors a much higher status. This status is what Ossian had always dreamed of and it would bring his a great dealof money. He eventually earned his bachelor of science degree from Wilberforce. He finished schooling from Wilberforce but knew it was then time to move on to continue toward his dream. Ossian had only two choices of scooling at this point; Meharry Medical College in Nashville and Howard UNiverstiy in Washington, D.C. were the only two black medical schools open during this time. In the srping of 1917, during a time when the United States was at war with Germany, Ossian was told he was accepted into Howard University's College of Medicine. Ossian would spend his summer waiting tables in local soirees in Detroot and in September he would be moving to Washington, D.C. to begin school. When the 1918 school year came around, Howard UNiversity made it mandatory that its students enlist in the Student Army Training Corps to prepare them for active duty. Practiving and perfecting his skills, Ossian spent his final two years of school at Freedmen's Hospital (1920-1921). Though it was not the nicest hospital and most patients accepted were on charity, Ossian was gaining experience most medical students would have envied. Finally, at the age of twenty-five, Ossian earned his medical degree in the spring of 1921. With medical school over and done with, Ossian was faced with the decision as to where to start his practive. Ambition, which had driven him since the first day he arrived in Xenia, told him to move back to the motor city, so in late summer of 1921, he started his new beginning in Detroit.

CAREER & FAMILY

Ossian arrived in Detroit in 1921 with virtually nothing, but within a few years he would have a successful practice in the city's largest ghetto, Black Bottom. Living in the heart of the city, in a room on Clinton Street, OSsian began to make a name for himself with colleagues at Dunbar Memorial Hospital. A small pharmacy called the Palace Drug Company, owned and operated by Cyrus Dozier, was located just around the corner from Ossian's house. After Ossian agreed to invest $100 into his pharmacy, Dozier agreed to give Ossian the office space in the back. Sweet was fortunate to receive this space, with Palace Drugs situated within walking distance from anywhere in Black Bottom. Ossian vivdly remembered his first case: Lucius and Elizabeth Riley. Elizabeth came to Sweet when her jaw became very stiff, in fear that she had contracted tetanus. After close examination, Ossian was sure that there was no infection, rather a dislocation. Ossian reset her jaw and the couple gave him $5 for his work. Throughout the remaining months of 1921, Ossian continued to acquire more patients. As a result, Sweet was named a merical examiner for Liberty Life Insurance, which helped his practice grow at a steady pace. When Ossian came across a situation in which he needed assistance, he turned to Dr. Edward Carter, the first baclk doctor to graduate from the University of Iowa's College of Medicine. Their shared profession drew them together and in 1922, Sweet and Carter bought an old house on Frederick Street to use as a facility accepting black patients without discrimination. The house-turned-hopsital was located about two miles from Dunbar Memorial and Palace Drugs, which made trips between them rather inconvinient but Ossian made the trip driving his Model T he had purchased in Spring of 1922.

It was an evening in 1922 that Ossian felt an immediate attraction to Gladys Mitchell. Although Ossian and Gladys came from two very different backgrounds, there was still an attraction and after only a few months of dating, he asked her to marry him. They held a small but joyous wedding on December 20th, 1922 at St. Matthews Church. Gladys was born when her mother, Rosella, was only seventeen years old. Her father, however, did not remain present. Luckily, Rosella soon met and married Benjamin Mitchell who was a musician and very young himself. At the age of seven, Gladys and her family moved to Detroit. Benjamin, her stepfather, plated in downtown theaters for pit orchestras and also gave piano lessons on the side. Unlike Ossian, Gladys was handed everything from her parents. She grew up attending the local grade school, where she was the only black child in her class. As she grew up, she never felt an obligation to impress others by over powering them; Ossian he would not be moving his wife into Black Bottom. He packed up his things in his Clinton Street apartment and began a search for a better home nearby. Unaware at the time, Ossian was about to live amoung white people for the very first time. Before moving out of the Mitchell's, Ossian told Gladys that he intended to spend a year in Europe where he would have the opportunity to study the latest medical advances. Gladys saw this as a second honeymoon. By Springtime before they were planning on leaving for Europe, Gladys become pregnant and was beginning to show. Having a newborn on the trip would cause complications but the soon-to-be-parents no longer needed to worry about that; on July 20th, 1923 at three oclock in the afternoon, the Sweets lost their baby after Gladys had gone into premature labor on July 17th. They buried their first born child, who was yet to be named, in Roseland Park Cemetery. Following their itinerary, the Sweets left for Europe on October 6th, 1923 aboard the S.S. Carmania. Unexpectantly, only a short time after arriving in Vienna, Gladys realized she was pregnant again. They continued their trip without any difficulties and on May 29th, 1924, Gladys gave birth to their first daughter of freedom's third generation, Marguerite, who they would call Iva. During the Sweet's time in Europe, Ossian did not earn a degree but he viewed his European education as his greatest accomplishment. This was the first time in his life that he experienced what it was like not to be discriminated against. By June 21st, 1924, the Sweets boarded the S.S. Paris and sailed out of Le Havre back to the states.

THE ATTACK

The night of the attack, Ossian had nine other men at his house to serve as assistants should any violence arise. The men included: Charles Washington (insurance man), Leonard Morse (colleague), William Davis, Henry Sweet (Ossian's brother), John Latting (Henry's college friend), Norris Murray (handyman), Otis Sweet (Ossian's brother) and Joe Mack (chauffeur). Gladys, too, was inside the bungalow. Inspector Norton Schuknecht had been placed outside the Sweet's house since the first night and he was to keep the peace and protect Ossian and Gladys from any angry neighbors. After the shot had been fired from the bungalow, the eleven African Americans inside were brought down to police headquarters and interrogated for five hours. That was just the beginning; interrogation would last for an extended period of time and they would remain in the Wayne County Jail until the entire trial was over. By the next morning, September 10th, the story was on newstands all across Detroit. The Sweets and their number of friends were tried for murder by the young Judge Frank Murphy. The NAACP helped the Sweets and the rest as much as possible; they had James Weldon Johnson send Walter White to them in order to do some of his legendary investigations. As September passed on, life in Wayne County Jail became slightly more comfortable for Ossian and the others. It was more difficult for jail officers to keep a close eye on them so the Sweets began seeing a steady stream of visitors, including the elder Henry Sweet, who was Ossian's, Otis's and Henry's father. In early October, Johnson invited Clarence Darrow, who was for a period of time the most brillian defence attorney in the country, to join the Sweets court case. Publicity was what Johson was looking for from Darrow. Darrow accepted and on October 15th it was announced he would be taking control of the defense. Several days prior to the announcement, on October 6th, Gladys was released on bail by her parents' friends. This was a great relief for Ossian. On the morning of Friday, October 30th, Clarence Darrow was ready to go to court. As the end of November rolled in and after the jurors' long deliberations, they came to an agreement that the eight remaining defendants should be acquitted. At this point, Judge Murphy dismissed the jurymen and declared the court case, The People vs. Sweet, a mistrial. Darrow demanded the court's attention because after four hard-fought weeks, no one had one. Ossian and Gladys had expectations to head back to court within a few weeks, but there were delays. During the long delay between the first and second trial, Darrow did not devote much time to the Sweets' case. Eventually, almost three weeks after it was planned, the trail began on Monday, April 19th, 1926. With a much shorter trial, the jurors, led by George Small, entered the court room in single file after their deliberation. When it come to the fate of henry Sweet for firing the shot, Small spoke for the Jurors and said "not guilty". There were cheers as every one congratulated Henry, while Oddian sat behind his brother with his head in his hands.

BUYING A HOME

It was the end of May 1925 when Ossian and Gladys first saw the bungalow, which would soon be their home. The bungalow was located at 2905 Garland Avenue and owned by Ed and Marie Smith. The Smiths seemed to be a happy, white couple and Marie was, indeed, white. Ed, on the other hand, was a light-skinned colored man who continuously passed for white. This deception worked to their advanataged and allowed them to live in the all white neighborhood eithout and racial violence or threats against them. When the Smiths saw how interested the Sweets were in buying the bungalow, they knew they could up the asking price so that the Sweets would pay 120 monthly installments of $150 each. However, the Smiths would keep ownership over the house until the last payment was made. The Sweets agreed to these arangements so on June 7th, 1925 they handed the Smiths a downpayment of $3,500 and signed the purchase agreement. It wouldnt be until September 8th, 1925 that ossian and Gladys would move into their new home. Ossian and Gladys were aware of the excitement and commotion that would be caused by their move-in. During this time, whites didnt want blacks living amoung them and calied that if they did, the worth of the homes in the area would depreciate. Gladys believed that they had just as much a right to live in the bungalow as anyone else but it was much harder for Ossian to convince himself and look past the harrassment he saw in the future. Then, Septermeber 8th came and went. The Sweets moved into their home with the help of some friends and there were no confrontation, just worried neighbors observing every move. Spetmeber 9th came and by eight oclock in the evening, a crowd had gathered outside and it was even larger that the one from the previous day. Gradually, stones began to fly toward the bungalow as the mob outside grew more angry at the African Americans who moved into their neighborhood. Neighbors continued throwing stones, more and more as the minutes passed and suddenly, a shot was fired from the bungalow's upstairs window. The shot managed to hit two men on the other side of the street: Eric Houghberg, who received medical attention for a bullet wound in his thigh, and Leon Breiner, who was killed from a bullet wound in his back.

The Bungalow on Garland Ave.

Upon his return to Detroit in 1924 Ossian started working at Dunbar Hospital, Detroit's first black hospital. After his training in France Ossian was more educated then many white men. A young professional of Ossians status should have had no trouble finding a respectable home in a respectable neighborhood, but unfortunately the Sweet's race played a large role in their house hunting. The Sweet's had a difficult time trying to find a realtor who would represent them and when they finally did they had an even more difficult time finding a family who would sell them their house. According to Kevin Boyle's account of the Sweet's first impression of the Garland house the Sweet's were less then impressed. The area was a "workingman's" area filled with modest houses and two-family flats, but the location was ideal. Close to Ossian's office and Gladys's parents home. The owners of the home saw the Sweets as an opportunity to make more then the bungalow would have sold for to a white family. On June 7, 1925 the Sweet's bought the house for $18,500 which about $6,000 more then what the house should have sold for. The Sweet's moved in on September 8, 1925.

Home invasion

Accepting an uproar from his new white neighbors Ossian invited his two younger brothers, Henry and Otis, friends and colleagues to help him defend his new home. In the following days, Sweet's house was repeatedly surrounded by white mobs, encouraged by the "Waterworks Improvement Association," which gathered outside Sweet's home to force him to move from the neighborhood. On September 8th 1925, the first white mob of neighbors surrounded the Sweet's house. There were any where between one hundred and two hundred men, women, and children watching the Sweet's house. According the Kevin Boyle's "Arc of Justice" a friend of Sweet's asked the police department to send officers to the house on Garland Avenue to provide protection to the Sweets Except, during this time period a white officer was not going to get in the middle of an angry white mob and an African American family. The Sweet family waited in fear that night. Then the next night, at around 10 p.m. on Thursday, September 9 1925, Leon Breiner, one member of the mob, was shot dead, and another was injured. The shots were fired from Sweet's house. These events occurred after everyone in the Sweet's house witnessed the mob throwing rocks at the house and breaking a window on the top floor. Boyle described it at "Stones were raining down from across the street, smashing into the lawn, crashing onto the painted wooden floor." Shortly after the shots went off everyone in the Sweet's house was arrested and put into the back of a paddy wagon.

All eleven occupants of the house were arrested and tried for murder by a jury presided over by young judge Frank Murphy. The prosecution was represented by Robert Toms.

Trial

With assistance from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the defense headed by Clarence Darrow, assisted by Arthur Garfield Hays and Walter M. Nelson successfully construed the fear that had assailed Sweet and his friends, and also asked whether the jury of 12 whites would be able to forsake their racial differences and give a "Negro" a fair trial. An expert from Clarence Darrow's closing arguements "If I thought any of you had any opinion about the guilt of my clients, I wouldn't worry, because that might be changed. What I'm worried about is prejudice. They are harder to change. They come with your mother's milk and stick like the color of the skin. I know that if these defendants had been a white group defending themselves from a colored mob, they never would have been arrested or tried. My clients are charged with murder, but they are really charged with being black." To read more on the sweet trials and read Clarence Darrow's full summation go to http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/sweet/sweet.html. The first jury was unable to form a verdict after 46 hours of deliberations, and a mistrial was declared.

The defense then elected to hold eleven separate trials. Sweet's younger brother, Henry, who admitted to actually firing the gun, was tried first and defended again by Darrow with Detroit lawyer Thomas Chawke replacing Hays. He was acquitted after a deliberation of less than four hours. Judge Murphy's instructions to the jury are available. The prosecution then dropped the charges against the remaining ten defendants.

The trial was presided over by the Honorable Frank Murphy, who went on to become Governor of Michigan and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Aftermath

Following the trial Sweet returned home to live with his daughter and wife but their happiness did not last long if at all. Well, Sweet had finally achieved his goal as being a recongized memeber of the Talented Tenth his troubles in life were only continuing despite his achievements.

Sweet's later life was troubled. His daughter Iva died at the age of two in 1926, and his wife died soon after, both from tuberculosis contracted while Gladys was in prison and passed on to her daughter. Sweet's brother Henry would also die from the same disease shortly after leaving him mostly alone as of 1940. Breiner's, an indivdual killed in the attack on Sweet's home, widow sued for US$150,000, but the case was dismissed. Sweet ran for office four times, but lost each time. He remarried twice, but both marriages ended in divorce. After all his suffering and continued feeling of being alone Sweet committed suicide in 1960.

Sweet did make sure though that the house on Garland Avenue was passed on to another up and coming black family from the South. A family whose goal was to achieve the consistant Southern dream of raising their children and living their lives in the North equal with their white counter parts and free of discrimination.

Arc of Justice

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age was written by Kevin Boyle, a professor of history at Ohio State University. The book tells the story of Ossian Sweet and his battle for equality. Another prominent African American who fought for equality was Ida B. Wells Barnett whose life is referred to as the Crusade for Justice in her autobiography. Justice is something most African Americans were seeking in the roaring 20's as well as long before and after. Barnett also fell victim to white mobs running amuck when she was run out of her home in Memphis after writing an expose on the lynching of her three friends. She was threatened with death if she was ever to return. Like Sweet she was born in the south and traveled across the Atlantic ultimately living her later years and dying in the north.

Legacy

• Ossian Sweet House registered historical site #S0461
• Michigan Legal Milestones commemorative plaque in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, Detroit
• The Sweet Trials: a play adapted by Kevin Boyle from his book, Arc of Justice
• Malice Aforethought: The Sweet Trials: a play written by Arthur Beer, adapted from Kevin Boyle's Arc of Justice.

Further reading

• Clarence Darrow: The Story of My Life. C. Scribner's Sons, New York 1932, OCLC 390064, Chapter 34: The Negro in the North. 
• Clarence Darrow: Verdicts Out of Court. Quadrangle Books, Chicago 1963, OCLC 193194, The Problem of the Negro. 

• Haldeman-Julius, Marcet, Clarence Darrow's Two Greatest Trials: Reports of the Scopes Anti-Evolution Case and the Dr. Sweet Negro Trial (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, 1927).
• Harris, Paul, Black Rage Confronts the Law (NYU Press 1997). ISBN 0814735274 320.
• Hays, Arthur Garfield, Let Freedom Ring, "Freedom of Residence" (1928).
• Levine, David Allan, Internal Combustion: The Races in Detroit 1915-1926 (Greenwood 1976).
• Ossian Sweet Murder Trial Scrapbook, 1925. Scrapbook and photocopy of the November 1925 murder trial of Ossian Sweet. Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
• Stone, Irving, Clarence Darrow for the Defense, "Road to Glory" (Doubleday 1941).
• Tierney, Kevin, Darrow: A Biography, "The Sweet Trials" (Crowell 1979).
• Toms, Robert, Speech on the Sweet murder trials upon retirement of the prosecuting attorney in 1960, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
• Unofficial Transcript of the Henry Sweet Trial, Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library (prepared by NAACP).
• Vine, Phyllis. One Man's Castle: Clarence Darrow in Defense of the American Dream. (New York: Amistad, 2005). ISBN 9780066214153.
• Weinberg, Arthur, Editor, Attorney for the Damned, "You Can't Live There!" (1957).
• Weinberg, Kenneth G., A Man's Home, A Man's Castle (McCall 1971).

External links

• 'I have to die a man or live a coward'
• Ossian Sweet House
• Key figures in the Sweet trials
• Article at crimelibrary.com on the Sweet trials.
• The Sweet Trials University of Detroit Mercy.
• The Sweet Trials home page, Famous American Trials, University of Missouri, Kansas City