“Bought a house on Detroit’s near west side.” These words started a legal battle. This battle reached the United States Supreme Court. Today we stand before the Orsel and Minnie McGhee House. It is a symbol of courage and a landmark in civil rights history.
The Orsel and Minnie McGhee House stands at 4626 Seebaldt Street. The McGhees, a Black couple, bought this house in 1944. They sought a home in a racially restricted neighborhood. A neighborhood where a covenant limited occupancy to whites only.
The neighborhood association demanded the McGhees leave. They cited the racially restrictive covenant. The McGhees refused to move. This refusal led to the Sipes v. McGhee case.
The NAACP recognized the case’s importance. They appointed Thurgood Marshall to defend the McGhees. Marshall later became a Supreme Court Justice. He argued that the covenant violated the Fourteenth Amendment. This amendment guarantees equal protection under the law.
The McGhee case was consolidated with Shelley v. Kraemer. It concerned similar restrictions in St. Louis. The Supreme Court heard the case in 1947. In 1948, the Court ruled in favor of the McGhees. They declared that state enforcement of racial covenants was unconstitutional.
This landmark decision struck down racial covenants nationwide. It allowed families to buy homes free from racial restrictions. The Orsel and Minnie McGhee House became a symbol of this victory.
Interestingly, the Sipes family, who initially sued the McGhees, later became their friends. They were the last white family on the block. They moved only after Benjamin Sipes’ death in 1974.
Orsel McGhee was born in Alabama in 1901. He moved to Detroit in the 1920s. He worked at the Detroit Free Press. Minnie Leatherman Simms was born in 1903. She moved to Detroit in 1938 and worked as a postal clerk. They married and saved to buy this house.
The Orsel and Minnie McGhee House is a two-story foursquare. It has a hipped roof and a front porch. The house shows Craftsman influences. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
The McGhees moved to a smaller house in 1968. They sold this house to Eddie and Gladys Mitchell. The McGhee’s granddaughter, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, produced “The Color of Courage”. This movie tells the story of her grandparents’ struggle.
The Orsel and Minnie McGhee House stands as a reminder. It reminds us of the fight for equal housing rights. It shows the impact of courage and determination. It is a testament to the enduring pursuit of justice.