Detroit Scope Magazine from May 25, 1968 with story on the Poor People's March
Object number2022.023.0001
Date05/25/1968
ClassificationsNewspapers & Magazines
ObjectMagazine
Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions10 7/8 × 8 1/2 in. (27.6 × 21.6 cm)
DescriptionDetroit Scope Magazine, May 25, 1968, Volume 1, Number 7. This weekly magazine, launched by journalist and television commentator Lou Gordon during a 1967-68 Detroit newspaper strike, focused on local news and culture. The May 25, 1968 issue includes a two-page story entitled “The Poor People’s March: Why It May Explode,” that details a recent Detroit march and questions the organization and leadership of the Poor People’s Campaign. Other articles explore racism and educational standards in Detroit schools, new information on Detroit riots in summer 1967, recent local visits by Democratic presidential candidates Robert Kennedy and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters Union and Michigan divorce laws, as well as regular columns on sports, women, science, crime, labor and entertainment. The magazine is forty-seven pages long and has a cover price of thirty-five cents.
Curatorial CommentaryJournalist and television commentator Lou Gordon (1917-1977) hosted a popular television opinion show, The Lou Gordon Program, on WKBD-TV Detroit from 1966 to 1977. During an extended newspaper strike, when both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press ceased publishing for nearly nine months, from November 1967 until August 1968, Gordon launched Detroit Scope Magazine to fill the news void. He served as president of the publication as well as a writer. The magazine, which focused on local news and culture, continued even after the newspaper strike ended, publishing at least through July 1969. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
