SS Columbia

So I'm going to read you from the forward that explains the backstory that brought me to the moment when I wanted to collect stories about being black in Detroit in the summertime.

On a cool June morning in 1945, Sarah Elizabeth Ray stood on the dock along the Detroit River waiting to board the mammoth excursion boat, SS Columbia, known to all as the Pablo boat.

She was the only African-American among her group of 13 gathered there to celebrate their secretarial school graduation.

In fact, she was likely the only African-American among the entire horde of passengers, 3,000 or more.

Undaunted, she was eager to sail across the river for a relaxing summer day at the Boblo

Island Amusement Park in Canada.

By the time Sarah Elizabeth stepped on board the SS Columbia, the boat had been ferrying passengers to Bablo for more than 40 years.

For many, the ride itself was the better part of the adventure.