Metro Detroit resident Sandra McCoy shares how her grandmother came to Michigan to further her education and career

Clip: Season 10 Episode 24 | 2m 41sVideo has Closed Captions

Metro Detroit resident Sandra McCoy participates in One Detroit’s “Destination Detroit” series.

Metro Detroit resident Sandra McCoy shares how her grandmother came to Detroit from Georgia and made professional and personal strides as an African American woman living in the city. Her story is part of “Destination Detroit,” a series that explores the region's rich history and the people who helped shape it.

12/12/2025

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(bright music) - My family came to Detroit in the 50s from Georgia.

My grandmother came first.

Unfortunately, she was a single parent and she ended up having her children stay until she got settled.

And when she got settled, she sent for her two sons, who is my father.

She actually came to finish her education in college.

She was a graduate of Wayne State University and she graduated with a degree in teaching.

So she taught for a while and after she talked, she ended up getting hired by the city of Detroit as what they would call a bus driver.

You know, I'm not sure.

It probably didn't have too many bus drivers that were female.

And she ended up working for the City of Detroit as a matron in the women's jails.

I believe that my grandmother initially settled in the black bottom area, and when it was, you know, dissolved, she ended up moving over in I think the north end area.

And eventually she moved from the north end area to the Boston Edison area in 1955.

And she lived there 'til she was 102 years old.

She was always a person that was, she was quiet, but she was very, you know, thoughtful about, you know, how she wanted to raise her family and how she wanted to, you know, have something of substance, you know, during that time 'cause you can imagine in 1955, it probably wasn't a lot of black females who owned homes in the Boston Edison area.

You know, as a family, we really take pride in our history and you know, what it took at that time to survive.

I actually started on the assembly line and I worked my way up to a union position in the international UAW, and I retired as a international representative with the UAW.

I think the audit industry really provided my family with a basis of security and being able to, you know, find jobs and because of those jobs we had, we were able to educate our children and they were able to get degrees, and my grandchildren are in college.

So I think it's just a legacy that I am proud of, and Detroit will always be my home, whether I stay inside the city or outside the city, and born and raised in Detroit.

(bright music)