Ossian Sweet

E118387

Ossian Sweet was an African American physician whose 1925 trial for defending his Detroit home against a white mob became a landmark civil rights case.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Ossian Sweet canonical 32

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf civil rights figure
human
physician
causeOfDeath suicide
charge murder
countryOfCitizenship United States of America
dateOfBirth 1895-10-30
dateOfDeath 1960-03-20
educatedAt Howard University College of Medicine
linked to: Howard University

Wilberforce University
ethnicGroup African American
linked to: Black Americans
eventDate 1925-09-09
familyName Sweet
fieldOfWork medicine
givenName Ossian
hasBrother Henry Sweet
hasContext racial segregation in housing in Detroit
racial violence against Black homeowners
hasLegalRole defendant
houseLocation Detroit East Side
influenced legal strategies against housing segregation
subsequent civil rights litigation on self-defense and equal protection
involvedIn shooting incident during white mob attack on his home
legalCase People v. Sweet
linked to: Ossian Sweet trial
legalOutcome acquittal of his brother Henry Sweet in second trial
eventual dismissal of charges against remaining defendants
hung jury in first trial
movement civil rights movement (United States)
name Ossian Sweet
notableFor 1925 trial for defending his Detroit home against a white mob
landmark civil rights case involving self-defense and housing segregation
notableWork medical practice serving African American community in Detroit
occupation doctor
physician
participantIn 1925 criminal trial in Detroit
Sweet trials
placeOfBirth Bartow, Florida
placeOfDeath Detroit, Michigan
linked to: Detroit
religion Methodism
representedBy Clarence Darrow
NAACP legal team
residence Detroit, Michigan
linked to: Detroit
sexOrGender male
significantEvent defense of his home against a white mob in Detroit in 1925
spouse Gladys Sweet
subjectOf Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age
historical studies of Northern racial violence
supportedBy NAACP

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (32)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Clarence Darrow represented Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet trial hasDefendant Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet name Ossian Sweet
Henry Sweet sibling Ossian Sweet
Henry Sweet hasRelative Ossian Sweet
Otis Sweet hasRelative Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet trial hasDefendant Ossian Sweet
subject linked to: Otis Sweet
John Latting coDefendantWith Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet trials hasDefendant Ossian Sweet
subject linked to: John Latting
William Davis coDefendantWith Ossian Sweet
Charles Washington coDefendantWith Ossian Sweet
Joe Mack coDefendantOf Ossian Sweet
Joe Mack associatedWith Ossian Sweet
Henry Turner coDefendantWith Ossian Sweet
John Smith (Sweet trials defendant) coDefendantWith Ossian Sweet
subject linked to: John Smith
Otis Smith coDefendantOf Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet trials mainSubject Ossian Sweet
subject linked to: Otis Smith
Robert Toms opposedPartyInCase Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet murder trial hasDefendant Ossian Sweet
subject linked to: Walter Nelson
Sweet hasNotableBearer Ossian Sweet
Sweet trial hasDefendant Ossian Sweet
subject linked to: Sweet
Sweet trials mainSubject Ossian Sweet
Sweet trials hasDefendant Ossian Sweet
Sweet trials significantFigure Ossian Sweet
Norris Murray coDefendantOf Ossian Sweet
Norris Murray associatedWith Ossian Sweet
Gladys Sweet spouse Ossian Sweet
Leonard Morse coDefendantOf Ossian Sweet
David H. Brown coDefendantOf Ossian Sweet
Leonard C. Simons represented Ossian Sweet