The story of Dudley Randall may begin in Washington D.C., but he grew up in Detroit, which was where his voice developed.

His family arrived north during the Great Migration, and he was just fifteen when one of his poems ran in the Detroit Free Press.

That was the moment he realized just how powerful words were.

Like many Detroit kids of the time, he worked in the industry right alongside adults, laboring briefly at Ford Motor Company prior to entering World War II.

The factory floor and the battlefield taught him struggle, discipline, and survival – lessons that would later go on to be a big influence on his poems.

Randall graduated from Wayne State and the University of Michigan following the war before going on to become a librarian.

The work suited him: He loved knowledge, order, and the idea of making information accessible.

The library, however, was not his only calling.

Another was poetry.

His verses – collected in books such as “Cities Burning” – were plain but powerful, with a strong focus on civil rights, urban life, and being Black in America.

He expressed anger, sorrow, love, and resilience directly to the reader, never feeling the need to be overly complex with his words in order to be heard.

In 1965, something remarkable happened within the confines of Randall’s Detroit apartment:

He printed one poem on broadside paper and sold it for pennies.

That was it – one simple, yet revolutionary act that would go on to change the entire course of his career as he knew it.

From that one decision, Broadside Press was born, a publishing house that would influence American literature for decades to come.

Broadside Press published the work of many great poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Audre Lorde, and Haiki Madhubuti.

Through Broadside, Randall did for these greats what mainstream publishers could not: it gave them a platform to share their voices, visibility, and a sense of connection within their own communities.

Suddenly, Detroit became more than just the Motor City.

It was also a literary hub, a haven for Black Arts Movement poets.

Randall himself was no bomb-thrower.

Quite the contrary, he was quiet, thoughtful, scholarly.

His calm came across loud and clear during an era of fervent speeches and militant rhetoric, however, this did not mean he was lacking conviction.

He simply believed in action through infrastructure, and that something permanent like Broadside would have a lasting impact on the world long after his departure.

He taught and mentored and gave readings throughout the city as well as giving advice to young writers without any ego attached.

His work was always about the collective, and he firmly believed that poetry was meant to belong to everyone.

Detroit lost more than a poet when Dudley Randall died in 2000.

It lost an architect for its cultural soul.

Though his poems continue to live on, his real gift was the space he created for others to feel brave enough to speak.

In Detroit, Randall proved words do matter.

That they can live in hearts, hands, in a city’s pulse.

Through Broadside Press, his mission lives on.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: August 22, 2025