Born and raised in Detroit, James Del Rio came up during a time when segregation and racial tensions were at their boiling point, going on to have a career that fused politics, law, and finance.

It was in Detroit where he learned urgency and determination, qualities that would make him a central figure in Detroit’s mid-20th-century fight for representation and equity.

After attending Wayne State University, where he graduated in law, he began a career that would blur the lines between law, politics, and business.

Del Rio knew from the very start of his career that Black Detroiters would not advance without people like him being willing to step up to the plate and fight.

It was a war that needed to be waged in courtrooms, legislative chambers, and in the banking world, and that conviction would go on to carry him to high places over the course of his career.

Del Rio was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in a special election held on May 10, 1965, then reelected in 1966 and again in 1968 – one of the most volatile periods in Detroit history, a time when civil rights demonstrations had increased racial tensions that eventually led to the Detroit uprising in 1967.

Del Rio pushed for housing equity, economic justice, and civil rights protections over the course of his legislative career.

His speeches and voter feedback demonstrated a community demanding change, and he firmly believed Detroit’s Black majority deserved fair representation, housing, jobs, and dignity.

Once becoming a legislator, Del Rio entered the judiciary and became the first Black federal bankruptcy judge in Detroit.

His appointment was a groundbreaking turning point for a city where financial distress and strife had become the norm for working-class families and struggling businesses alike, and Del Rio brought a legal rigor that was both empathic and rooted in his own lived experiences – an authenticity that was rare in politics.

He represented a step forward – proof that African Americans could and should be in positions of power within the justice system.

Del Rio also placed a large focus on economics, believing that political rights meant little without money backing them.

As a Black-owned banker and creditor in Detroit, he worked hard for African Americans to get home loans, business credit, and financial independence.

Here he advanced the idea that civil rights went beyond desegregated schools and fair employment laws – it had to include economic justice too.

For Del Rio, empowerment was incomplete without allowing black families to become not just financially stable, but wealthy.

As with many accomplished figures, Del Rio had his share of controversy.

Sometimes his boldness bested rival political parties, and his bankrolling and political activities often attracted criticism.

That said, even his biggest critics recognized his legacy as a pioneer – someone who tore down walls and opened doors that once never even existed.

He spent his whole life in Detroit – both in its heyday as the “Arsenal of Democracy” and during its dark ages of disinvestment and inequality, and when he died in 2018, tributes came rolling in from politicians and ordinary Detroiters who saw him as someone who brought their voices into halls of power that had historically silenced them.

For Detroit, James Del Rio is a firm reminder that progress is rarely neat, yet necessary all the same.

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