IDLEWILD, Mich. — It is a city many haven't heard of, but it holds an important place in American history.
It was once a paradise for middle-class Black Americans during segregation but has since become a mostly abandoned community fading away into history.
But there’s now an effort to revive this small town and make it better than ever.
Dr. Micala Evans, who runs Idlewild Tours, explained what the city was like in its heyday.
"Idlewild was the only place for miles that you could let your hair down without the fear of ‘am I going to get arrested,’” said Dr. Evans.
Evans said two brothers from White Cloud, Michigan, Erastus and Adelbert Branch, saw an opportunity to homestead and sell some land to African Americans, who at the time couldn’t buy land.
“The thing is, many homes were deed-restricted, and many African Americans couldn't buy homes everywhere,” said Evans. “So, after homesteading the land, they earned the right to sell the land to whoever they wanted. They chose wealthy African Americans.”
Prominent Black Americans like Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, who performed the first successful open-heart surgery in the U.S., was the first to purchase property in Idlewild.
Williams wasn’t the only person getting some land. Self-made millionaire Madame C. J. Walker and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois also bought property in Idlewild.
Over the years, the city went through many phases. It started as an investment town like Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, then to a working-class town, until finally became a resort town.
Evans says that’s what the city was most known for.
“That was the heyday of where we had the entertainers: Della Reese, Louis Armstrong, the Four Tops and many other Jazz and blues and b-bop entertainers,” Evans said.
But, the good times didn't last in Idlewild. The city was eventually abandoned and forgotten about in the 1970s. Longtime resident Joe Lindsey says the people who made the city what it is left it behind.
“When the integration bill came, the Blacks had opportunity,” said Lindsey. “They packed up and deserted Idlewild.”
Evans believes integration alone did not cause Idlewild to fall, but Black people deciding to take their resources elsewhere has had generational impacts on the community.
“I may have an unpopular opinion, but Black people killed Idlewild,” said Evans. “What happened to Idlewild? People stop investing in it. People stop believing we could have a community built by ourselves, invested in by ourselves and create something magnificent.”
As the city is on the rebound, many people are talking about investment. It is the word people across this town say will help make the city anew and make it an attractive place. Jimmy Marbury, the President of Idlewild African American Chamber of Commerce, says the community has a bright future.
“We're looking for more businesses here in Idlewild,” said Marbury. “Idlewild is like a blank canvas right now as far as economic development for businesses and venture. The opportunities are limitless.”
The younger generation is also looking forward to the future. Erica Tate, a lifelong resident, says she’s very optimistic.
“It’s a rebirth,” says Tate. “It's going to be new. It's the new Idlewild. It'll never be the way it used to be, but it's going to be the newer version of Idlewild that I'd say is better."
It’s a community that is on the rebound. It had its highs and lows like many cities in Michigan, but special, nonetheless.
“I can't explain it to you. You just have to be here to feel it. Once you come up here with an open mind and you get up here, you will love Idlewild,” said Marbury.
There are some upcoming events happening in Idlewild, like a Juneteenth celebration and a jazz festival.
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