Johns Brothers Ford Dealers (white-owned)
- Identifier
- DBB-BUS-01147
- Name
- Johns Brothers Ford Dealers (white-owned)
- Type
- Business
- Activity
- automobile sales
- Description
- Johns Brothers Ford Dealers was a white-owned auto dealership and service station located at 7811 Gratiot Ave. at Van Dyke Ave. In the 1930s, an African American named James A. Grant worked as an authorized salesman with the Johns Brothers catering to Black customers. He advertised his auto sales business in Black newspapers, and his ads boasted that Johns Brothers "employ 35 Colored men all year round, which is more than any five dealers in Detroit" and that is "why you should buy your Ford at Johns Brothers." By 1941, Grant opened his own new and used car dealership on Warren Ave.
- Affiliates
-
Grant, James A.
Role: Agent (Black authorized salesman affiliated with white-owned car dealership) - Related Organization
- James A. Grant Auto Sales
- References
-
Photograph of Johns Brothers Super Service Station, Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, April 4, 1939. From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company. Digital Collections Object ID 64.167.833.P.71672. https://www.thehenryford.org/artifact/440624/.
- Documentation
-
1935-09-14 Detroit Tribune, 3 (James A. Grant; Johns Brothers Ford Dealers)
- 1939-12-23 Michigan Chronicle, 2 (James A. Grant; Johns Bros. Ford Dealers)
- Title
- Johns Brothers Ford Dealers (white-owned)