The 1967 Detroit Rebellion was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the “Long hot summer of 1967.” Hurt, Baby, Hurt takes a personal look at the Rebellion from the perspective of William Walter Scott, III. The Rebellion began when police raided an unlicensed drinking club owned by Scott’s father and continued for five days, resulting in forty-three deaths and even more injuries, fires, and arrests. Scott, who was just 19 at the time and working as a doorman at his father’s club, is widely recognized as the man who started the Rebellion by throwing a bottle at one of the police officers. 

This memoir recounts Scott’s life from his birth up through the Rebellion. It tells the story of how the Rebellion started and provides an on-the-ground account of the Rebellion and its immediate aftermath, including the police detainment of the people involved. Now with a new foreword by Austin McCoy that considers the lasting impact of the rebellion, Hurt, Baby, Hurt offers valuable insight into an important part of Detroit history.

William Walter Scott, III is credited with starting the 1967 Detroit Rebellion. His memoir, Hurt, Baby, Hurt was first published in 1970 by New Ghetto Press, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a portion of the book received the 1969 Avery Hopwood Award from the University of Michigan.