The Detroit Jazz Clubs of the 1920s-1960s existed as an emblem of marronage, or as an escape from a colonial world, becoming a spot of refuge and freedom for Blacks living in Detroit. There they were able to create and maintain a subculture that was antagonistic to hegemonic norms.

To honor the legacy of these jazz venues, my thesis seeks to explore how marronage offers a framework for how these spaces can be maintained in the future outside of hegemonic notions of development and placemaking through speculative design.