Bohemian National Home

Detroit, provided, therefore, a natural choice as a location to resettle Lithuanian immigrants displaced by World War II and the Soviet occupation of their homeland.

[8] So a more formal organization to help these immigrants adjust to American life and simultaneously, take advantage of the new energy in preserving Lithuanian culture, was a natural development in the Michigan Avenue neighborhood.

The constitution of the club set forth its purpose as: The founders of the club seemed especially concerned with the fifth purpose of the constitution and required each new member to sign a pledge form which stated that the individual did: solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I do not advocate the overthrow of the government by force or violence; that I am not a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or violence; that I am not directly or indirectly affiliated with and or associated in any manner whatsoever as a member of any subversive organization as prepared and released by the Committee on Un-American Activities, US.

Although the influence of McCarthyism was prolific in America at the time, the displaced Lithuanian immigrants had personal experience with the Soviet Communists and seemed to embrace the principles of the Committee on Un-American Activities naturally,[citation needed] without any urging.

[citation needed] There in no record of a permanent location for the Dariaus and Gireno Club, other than Michigan Avenue address, until a new organization is formed in 1962 called the Detroit Lithuanian Home Association.

[13] Despite the redundant language of the document, it is clear that the goal of the association was to act as a non-profit umbrella group for Lithuanian organizations loyal to America and a free Lithuania.

For a Commemoration of Mass Deportations, the Baltic Nations Committee paid only two dollars and fifty cents to cover the cost of paper table cloths.

The club also helped with the funeral expenses of its members, paid for sympathy notices and flowers, kept an annual subscription to three Lithuanian language newspapers, and sponsored the "Kovas" Basketball team.

[20] In addition, the members of both groups were part of a sustained letter writing campaign to help pass House Congressional Resolution 416, a bill that called for freedom for the Baltic States.

[21] Although the first five years in the Bohemian National Home were full of activities including concerts, dramas, lectures, art shows and dances, things began to change in 1967.

In June of that year, the DLHA received correspondence from the Internal Revenue Service which denied its application for non-profit status (501c3), making donations to the organization ineligible for tax deduction.

In a letter to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, the club requests permission to put an interior door connecting the bar to the main facilities.

In 1996, the Bohemian National Home was bought by a local[citation needed] historic preservation grad student, who remains part of the ownership to this day.

[citation needed] After buying the Bohemian National Home from the Lithuanians in 1996, the new owner was in the process of removing multiple layers of graffiti from its exterior walls when a neighborhood resident struck up a conversation.

After explaining that he intended to renovate the building as a multi-media, multi-cultural community center that would be available for use by the neighborhood and other local Detroit organizations, the neighbor seemed more comfortable and began to open up.

He made a brief attempt[citation needed] to explain that most non-English speaking immigrant communities in the United States experienced similar periods of self-imposed isolation as they underwent assimilation and that it was a desire to preserve their native language and culture that most often led them to "stay to themselves".

The "word on the street" varied from a belief that they were ex-Nazis (particularly strange given the dedication of the club to two Lithuanians shot down by the Nazis), to a group of mobsters, but no one he spoke with could say what nationality they were or how they came to be in the neighborhood[citation needed].

The hall is one of five sizable, non-residential buildings interspersed in the residential blocks of the neighborhood, and the residents feel a sense of ownership of these spaces[citation needed].

Illegal drug sales and related activities occurred around the clock[citation needed] and the building had been the target of scavengers who steal copper piping, wiring and any other item that can be turned into a few quick dollars.

The current owner fought off two very serious attempts to "bust open" the Bohemian National Home to the scavengers, and then decided that the only way to preserve it from the landfill, was to assume the role of steward, for better or worse.

Artists that played the Bohemian National Home during that time period include Blowfly, Ken Vandermark, Joe McPhee and Trio X, The Evens, Sam Rivers, Eugene Chadbourne, Noah Howard, Human Eye, Faruq Z Bey, Paal Nilssen-Love, Rhys Chatham, Mary Halvorson, Peter Walker, Jack Rose, Odu Afrobeat Orchestra, Daniel Higgs, Cooper-Moore and Assif Tsahar, Magik Markers, Henry Grimes, Charles Gayle, Extra Golden, Rising Star Drum and Fife Band, Tara Jane O'Neil, Roy Campbell, Josephine Foster, Salim Washington, Growing, William Parker, Nautical Almanac, Tatsuya Nakatani, Thollem McDonas, Trevor Watts, Jimmy Carl Black, The Bird Dogs (who became the Rue Moor Counts), Mats Gustafsson and Awesome Color.

Some of the recent visits include John Sinclair and the Blues Scholars, Pink Eye Orchestra, Duende, Ron English Ensemble, Wardell Montgomery, Gardens, Hot Damn, Carjack, Oatmeal, Chris Kennington, Woodman, Black Lodge, Oblisk, Mother Whale, The Oscillating Fan Club, Indian Guides, Marco Polo and the New Vaccines, RJ Spangler, Phil Hale Harmonics, Thornetta Davis, Red China, Arrogant Bastards, Mantons, Blue Song, Bill Harris, Glen Allen, Jura, The Summer Pledge, Josh Dahlberg, Kevin Reynolds, Root Bear, Buddy Smith, Derek Plaslaiko, Green Room Rockers, Jeff Grand, Paul Carey, and 1592.

The 2007 Festival featured Noah Howard, Sabir Mateen, Craig Taborn, Gerald Cleaver, Charles Waters, and the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra led by Marshall Allen.

The 2008 Festival happened during the last weekend in May and featured Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Ellery Eskelin, Eugene Chadbourne, and Trevor Watts.