The African American History of Detroit

Join us for a presentation by Professor Peter Boykin on the African American History of Detroit, beginning with illegal slavery in the city, as well as the city becoming a haven for the Underground Railroad. Other topics explored will be the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to Detroit, the election of Coleman Young as mayor, and the economic and political power of the African American population in the city during the latter half of the 20th century.

Uncovering the Hidden Stories of Racial Segregation with Justice InDeed

Justice InDeed will launch the next phase of its project documenting the history of racial segregation and housing inequality in Washtenaw County: an online crowdsourcing website to identify racially restrictive covenants from thousands of property records. These restrictive covenants were primarily aimed at Black people, as well as other racial, religious, and ethnic groups, and used to prevent them from living on properties throughout the county.

Good Black History: Black Business Owners of the 1800s, with Anthony Brogdon

In this lecture, Detroit-based historian Anthony Brogdon will focus on what he calls "Good Black History": the stories of Black business owners in the 1800s. Learn who they were and how they did it during this presentation and discussion.

Anthony Brogdon is producer of Business in the Black documentary which toured to over 40 US cities, Toronto, Canada and London, England, author of Black Business Book, and host of the podcast Strong Inspirations which is viewed internationally, and to date has featured over 500 guests.

Archiving the Artwork of Janet Gallup: What Happens to an Artist’s Body of Work When That Artist’s Body is Gone

Ann Arbor artist and resident Hannah Burr shares about how she came to archive the artwork of Janet Gallup, an artist who lived and worked in Ann Arbor a generation before her, and how this process relates to and affects decisions she makes about her own art process and practice.

Janet Gallup was an accomplished printmaker and Ann Arbor resident who died in her late 60s in 1991; Hannah Burr is a mixed media artist who came to Ann Arbor 26 years after Janet’s passing.

Step It Up! The French Dukes: A Celebration, Performance, and Reading

Join us for a celebration of the French Dukes! Author Debbie Taylor will kick things off with a reading of her picture book, Step It Up! The French Dukes! Set in 1960's Ann Arbor, Kenny’s story is inspired by the real-life French Dukes Precision Drill Team. Members of the original team will talk with Debbie about their experience, and then do a short performance. They will also share what's happening with young community members today! Books will be for sale and Debbie Taylor will be available to sign them.

Culinary Historians | Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon

Why do so many Americans drive for miles each autumn to buy a vegetable that they are unlikely to eat? While most people around the world eat pumpkin throughout the year, North Americans reserve it for holiday pies and other desserts that celebrate the harvest season and the rural past. They decorate the front of their houses with pumpkins every autumn and welcome Halloween trick-or-treaters with elaborately carved jack-o’-lanterns. Towns hold annual pumpkin festivals featuring giant pumpkins and carving contests, even though few have any historic ties to the crop.

Culinary Historians | Wealth and Want: Food in the Gilded Age

The Gilded Age was defined by extremes of wealth and want, and those extremes played out dramatically in the ways Americans ate. For the elite, daily meals were extravagant and formal banquets became complicated rituals of luxury and intentional waste. While a wealthy minority feasted, many other Americans struggled to feed themselves, and hunger and misery were widespread among the rural poor and those in city slums.

10 Years of the Living Oral History Project: Phase 10 Premiere

Join host Joyce Hunter of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum and interviewees from Phase 10 of the Living Oral History Project. These interviews serve as a road map illustrating what local African Americans witnessed, experienced, and contributed to building the community we share today.  Watch a clip reel of interviews with Carol Allen, Alice Brennan-Key, Sandra Harris, Carl James Johnson, and Janie Lee Ross, followed by a meet and greet and refreshments.

Modernism in Action: The Russel & Mary Wright Design Gallery, with Allison Cross

Manitoga, located in Garrison, NY, is the former home and 75-acre woodland garden of American industrial designer Russel Wright and his wife Mary Einstein Wright. This tour, presented by executive director Allison Cross, will share how a creative and sensitive adaptive reuse of a modernist national historic landmark realized a long-time institutional goal to present the complete work of design and life-style visionaries Russel and Mary Wright to the public. This event is part of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design Unforgettable Dinnerware lecture series.