Join AADL and the African American Cultural & Historical Museum of Washtenaw County for this premiere of Phase III of their Living Oral History Project. The African American Cultural & Historical Museum of Washtenaw County began this project in March 2013 in collaboration with AADL. This third phase was filmed in 2015.

Four individuals were identified to initiate the project by participating in a series of interviews that were professionally filmed and edited. These interviews serve as a roadmap to what African Americans witnessed, experienced, shared, and contributed in building the community we see today. Those interviewed for the third phase include James Anderson, Sr., Shirley Beckley,
Robert Fletcher, and Evelyn Payne.

The individuals selected represent a broad section in gender, education, faith, and socioeconomics. Areas of community concern such as race, gender and education equality, faith, housing, employment, community building activities, and infrastructure were presented and discussed. These topics provide a spectrum that is relevant to current issues and concerns within Washtenaw County today and into the future.

This premiere of this third phase of the Living Oral History Project will include a short program and an opportunity to speak with those interviewed. Light refreshments will also be served.

The African American Cultural and Historical Museum takes pride in producing and sponsoring quality interactive programs that create a cultural and historical legacy. The AACHM provides Underground Railroad tours, programs that focus on the Arts, exhibits, and community presentations/discussions. An important aspect of AACHM has been its ability to partner and collaborate with other institutions in promoting and developing and appreciation for the African American experience. The Living Oral History Project continues this heritage through partnerships with the Ann Arbor District Library.

The documentary "We Rock Long Distance" weaves together the sounds and stories of three Twin Cities hip-hop artists – M.anifest, Maria Isa, and Tou SaiKo Lee – as they journey home to Ghana, Puerto Rico, and Thailand to create unique and unexpected connections across generation and geography.

Following the film screening, director Justin Schell will discuss the film and its creation.

Starting in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, one of the best-known sites for underground hip-hop, the film follows M.anifest to his home in Accra, Ghana, where he connects with hip-life artists from across the country, performs in front of his family for the first time and explores connections with his world-renowned grandfather, the composer, poet, and scholar J. H. Kwabena Nketia. The film joins "Sota Rican" Maria Isa as she explores the links between hip-hop, reggaeton, and the folkloric arts of Puerto Rico she grew up performing, bomba and plena. Follow her as she traces her musical and familial genealogy from San Juan and Loiza to the campos of Vega Baja. In Thailand, We Rock Long Distance follows Tou SaiKo Lee's ongoing work using hip-hop and poetry to create new and stronger bonds between Hmong Americans and Hmong in Southeast Asia, as well as between youth and elders - some of whom have never heard of hip-hop. Tou SaiKo Lee also learns more about kwv txhiaj, a Hmong practice of oral poetry, in an attempt to build a bridge to this centuries-old practice through hip-hop.

In addition to overturning dominant stereotypes and creating unexpected cross-generational connections, each of these artists are well-known for strengthening their local and global communities through their words, music, and actions. "We Rock Long Distance" amplifies their stories, offering an intimate look at the process of creation while engaging artists and audiences in conversations about music, home, tradition, and family that resonate long after the recording sessions have ended and planes have left.

"We Rock Long Distance" is not rated and runs for 87 minutes.

Wrap up your Record Store Day spree at your library with a screening of All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records.

Established in 1960, Tower Records was once a retail powerhouse with two hundred stores, in thirty countries, on five continents and eventually became the heart and soul of the music world, and a powerful force in the music industry. In 1999, Tower Records made $1 billion. In 2006, the company filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong?

"All Things Must Pass" is an examination of this iconic company's explosive trajectory, tragic demise, and legacy forged by its rebellious founder Russ Solomon. Find out the inside story of this music industry powerhouse with this acclaimed 2015 documentary, which is not rated.

This event will begin with a discussion and memories of Tower Records by several former store employees at 3:00 pm and will be followed by the film screening at 4:00 pm. While you're here, check out the launch of AADL's circulating vinyl collection and try out some of our tools for making your own music!

Join us for the screening of this film from Grammy-award winning musician and executive producer John Legend. Can You Dig This is the story of the power of community and the role of gardens in creating empowerment.

South Los Angeles. What comes to mind is gangs, drugs, liquor stores, abandoned buildings and vacant lots. The last thing that you would expect to find is a beautiful garden sprouting up through the concrete, coloring the urban landscape.

As part of an urban gardening movement taking root in South LA, people are planting to transform their neighborhoods and are changing their own lives in the process. Calling for people to put down their guns and pick up their shovels, these "gangster gardeners" are creating an oasis in the middle of one of the most notoriously dangerous places in America.

This 2015 80-minute film is not rated. This event is co-sponsored by the U-M School of Natural Resources & Environment.

Learn more about Willis Ward, Gerald Ford and the famous discriminatory incident that tore at the fabric of U-M Athletics and the Ann Arbor community.

The 2011 documentary Black and Blue tells the story of the 1934 game between Michigan and Georgia Tech. When the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets agreed to play the Wolverines in Ann Arbor for a game, they insisted on one condition: Michigan had to sit out Willis Ward, the lone African-American player on the U-M team.

Many of Ward’s teammates were outraged when U-M athletic officials agreed to the demand. Among these was Gerald Ford, Ward’s roommate and a U-M lineman. Ford threatened to quit the team in response to Ward’s benching and changed his mind only after Ward convinced him that he had to play.

Learn how the incident galvanized University of Michigan students and the Ann Arbor community, which held loud and vocal protests against the decision to keep Ward out of the game. Willis F. Ward was later inducted into the University Of Michigan Athletic Hall Of Honor in 1981.

Following the film, join the discussion with the director Brian Kruger and Tyran Steward, U-M Assistant Director of Football Operations and Player Engagement. The 57-minute film is rated PG.

This event is cosponsored by the U-M Community Scholars program.

Living History, a 45-minute documentary nominated for a 2016 regional Emmy Award, features a dozen interviews of those 85 years old and older. Interviewees describe major historical events, providing a front seat to such milestone events as World War II, the JFK Assassination and 9/11.

The individuals also share tips to living a long life as well as heartbreaking, honest reflections on what it is like to live for such a long time. Several are centenarians or nearly 100 years old.

The documentary was created in support of the Living History Project: Stories Told by Michigan's Oldest Old, a multimedia initiative that includes 15 short videos and four radio stories that aired on WKAR 90.5 FM, the NPR affiliate in East Lansing.

The project profiles members of the oldest old, individuals who are 85 years old or older, to provide a window to the state's rich cultural history and to gain an understanding of the thoughts of these older adults on their longevity, resilience, and quality of life.

This event includes a screening of Living History, as well as an audience Q&A with the director, Geri Alumit Zeldes, Associate Professor, Michigan State University School of Journalism.

"Never a Bystander" is a documentary about Holocaust survivor Dr. Irene Butter made by Ann Arbor filmmaker Evelyn Neuhaus.

At age 14, Irene, along with her family, endured deplorable conditions during internment in two concentration camps in Nazi Germany. "Never a Bystander" tells Irene's story, and shares her message of optimism and courage in the face of injustice.

We will screen the 30-minute film, then Irene and Evelyn will give a talk about their work and experiences. This event is cosponsored by the U-M Community Scholars Program.

Enjoy an afternoon of fun with a movie and a movie-themed craft!

The featured film, Paddle to the Sea is based on Holling C. Holling’s beloved Caldecott Medal-winning children’s book.

William Mason’s stunning film follows the adventures of a tiny, wood-carved canoe as it forges its own path from Lake Superior through the Great Lakes and down to the Atlantic Ocean. Buoyed by beautiful photography and a sense of true wonder about the sun, earth, and water, the Academy Award–nominated Paddle to the Sea is an unforgettable tribute to the forces of the natural world, as well as a thrilling journey across the waves and rapids of North America.

The film will be followed by a movie-themed craft.

Enjoy an afternoon of fun with a movie and a movie-themed craft!

The featured film The Red Balloon (French: Le Ballon rouge) is a 1956 fantasy featurette directed by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse.

The film tells of a young boy who, on his way to school one morning, befriends a large helium-filled red balloon. As the young lad plays with his new toy he realizes the balloon has a mind and will of its own. The two traverse the streets of Paris in this delightful adventure that creates a charming old world look of the beautiful city.

The film will be followed by a movie-themed craft.

This session is in English and will be presented in Spanish on Wednesday, January 27 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

Explore the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape the United States over the last five centuries when the Ann Arbor District Library presents Latino Americans: 500 Years of History. Created by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association, this six-episode series features documentary film screenings and discussions at the Downtown Library.

Dr. Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof, U-M Associate Professor of History and American Culture leads tonight’s screening and discussion. After the film, Dr. Hoffnung-Garskof will introduce the legal and political status of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants, and migrants to the mainland in the wake of the Cuban-Spanish-American War, making comparisons and drawing contrasts with the simultaneous experience of immigration from Mexico.

Tonight’s film is "Empire of Dreams (1880-1942)." Widespread immigration to the U.S. from Latin countries begins – first with a small group from Cuba, then a larger one from Mexico. Both flee chaos and violence in their home country and are attracted by opportunities in the United States. In 1898, the U.S. helps liberate Cuba and Puerto Rico from Spain but then seizes Puerto Rico as its colony. The first Puerto Rican arrivals (now U.S. citizens) establish a network in New York.

During the 1920s, immigration is encouraged with the expanding U.S. economy. Mexicans and Mexican Americans build a thriving community in Los Angeles and look forward to a bright future. But when the economic boom of that 1920s ends with the catastrophic Depression of the thirties, the pendulum swings. Immigrants encouraged to immigrate in the 20s are deported en masse in the 30s.

Puerto Ricans, also caught in the depths of the Depression, rebel against U.S. rule on the Island, and eventually gain Commonwealth status from the U.S. Government.

The Ann Arbor District Library is one of 203 sites nationwide to host this series, which has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association. The AADL series is also co-sponsored by Michigan Radio and the U-M Latina/o Studies Program and is part of an NEH initiative, The Common Good: The Humanities In the Public Square. For more information about this AADL series, visit aadl.org/latinoamericans.

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