Sandra Harris was born in 1952 in West Virginia, where her father was a coal miner. Her family moved to Ann Arbor when she was in second grade. Harris remembers being on the homecoming court at Pioneer High School and participating in student-led marches during the late 1960s.

Audrey Monagan was born in Ann Arbor in 1941, and grew up in a close-knit, predominantly black neighborhood on North Fifth Ave. She remembers attending Bethel AME Church with her grandparents, spending time at the Dunbar Community Center, and helping raise her younger siblings. She attended Jones School and Pioneer High School before working for General Motors, where she was an inspector for eighteen years. Mrs. Monagan has been married to her second husband, Philip, for 48 years.

Video extra from the feature-length documentary Welcome to Commie High from 7 Cylinders Studio.

Video extra from the feature-length documentary Welcome to Commie High from 7 Cylinders Studio.

How retired automobile executive Susan Schooner is helping young women reach their potential—and how that work has helped her find herself.

Guest speaker Nurit Gery, director of Givat Haviva International School in northern Israel along with students Christina, Te’ena and Hussein from GHIS which is a coed boarding high school that brings together promising young students from diverse communities and varying economic backgrounds. Over three years they train to become leaders for cross-cultural cooperation and conflict resolution.

Their stories are fascinating and will give you hope.

Mary McDade was born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1939, but grew up in Ann Arbor. Her parents Albert and Emma Wheeler were active in local politics and civil rights. As a college student, McDade helped found the University of Michigan chapter of the NAACP. She moved to Peoria, Illinois with her husband Joe Billy McDade in 1963.

Patricia Ashford Manley was born in 1945 in Ann Arbor, and she was raised by her mother. She remembers attending Jones Elementary School and trying out for cheerleading at Ann Arbor High School.

Michael Thomas Bass was born in 1945 to Thomas and Louise Bass. His parents–a doctor and a teacher–were influential members of Ypsilanti’s Black community. Bass excelled in football, basketball, and track. He was senior class president of Ypsilanti High School in 1963.

An extended scene from  the feature-length documentary Welcome to Commie High from 7 Cylinders Studio, featuring Quinn Strassel, Clarence Collins III, Betsy King, Evelyn Collins, Chris Tabaczka & Sebastian Wreford.