Media
Old Neighborhood Reunion - A Film by Kameron Donald
In this documentary short, filmmaker Kameron Donald lets us spend a day at the 25th Old Neighborhood Reunion, a (mostly) annual gathering of former residents of Ann Arbor's Historically Black Neighborhood. Attendees eat, dance, and share memories of growing up in a very different Ann Arbor at a very different time.
Made History - New Song by Athletic Mic League
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TracksWritten by: Produced by: |
In 1994, seven friends never anticipated they’d make hip-hop history in Ann Arbor and beyond. A mutual love of creating music and playing sports prompted the Huron High School students to form a group that would eventually become Athletic Mic League.
“We weren’t Athletic Mic League then. We were the Anonymous Clique, but we all started going to Trés [Styles’] crib writing and messing around on little beat machines and little recording setups in 1994,” said Jamall “Buff1” Bufford, one of Athletic Mic League’s MCs.
“We didn’t become Athletic Mic League until probably [1997]. Wes [Taylor] came up with the name … so we said, ‘Yeah, let’s go with it.’ We all play sports. We took an approach to writing and practicing like it was training.”
Thirty years later, that disciplined mindset has stayed with the members of Athletic Mic League: Trés Styles, Wes “Vital” Taylor, Vaughan “Vaughan Tego” Taylor, Michael “Grand Cee” Fletcher, Mayer Hawthorne, Kendall “14KT” Tucker, and Bufford.
Now, the group is celebrating its contributions and legacy in a new track aptly titled “Made History.”
Commissioned to write and record the track for the Ann Arbor District Library's Ann Arbor 200 bicentennial project, Athletic Mic League also pays homage to Washtenaw County hip-hop history and Black history in Ann Arbor.
“We wanted to make sure there was no … erasure of Black history in Ann Arbor,” Bufford said. “We wanted to make sure there was no erasure of AML history in Ann Arbor. [We’re] letting people know our significance [and] Black history significance in Ann Arbor. And let me be real, let me be clear: I’m not saying that people are denying AML’s history. We get love … but it’s hip-hop, you gotta let people know sometimes.”
Back in the Days When I Was a Teenager
Athletic Mic League in the early 2000s. Photo by Doug Coombe.
On “Made History,” Bufford, Vaughan Taylor, Styles, and Hawthorne explore those milestones through nostalgic lyrics and local references over a chill beat.
In the first verse, Bufford raps: “Basketball and rap they was my two things / Me and Trés on the same AAU team / We lost touch and reconnected in 1993 / I met Grand Cee and KT in the time between / Scarlett Middle School, we was from the east / Trés and the Taylor brothers from the north side of things / Mayer went to Tappan kinda the middle between / At Huron we formed like Voltron and assembled the League.”
“I had a class with Trés my freshman year. I was writing in class and he looked over my shoulder and said, ‘Are you writing a rap?’ Back then, it wasn’t as cool to be a rapper—believe it or not—we kept it a secret,” Bufford said.
“I said, ‘Yeah, I’m writing a rap,’ and he said, ‘I write too.’ … And we discovered that Wes and Vaughan wrote raps and then we discovered that KT wrote raps.”
With the group intact, the members rapped on DJ Chill Will’s hip-hop radio show, The Prop Shop, on WCBN-FM (88.3) in Ann Arbor, when they were teens.
Tucker, Hawthorne, Styles, and Vaughan Taylor also formed a locally renowned production crew called The Lab Techs.
“They were one of if not the most innovative production teams from Michigan, but I would say in all of hip-hop at the time,” Bufford said.
“They were using computers and nobody else was using computers at that time. … Those four were using a program called Cool Edit, which was used for video editing. They used it to chop samples.”
Athletic Mic League finally released its debut album, The Thrill of Victory ... The Agony of Defeat, in 1998, but the group struggled to book live shows at local clubs like The Blind Pig.
Vaughan Taylor raps about that struggle in the chorus of “Made History”: “Let me take y’all back / Before The Blind Pig let us in / Let me take y’all back, yea, yea, yea, yea.”
“The scene was fledgling. … We couldn’t really perform at The Blind Pig,” Bufford said. “It wasn’t open to a lot of local rap back then. You could be a touring rap artist to come through there, but if you were local and rapping, they weren’t really trying to get you in.”
Athletic Mic League eventually teamed up with Ann Arbor funk/hip-hop band Funktelligence and that opened the door to rock-oriented clubs.
“They were a live band, and The Pig was a little bit more receptive to them—even though they were rapping—so they would get in there all the time. We started getting on bills with them,” Bufford said. “Once they saw what we were about, Funktelligence was our foot in the door. We eventually built a relationship with The Blind Pig and started doing our own shows.”
Some of those shows included shared bills with Ypsilanti’s S.U.N. and his live backing band Gorilla Funk Mob and Ann Arbor’s Invincible.
Bufford pays tribute to those acts and their support of Athletic Mic League in “Made History”: “Forever indebted to those who helped AML / Chill Will, Ill Weaver, S.U.N., Funktell.”
“I wanted to make sure that I made it a point to mention S.U.N.—Scientific Universal Noncommercial—because he was super important in helping AML. I recorded it … so there’s no discrepancy on S.U.N.’s importance not only to us, but to the whole scene, and utilizing a live band, Gorilla Funk Mob,” Bufford said.
“S.U.N. helped with that, Funktelligence helped with that. Invincible—Ill Weaver—they were super critical not only just collaborating with us, but when they moved to New York, that was our pathway [there.] And then Chill Will, of course.”
Athletic Mic League continued to gain momentum through live shows at local venues, collaborations with the Subterraneous Crew and other Southeast Michigan hip-hop acts, and opening slots for national acts like Jurassic 5.
“To be all the way transparent, we had our ups and downs with The Blind Pig, but they were critical,” Bufford said. “They were the venue and we had to have our presence felt there. They were a big part of who AML is, for sure.”
Athletic Mic League also released two other albums—Sweats and Kicks in 2002 and Jungle Gym Jungle in 2004—before pursuing various solo and collaborative projects.
On “Made History,” Bufford raps, “Sold-out shows, we made history / Known around the globe, we made history / When it comes to albums sold, we made history / You proud to call The Deuce your home, we made history.”
“A lot of things that we did before anybody—not even before anybody, that nobody else has ever done—and that’s going to sound very arrogant, but it’s just the facts,” Bufford said.
“As far as hip-hop goes, artists from Ann Arbor—like major label record deals, indie label record deals, touring the world, selling out The Blind Pig multiple, multiple, multiple times—not a lot of people can say they’ve done what we’ve done.”
Native Tongues: Black History in Ann Arbor
Diana McKnight Morton and Curtis Morton of DeLong's Bar-B-Q Pit in 2001. Photo taken from The Ann Arbor News.
Along with honoring its own legacy on “Made History,” Athletic Mic League celebrates Black traditions in Ann Arbor, including Black neighborhoods and Black-owned businesses.
Later in the first verse, Bufford raps, “I can’t forget my early days on The Old West Side / My first bike ride without falling on a test drive / So much Black history in that part of town / Before Kerrytown or Water Hill was thought about / Before Jones School was Community High.”
“A lot of that process was helped by my involvement in the Jones School documentary and my involvement in the Fourth and Catherine Affordable Housing Development with the Ann Arbor Housing Commission and Avalon Housing,” said Bufford, who’s also Director of Washtenaw My Brother’s Keeper. “In that work, it really sparked a lot of my content in that verse that doesn’t have to do with AML.”
Bufford continues to rap, “DeLong’s Bar-B-Q, the sauce they would use on them fries?! / Rosey’s, Rush, where we would go for a cut / Remember this story from Ann Arbor growing up, ay.”
Located south of Kerrytown on 314 Detroit Street, DeLong’s Bar-B-Q Pit operated for 37 years before Curtis and Diana McKnight Morton decided to close in 2001. A July 24, 2001, article in The Ann Arbor News stated: “Robert and Adeline Thompson founded DeLong’s in a former gas station across from the Farmers’ Market in 1964. Today, their daughter, Diana McKnight Morton, runs the business. She says her husband Curtis Morton is ill, restaurant help is very difficult to find and her two daughters have occupations of their own.”
Bufford recalls fond memories of eating there with his father.
“And DeLong’s, I remember walking with my dad [there] and Zingerman’s, too,” he said. “We used to walk to Zingerman’s and get corned beef sandwiches. The fries at [DeLong’s] with that magical barbecue sauce. … I remember the taste, I remember the smell. I was little, I was really young—5 years old—but I remember it.”
Today, the former site of DeLong’s—and later Teriyaki Time—will feature a new luxury condo low-rise complex.
DeLong’s shared that update in a December 7 Instagram post: “As much as this hurts our hearts, the memories had there will forever live on from our stories—your stories and photos. Thus, why my family wanted to reopen the business with you all in mind. Never let [Black] history die!”
Ann Arbor director Kameron Donald pays tribute to DeLong’s in a documentary of the same name. It features the restaurant’s history told by co-founder Diana McKnight Morton. DeLong’s is available to stream on AADL’s website and will be shown December 16 during the Ann Arbor 200 Film Series at the downtown location.
The exterior of Rosey's Barber Shop in 2020. Photo taken from AADL's website.
Bufford also spotlights two barber shops, Rosey’s Barber Shop and Johnnie Rush Barber Shop, on “Made History.”
“Rosey was from my other neighborhood where I eventually moved to in Pittsfield [Township],” Bufford said. “Rosey used to live in Pittsfield. His son Ricco was like a big brother figure to me in the neighborhood. I used to go to Rosey’s to get my hair cut.”
According to an April 16, 2021, article in the Ann Arbor Observer, “Roosevelt ‘Rosey’ Rowry worked in other barber shops in the area before opening his own in 1972. It closed ‘in November 2018’ after [Rosey] passed away.”
Rosey’s Barber Shop was located at 203 East Huron Street in a former gas station and “was one of the last [Black]-owned businesses in [that] area.”
Johnnie Rush in 1960. Photo taken from The Ann Arbor News.
Also located in a former gas station at 1031 Broadway Street, Johnnie Rush Barber Shop operated there for 45 years until Rush retired in August 2020.
Rush earned his barber’s license while working as an orderly part-time at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital (now Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital) and opened his own barber shop in 1961.
He “sold the building a year later to a group that [planned] to open a neighborhood coffee shop and bar called Lowertown Proper,” wrote Dave Algase in an October 25, 2022, article in the Ann Arbor Observer.
While Bufford didn’t go to Rush’s barber shop, three other Athletic Mic League members did.
“I also mention Rush, which I know now is Lowertown [Bar & Café],” Bufford said. “I didn’t go to Rush because he was on the north side, but the guys from the north side—Vaughan Taylor, Wes Taylor, and Trés [Styles]—they did go to Rush.”
Finally, Athletic Mic League gives props to the University of Michigan’s Fab Five on “Made History.” Vaughan Taylor raps in the chorus, “Fab Five era nothin’ better / Wouldn’t trade it back, yea, yea, yea, yea, yea.”
As longtime basketball players and fans, the group was inspired by U-M basketball players Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson in the early ‘90s.
The Fab Five were the first team in NCAA history to compete in the championship game with all-freshman starters.
“I cried at the Chris Webber timeout … that’s how important the Fab Five were. I never got to go to a Fab Five game. I think my older brother got a Chris Webber autograph for me,” Bufford said.
“Much later in life, I got to meet Jimmy King a few times. He would come to my open mic, Elevation Sundays, at the Firefly Club. Obviously, how [the Fab Five] played, their Blackness, how proud they were to be Black, their hip-hop connection, and how much they loved hip-hop and represented hip-hop, it’s super important.”
Playground Legends: Athletic Mic League’s Legacy
Athletic Mic League is releasing new material in 2025. Photo courtesy of Athletic Mic League.
In the last verse of “Made History,” Styles reflects on Athletic Mic League’s lifelong ties to Ann Arbor and the group’s evolution over time: “Moved back to The Deuce and still handlin’ it / ‘Cause it’s only boss moves in our manuscripts / Correction, we not a clique, this is my family, yeah / Since we was kids there was always plans for this.”
“[Trés] is probably the best bragger of AML. He’s good at letting people know how good we are, how important we are,” Bufford said.
“We need somebody to champion us and let people know what we’ve done. If nobody else will, we got to. I love Trés’ verse, and amongst other things, he’s my brother. But that’s one of the things I love about Trés—what he brings to the group.”
At the end of “Made History,” Styles raps, “We out here! And been doin’ damage, man / What you playin’ for if ya ain’t tryin’ to win a championship?! / Life’s too short to waste a chance at this / The Mic League Kings! Tell my kids I ran with them! / We made history!”
“This song will eventually become history,” Bufford said. “We do need an official day though. I don’t know if it’s the mayor’s call or city council’s. … I’m officially vouching for an AML official day with the city of Ann Arbor.”
In 2020, the group reunited after a 15-year hiatus and released Playground Legends, Vol. 1 on October 28, which is the unofficial AML Day. The members recorded the album during a four-day retreat in Richmond, Virginia. During another retreat, the group made Playground Legends, Vol. 2, which came out in October 2022.
Besides advocating for an official AML Day, Athletic Mic League also released a new single, “Plates,” with Detroit MC Boog Brown. The group plans to release Playground Legends, Vol. 3 soon as well.
“We’re working on Vol. 3 to end that trilogy, so hopefully that will be out early next year,” Bufford said.
Athletic Mic League's Kendall Tucker, Michael Fletcher, Trés Styles, Mayer Hawthorne, Vaughan Taylor, Jamall Bufford, and Wes Taylor. Photo courtesy of Jamall Bufford.
Written by:
Buff1
Vaughan Tego
3Steez
Produced by:
Mayer Hawthorne and DJ Dahi
Complete Lyrics
Buff1 verse:
Sold out shows we made history
Known around the globe we made history
When it comes albums sold we made history
You proud to call The Deuce your home we made history
Back when the 734 was the 313
I was tryina shoot the rock and live out my hoop dreams like 23
Basketball and rap they was my two things
Me and Trés was on the same AAU team
We lost touch then reconnected 1993
I met Grand Cee and KT in the time between
Scarlett middle school, we was from the east
Trés and the Taylor brothers from the north side of things
Mayer went to Tappan kinda the middle between
At Huron we formed like Voltron and assembled the League
Forever indebted to those who helped AML
Chill Will, Ill Weaver, S.U.N., Funktell
I can’t forget my early days The Old West Side
My first bike ride without falling on a test drive
So much Black history in that part of town
Before Kerrytown or Water Hill was thought about
Before Jones School was Community High
DeLong’s Bar-B-Q the sauce they would use on them fries?!
Rosey’s, Rush where we go for a cut
Remember this story from Ann Arbor growing up ay
Vaughan Tego hook:
Let me take yall back
Before the Blind Pig let us in
Let me take yall back, yea yea, yea yea
Let me take yall back, yea yea
Fab Five era nothin better
Wouldn’t trade it back, yea yea, yea yea yea
3Stees verse:
A Leader in this clique, Iron Man of this /
Future billionaire playboy philanthropist /
Moved back to The Deuce & still handlin it /
‘Cause it’s only boss moves in our manuscripts /
Correction we not a clique this my family yeah /
Since we was kids there was always plans for this /
Grew up round the corner from ya mans and them /
One of us probably dated ya girlfriend and yeah /
You know us, from rec league, summer camps & then /
Ballin w/ Coach Phillips, & Coach Blanchard’s kid /
From hoopin in the “Heights” to high school gyms /
We all academic scholars turned businessmen /
We out here! & been doin damage man /
What you playin for if ya ain’t tryin to win a championship?! /
Life’s too short, to waste a chance at this /
The Mic League Kings! Tell my kids I ran with them! / We made history!
Media
Was Here / Now Gone - A film by IS/LAND
"Was Here / Now Gone is an experimental film by AAPI performance collective IS/LAND. With some members of IS/LAND having grown up in Ann Arbor during the 1980s, there is a keen sense of how much the city has transformed over the last forty years. With many storefronts and institutions that were cultural anchors (Borders, Schoolkids Records, Stucchi’s, etc.) from the city now gone, Was Here / Now Gone is both an elegy for a time now past but also an exploration of how memory itself can both secure and tether us to the past.
Monochromatic images from the past twist in our memory and collide with kaleidoscopic footage composed of multiple hours of vibrant imagery documenting while walking through the city—these multilayers of imagery merge into kinetic landscapes of the past's echoes, colliding and merging with the present day.
The idea of what was used to be there and what’s there now, and how we can see it as an appreciation of it being part of our lives, is at the same time a reality of change and how culture changes. Our hope is that this film encourages our audience to live grounded in gratitude for what came before while also embracing the potential of this city’s future." - Filmmakers Chien-An Yuan, Kyunghee Kim, S Jean Lee
Visuals + Sound: Chien-An Yuan
Voice + Poem: Kyunghee Kim
Producer: S Jean Lee
Photos from the AADL's Ann Arbor Historical Signs Collection
Media
The French Dukes: Rhythm, Roots, and Legacy
Filmmaker Frederic M. Culpepper tells the story of Ann Arbor's legendary drill team, The French Dukes. Told through the memories of members and those who watched in awe, the rise of the Dukes from an idea to an internationally-known team is accompanied by photographs and articles from the time.
Ceramic Leaves and Leaflets from Native Tree Species by Neha Chheda
Upon moving to Ann Arbor a few years ago, I was immediately struck by all the large, mature trees. Watching them respond to the change of the seasons is fascinating. My eye is drawn from the excitement of the first fuschia flowers of the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) in spring to the towering Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra) that ripen so much fruit at the height of summer, from the large Maples (Acer rubrum and Acer saccharum) that turn bright red and yellow in autumn to the Swamp White Oaks (Quercus bicolor) that hold tight their crisp browned leaves until February. There's always something beautiful to observe in the trees that live among us.
The shape and structure of plants and leaves have always interested me, and when I started working with clay, I was most often inspired by nature's forms. For this project, the process of finding the actual native leaves was not always straightforward. While the City of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan both have helpful interactive online tree maps (here and here), once I found a tree, there was still the problem of getting the leaves. If the tree was too tall, maybe I would find some on the ground, but more often than not, I would have to go back to the map and find a shorter tree. The process got a little easier when my partner, Andrew Clapper, helped me by downloading and filtering the underlying data sets using GIS software to identify the most promising specimens.
Each individual piece in this collection was made using a real leaf pressed into stoneware clay using a rolling pin and left to dry. I then carefully peeled the leaf from the clay, revealing an impression that I hand painted with a watercolor underglaze. Next, the pieces were bisque fired, then glazed, before the second and final firing.
One of the most enjoyable parts of this project was visiting areas of Ann Arbor I had never been to in search of specific trees. Many were found by walking in my neighborhood, some via biking, and a few I had to drive to get. You can follow my explorations on the map linked here, which shows where each native species’ leaves were gathered. - Artist Neha Chheda, Samaaj Ceramics
|
American Beech |
Basswood |
Bitternut Hickory |
Black Maple |
Black Oak |
Blackgum |
Bur Oak |
Butternut |
Chinkapin Oak |
Cockspur Hawthorn |
Dogwood |
Eastern Red Cedar |
Hackberry |
Ironwood |
Musclewood |
Northern White Cedar |
Pawpaw |
Pignut Hickory |
Red Maple |
Red Oak |
Redbud |
Sassafras |
Shagbark Hickory |
Shingle Oak |
Sugar Maple |
Swamp White Oak |
Sycamore |
Trembling Aspen |
Tulip Tree |
White Oak |
Yellow Birch |
Media
AADL Talks To: Hiawatha Bailey, Founder of the Punk Band Cult Heroes, Former Community Activist, and Member of the White Panther Party
Hiawatha Bailey lived in one of the legendary Hill Street houses at 1510 and 1520 Hill Street where he was a member of the Trans-Love Commune, the White Panther Party, and later the Rainbow People’s Party. In this episode, Hiawatha traces his political awakening and community activism in Ann Arbor’s countercultural heyday during the late 1960s and shares stories of living and working in the commune, including the day he hung up on Yoko Ono and got a follow-up call from John Lennon. He also takes us through his musical journey as a roadie for the local rock band The Up and Detroit's Destroy All Monsters to founding his own punk band, Cult Heroes.
Four Poems by Sophia Tonnesson
In her Four Poems, poet Sophia Anfinn Tonnesson explores the literary history of Ann Arbor through engagement with the works of poets who lived and worked here: Joseph Brodsky, Alice Fulton, and Keith Taylor.
Media
Right to Read: The Ann Arbor King Case
Right to Read: The Ann Arbor King Case is a short documentary about the 1977 lawsuit that became known as the “Ann Arbor Black English Case” or “The King Case". Brought on behalf of 11 Black students at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Ann Arbor, MI, childhood literacy, Black language, and cultural competency emerged as central themes of this case. The story resonated around the country for many reasons and prompted mixed media coverage, motivated academic study, and inspired public discussion.
"Language is to identity as oxygen is to life and the benefit of its mindful development in the formative years of children has long been documented. Like many, until I gained a deeper knowledge of this 1977 case (Martin Luther King Jr Elementary School Children v The Michigan Board of Education and Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction), I thought it was solely about the treatment of Black English in a particular Ann Arbor, Michigan school and the implications for the school’s Black English-speaking students. While that is worthy of discussion and legal consideration, diving in revealed it to be a multidimensional story, starting with the fact that the case was not originally about language.
As a language enthusiast and also a Black English speaker, my initial interest in the case was primarily sociolinguistic. I was inspired to create this documentary, in part, because of the chance to explore how the US legal system recognizes and protects minority languages and dialects. Interestingly, until the mid-1960s, language was not considered a federally protected class in the US. One of my central guiding questions was “How did the kids’ use of Black English and teachers’ perception of it affect student development?” and “How does a perceived educational inequity translate to a debate of the legal protections a language deserves?” The “realness” or legitimacy of Black English was not automatically accepted (certainly not to the level that it is today), and I became fascinated with both the social discourse this prompted as well as the challenge it posed to the King Case students’ many expert witnesses, like sociolinguists Dr. Geneva Smitherman and Dr. William Labov, and education writer Dr. Daniel Fader, who in a court of law aimed to prove the existence of Black English as a language and educate the judge on its interconnection with identity and early childhood literacy.
The King Case students all lived in the Green Road housing projects, located in a middle-class neighborhood on Green Road on North Campus. It surprised me to learn that there is a documented history that living in a low-income housing community can lead to poorer academic outcomes and a diminished sense of belonging as was the situation with the King Case students.
It’s been nearly 50 years since the lawsuit was originally filed and there’s much to reflect on. I have been extremely lucky to sit in conversation with the chief expert witness for the King Case students, the trailblazing Dr. Geneva Smitherman; two of the students Kihilee and Dwayne Brenen, whose mother Janice bravely ignited the case; Ruth Zweifler, a fierce and longtime student advocate and founder of the Student Advocacy Center, now retired; Gabe Hillel Kaimowitz, the lead attorney for the students, now retired; Lamont Walton, a participating attorney for the students; Dr. Rossi Ray-Taylor, a former superintendent for Ann Arbor Public Schools; and Dr. Jessi Grieser, a sociolinguist at the University of Michigan. While there were many records and articles that were available to support the research process, one of the biggest challenges involved with making this film was, simply, time. The case’s original media evidence (trial audio recordings and photos) have been lost to the record. Some who were originally closely associated with the case are no longer alive and some others' memories of the case have since faded or they were too young to retain certain details. In addition to sit-down interviews, I leveraged archival material like case transcripts, newspaper articles, historical footage and photos to tell this story.
I had the opportunity to visit present-day King Elementary and witnessed how it has changed in many ways, which was incredibly inspiring. The King Case makes us examine the teaching of language and literacy and how early childhood learning experiences are carried with us across time. After watching this film, I hope viewers introspect on how they were socialized to think about language as a child and then consider what perceptions about language they carry with them today. For those with school age children in their lives, I hope they take a moment to have a conversation about the importance of literacy and commit to walking with them as they grow as learners.
I’m developing an expanded version of this documentary which features more interviews and more reflections from current participants, where the culture and climate of Ann Arbor is more deeply explored, where we can better understand how language arts curriculum was built in the US and how its construction contributed to a scenario where the King Case could happen." - Filmmaker Aliyah Mitchell
Korean Restaurants Made Me Feel Less Alone: A Personal History
Sometimes Ann Arbor feels like a bubble from the rest of Michigan.
I have been living in Ann Arbor for 22 years and I find it to be true, but for a reason many wouldn’t expect. Yes there is richness in culture, prestigious universities, and a long-rooted history of leaders and creators, but for me this comfortable bubble is the Korean food this town has to offer.
I can’t recall a town in Michigan that has such an abundance of Korean restaurants as Ann Arbor. From modern Korean like Miss Kim to known-for-its-BBQ like Tomukun, the variety in taste of Korean food anyone might be looking for in Michigan, you can find it in Ann Arbor. When it comes to Korean food, my nature is to search for a place that tastes and feels like home-
One that feels like my umma’s cooking and gestures of Korean hospitality.
Two places in Ann Arbor have given me a sense of home I needed when it feels lonely being Korean in America, especially in the midwest. These two restaurants happen to sit almost side by side on a street that often is bustling with college students, S. University Avenue. Perhaps they are looking for a piece of home, too.
Rich J.C. is a Korean Restaurant that my husband and I have been eating at for nearly two decades. There was a time we ate there weekly. Pungent aroma of kimchi fills the air thick when you walk in. “Ahn-young-ha-sae-yo” greets me with a wave and a warm smile. Whether it’s a hot summer day, bitterly cold winter night, or anything in-between, this space has welcomed me with exactly what my belly and hungry soul needed without fail.
For a few years back then, it used to be called Rich J.C. Korean Cafe before it was changed to Rich J.C. In the early 2000s, I remember the space being pretty empty with only 4-5 customers for dinner service. In the course of eight to ten years and beyond--now, there is a line out the door--from college kids to families, all longing for something delicious. We went for the food, but also for the company.
Ahjumma and ahjussi never asked once why we don’t have kids, especially after knowing us for so long. This took me by surprise because any other Korean older adult would ask without reservation. I felt accepted. As a school teacher, the first six years were challenging. And on top of that, attending graduate school while teaching full time felt like more than I could bear. Those years were long and fast all at once.
But, in the midst of the blur, meals we ate at Rich J.C. felt like time had stopped just so I could know I am okay, I will be okay.
I can still taste the kimchi jigae, a very popular yet ordinary dish. The kimchi and the soup was nothing like I have tasted, at the same time tasted like everything I knew. The spicy, savory, and salty flavors hit your tongue all at once even in a small spoonful. You keep going back for more. The piping hot jigae continues to bubble until the last drop is left. It’s exactly how my umma makes jigaes at home. It’s not Korean until it’s boiling hot, I was taught. There aren’t many dishes in the Korean cuisine that are lukewarm except for the banchans--it’s either piping hot or ice cold. While the owners have changed in recent years, the restaurant continues to do well by serving delicious meals.
A few doors down from Rich J.C. is Kang’s Korean Restaurant. I can hardly believe it has existed since the 1980's. Back then it was a simple coffee shop selling Korean donuts and over the years it became a full service restaurant that is popular for both dining in and take out. I wish I was in Ann Arbor to experience the coffee shop and the evolution of this space, but from the flavors of each dish and the warm hospitality, I can only imagine just how special it was from the start. Each time I walk into Kang’s, the ambience is cozy and welcoming. With Korean pop music playing in the background and self-serve water and boricha, I am transported to a restaurant in Korea even though I have no memories of it. When something is special, it can feel familiar without remembrance.
You know a space is special when it can take you on a journey you didn’t know you needed.
The menu is simple, delicious, and unpretentious. My favorites are their kimchi pajeon, dolsot bibimbap with tofu, and their very famous kalbi tang even though I don’t eat red meat. The dolsot bibimbap is generously filled with banchans that my umma would make at home, kimchi pajeon is perfectly crispy on the outside and burn your tongue hot as you take the first bite, and kalbi tang is the best I have had in town. You can taste the sincerity in each dish, depth in aroma, not compromising Korean flavors for anyone.
Meals at Kang’s are a giant hug that remind me not to be apologetic for being Korean. You just feel good being in there. Only if the lines weren’t so long with people waiting to be seated, you would want to sit and eat for hours. This is a spot my husband and I go to when we want a good home-cooked Korean meal or when we feel a bit weary and need some encouragement. It’s a place where you leave with your belly full and your spirits lighter.
Restaurants are often spaces of home for many Asian Americans. Whether it’s to eat food that tastes like home, hear the sounds of language that isn’t English, or seeing ahjummas and ahjussis who resemble our family members, the hustle and bustle of a restaurant is where we often find peace.
Korean restaurants are spaces where I often find solace and joy and I am grateful it’s here in Ann Arbor.
Beauty's in the Eye of the Tree-Holder: A People's Catalog of Ann Arbor's Trees
"Ann Arbor is Tree Town. But which trees are the towniest?
In honor of Ann Arbor’s bicentennial and the Ann Arbor 200 celebration coordinated by the Ann Arbor District Library, we decided to ask residents if they have a favorite individual tree within city limits – and why it was meaningful to them. We made a survey. We shared it widely. Happily, we received a lot of thoughtful responses and selected 20 for this catalog.
We followed respondents’ directions—sometimes exact GPS coordinates, sometimes vague hand waves toward a general wooded area—and found their trees. Some were exceptionally big, or colorful, or otherwise stand-out spectacular. Many of the trees our respondents identified may have seemed ordinary at first glance, yet they held deep, personal significance in their lives. To our surprise, the experience of seeing Ann Arbor through our neighbors’ eyes turned out to be profoundly rewarding. It renewed our appreciation for the iconic trees we already knew and loved and it allowed us to marvel at trees we might not have otherwise noticed—but whose acquaintance makes our lives in this city richer, more personal, and more beautiful.
Beauty, as it were, is in the eye of the tree-holder.
This catalog contains a subset of Ann Arborites’ favorite trees, in their own words, paired with custom oil pastel portraits by Jenny. We included a map so readers can behold these special trees and render their lives richer, too. We highly recommend it."
–Jenny Kalejs & Sam Ankenbauer
