AADL recognizes Black History Month in February with a number of in-person and online events, as well as videos from past events and content for all ages.
In-Person Events for 2025
Storytime with Endeah Canty: The Magic Shell
Monday, February 3, 11 AM - 12 PM | Westgate Branch
Join author Endeah Canty for a read-aloud session of The Magical Shell! You'll be taken on a journey with The Magical Shell's adventurous spirit, interactive activities, and themed giveaways.
The Sounds and Stories of Africa with Fishmonger Stories
Sunday, February 16, 1-2 PM | Downtown Library
Michigan-based storyteller Fishmonger Stories will give an energetic and entertaining performance of songs and traditional stories unlike any other. Enjoy the performance while learning about the peoples of Africa, including the dress and culture of the Maasai tribe of East Africa.
Culinary Historians | Henry Orr, a Black Caterer in Early Federal Washington, D.C.
Sunday, February 16, 4-5:30 PM | Downtown Library
In 1837 the best-known Black caterer in Washington was hired to create a supper in honor of the visiting Englishwoman Harriet Martineau. That man, Henry Orr, the dinner he prepared, and the extraordinary life he lived, form a fascinating episode in U.S. history.
Leni Sorensen of Virginia, a scholar of African American slavery, American agriculture, and women’s work in colonial and post-colonial America, has uncovered how Orr used his many skills to supply fine food and dining service for elite white families, earning enough money to buy himself, his wife, and his children out of slavery.
This event is in partnership with the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor.
Soul Train Trivia
Wednesday, February 26, 6-7 PM | Downtown Library
Soul Train, broadcast nationally on TV from 1971 through 2006, was a variety show that showcased R&B, soul and hip hop artists and left a lasting impression on American culture. Whether you grew up watching Soul Train or you love pop culture trivia, join us for a fun time or just some love, peace, and soul.
Malinda Russell's Domestic Cook Book
Thursday, February 27, 5:15-7 PM | Downtown Library
In 1866, Malinda Russell published A Domestic Cook Book in Paw Paw, Michigan. As the oldest known cookbook by an African American woman, this slim volume is a landmark in American culinary history. The only known copy resides in the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive in the University of Michigan Library’s Special Collections Research Center. Join us for a reception and panel discussion celebrating a new edition released by the University of Michigan Press. The reception will begin at 5:15 PM, with the conversation to follow at 5:45 PM.
AADL and AACHM Living Oral History Project
The Living Oral History Project is a partnership between the African American Cultural & Historical Museum of Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor District Library. It contains interviews that serve as a road map illustrating what local African Americans witnessed, experienced, and contributed to building the community we share today. The associated LOH Digital Collection presents over 2,500 historical photographs and news articles from the AADL Archives about major topics featured in the interviews, including Community Centers, Education, Housing, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Faith. The LOH Walking Tour showcases historically Black neighborhoods in Ann Arbor.
Click to view all the phases of the Living Oral History project, or view the playlist below.
Al Paca and Bobby Cat
Puppet neighbors Al Paca and Bobby Cat celebrate Black History Month by exploring what Black History Month is all about and celebrating stories of some of the most influential, interesting, and amazing Black Americans through history. Click to see all of Al Paca and Bobby Cat's videos, or watch the playlist below.
AADL Content Featuring Black Stories
There Went the Neighborhood: The Closing of Jones School (streaming video)
A documentary film by 7 Cylinders Studio (7CS) about the closing of Ann Arbor's Jones School. In 1965, concerned citizens urged the Board of Education to close the majority-Black school. Ann Arbor joined a nationwide trend of school desegregation during the Civil Rights Era. But for these young students, the loss of a neighborhood school foreshadowed changes to their close-knit community. Gentrification came to Ann Arbor on the heels of desegregation.
You can also view the entire interview archive for the film here.
There Went the Neighborhood: Old Neighborhood Walking Tour (streaming video)
This filmed walking tour was created during production of There Went The Neighborhood: The Closing of Jones School by the Ann Arbor District Library and 7 Cylinders Studio (7CS). Led by three former Jones School students–Roger Brown, Cheryl (Jewett) O’Neal, and Omer Jean (Dixon) Winborn–the tour describes changes that have taken place in the neighborhood surrounding the school over the past several decades. Key stops in order of appearance include the former Jones School, Ann Street Black Business District, Dunbar Center, Bethel AME Church, Wheeler Park, and Second Baptist Church.
The route (although filmed in a different order) was inspired by the Living Oral History Project’s Walking Tour of a Historically Black Neighborhood in Ann Arbor, which was created in partnership between the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County (AACHM) and the Ann Arbor District Library. Check out that tour to view these locations in person alongside historical photographs and interview excerpts!
Black Women in the Workplace (streaming video)
In this video compiled from dozens of interviews from the Living Oral History Project, Black women speak about their experiences working in Washtenaw County, including the various obstacles they faced in hiring and on the job.
The French Dukes: Rhythm, Roots, and Legacy (streaming video)
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.
Black Foodways in Ann Arbor (streaming video)
In this video compiled from dozens of interviews from the Living Oral History Project and the There Went The Neighborhood Interview Archive, participants share their memories of food and food traditions in their families, including fishing on the Huron River, hosting Fourth of July barbecues, and even starting a restaurant.
DeLong's (streaming video)
Director Kameron Donald takes us through the story of DeLong's Bar-B-Q Pit, one of Ann Arbor's most famed bygone eateries. In a history told by Diana McKnight-Morton, one of DeLong's founders, we learn about the idea for the restaurant being born out of the many heads that popped over the backyard fence during family barbecues and hear about the many people, Ann Arborites and those much more far-flung, who numbered it among their favorites.
Our Old Neighborhood Reunion (streaming video)
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.
Relentless Warrior: Al Wheeler - Ann Arbor's First Black Mayor
"It's been 50 years since Al Wheeler’s historic campaign for Mayor of the City of Ann Arbor. 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of his death. Relentless Warrior lifts up little-known facts of Dr. Wheeler’s amazing saga. From humble beginnings to a whirlwind tour of top educational institutions, we share how Professor Wheeler shaped and shared a life of firsts with his equally impressive wife, Emma, and their accomplished family. We also hear from some of the people who knew Al best and helped him become the first Black Mayor of Ann Arbor, as well as win re-election with a one vote, precedent-setting result.” - Filmmaker Carole Gibson
Craig Walsh: Monuments (streaming video)
This short from filmmaker Fred Culpepper documents the creation of the Monuments public art installation from artist Craig Walsh. Walsh was commissioned to create a set of his living sculptures in celebration of Ann Arbor's bicentennial. Those chosen to be represented in the project were community leaders Bonnie Billups Jr., Joyce Hunter, and Martin Contreras & Keith Orr. This video provides in introduction to these figures as it tracks Walsh in the capturing of source material and the installation of his large-scale, temporary public sculpture piece. The installation was on view in Albert Wheeler Park September 4-8, 2024.
Made History: A New Song From Athletic Mic League
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.
Thirty years later, that disciplined mindset has stayed with the members: 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.”
Second Baptist Church's Unity March for Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1983, members of the Second Baptist Church of Ann Arbor began a decades-long tradition of honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Every January, congregants led a Unity March from downtown Ann Arbor to their church at 850 Red Oak Road.
Ronald C. Woods, emeritus professor at Eastern Michigan University, explains the significance of the first Unity March: “One of our deacons at the church, Deacon Richard Garland, proposed the idea that we begin recognizing what would become the national holiday on our own, as early as January of 1983.” The first national observance of Martin Luther King Day was not until 1986.
There Was Only One Ollie McLaughlin
Ollie McLaughlin was an Ann Arbor-based disc jockey, concert promoter, and record producer who released the first local rock and roll records, discovered “Runaway” singer Del Shannon, and scored national top-40 hits with Barbara Lewis, the Capitols, and Ann Arbor’s own Deon Jackson. In 1966, arguably pop music’s greatest year, Billboard ranked McLaughlin 23rd on its list of the world’s top independent record producers ahead of legends like JerryWexler and Burt Bacharach. The first area DJ to spin modern jazz and rock and roll on WAAM precursor WHRV, McLaughlin and older brother Maxie promoted dozens of concerts from the mid-1940s through the late ‘50s by jazz and R&B greats like Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Dinah Washington, and many more.
Ann Arbor's Lost Poet: Charles Henry Shoeman
His anthology A Dream And Other Poems was published in Ann Arbor in 1899. The following year, a second edition was published. His writing made national news and he toured the United States and Europe, entertaining crowds with his words. By 1910, he had disappeared.
Charles Henry Shoeman appears in various lists of African American authors, anthologies of Black American writers, and collections of African American poetry, but biographical information is always missing.
Room For Change: Ann Arbor's Fair Housing Protests of the 1960s (streaming video)
"In the early 1960s, Ann Arbor neighborhoods were still mostly segregated. Racially restrictive housing covenants, realtors, banks, and landlords quietly worked to keep African Americans confined to only certain parts of the city. Hundreds of individuals and groups, including the NAACP, CORE, churches, and student groups began picketing, marching, and organizing sit-ins in protest. This film presents some of their stories." - Filmmaker Jennifer Howard
Original Poems Inspired by Robert Hayden by Shannon Daniels
"I first read Robert Hayden in ninth grade, when my English teacher showed us “Those Winter Sundays.” Reading it, I was struck by emotions that I didn’t yet understand ... Many years later, I moved to Ann Arbor, where I learned Robert Hayden had spent much of his life, first as a student at the University of Michigan, and then later as the English Department’s first Black faculty member ... His poems wrestle with themes of beauty, atrocity, nature, faith, and the human spirit, especially within the context of the tumultuous years in which he lived. He confronted difficult, multifaceted truths through his poetry — voicing his own lived experiences and the stories of Black history while also firmly believing in the universal aspects of humanity that transcend difference, informed partly by his Baháʼí faith. He expressed this sentiment in poems that were equally concerned with craft and philosophy, which are what make them still so compelling today." - Shannon Daniels
Clifford Bryant's Namesake: Bryant Elementary School
On Sunday, October 28, 1973, Superintendent Dr. Harry Howard led the dedication ceremonies for Ann Arbor's newest public school building, Bryant Community Elementary School. It was named after Clifford E. Bryant, a retired custodian who had worked in the Ann Arbor Public Schools for 25 years. With schools named after numerous educators, local businessmen, a city founder, and even Martin Luther King, it may have seemed unusual for a school to be named after a maintenance man. But, as Ann Arbor administrator Emerson Powrie stated in the ceremony, Bryant was not an ordinary custodian.
Prentiss Ware: Optimism in the Face of Adversity
"One of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet." It has been 70 years since the death of Prentiss 'Prenty' Ware, and Duane Calvert, his former high school football teammate, still remembers him with great admiration. "I thought the world of him" said Calvert, who was audibly smiling during our phone call. Faced with numerous obstacles pushing him backward, Prenty was consistently "100% forward" and lived his brief life to the fullest.
Right to Read: The Ann Arbor King Case (streaming video)
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, 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.
Lost Ann Arbor: New Paintings From Asha Jordan
"I recently put on a show in downtown Ann Arbor on Main Street called Being Black in America: Ann Arbor Edition. It entailed the black experience in its entirety. Lost Ann Arbor puts more focus on the history. It includes pieces of artwork that focus on the Black history of Ann Arbor, the accomplishments, the stories of our ancestors, and how they have come to Ann Arbor and their experience." - Painter Asha Jordan
AADL Talks To: Local Historian Bev Willis
Bev Willis is an Ann Arbor historian who has worked with several historical organizations, including the African American Cultural and Historical Museum, the city’s Historic District Commission, and the Washtenaw County Historical Society’s Museum on Main Street. Bev talks with us about her passion for local history and the mentors, family members, and cultural influences that helped chart the course of her career.
AADL Talks To: Marcel Shobey and Ruth Natalie Kellogg
AADL Talks To Marcel Shobey, joined by his mother, Ruth Natalie Kellogg. Marcel shares memories of growing up on Ashley Street on the Old West Side and he and his mother discuss some of the changes they've seen in Ann Arbor over the years. They also take a deep dive into the music career of the Shobey Brothers -- Marcel's father, Armando Shobey, and uncle, Norman Shobey. The Shobeys were hand percussionists discovered in the Bronx as children. They toured with Bobby Orton's Teen Aces and then went on to play in a variety of music ensembles of some renown both nationally and in several European countries for many years before settling in Ann Arbor at the invitation of musician Rick Burgess. Here they formed -- or joined -- a variety of music ensembles that played throughout the Midwest region.
AADL Talks To: Journalist and Editor John Woodford
AADL Talks To John Woodford. John is a veteran journalist whose work has been published nationally. Upon moving to Ann Arbor John found work with the Ann Arbor Observer and went on to become executive editor of Michigan Today for two decades. John talks about his career trajectory, the many changes he has experienced in the journalism industry, and the continuing curiosity that fueled his career.
AADL Talks To: Artist Earl Jackson
AADL Talks To Earl Jackson. Earl talks about his time growing up in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, from his early years to his work at Borders Books and Music where he worked as a framer to the evolution of his career in the visual arts. He also discusses some of the organizations and people who inspired and mentored him, and reflects on the changes in themes and style in his work.
AADL Talks To: Hiawatha Bailey
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.
AADL Productions Podcast: Lola Jones and Carol Gibson
Lola Jones and Carol Gibson are well-known to Anyone familiar with Ann Arbor history. Over the past 30 years they've sought out and documented the history of the African American experience in Ann Arbor through a series of projects under the moniker Another Ann Arbor; it is largely through their work that the Ann Arbor African American story is a part of our shared community identity.
Body of Work
Body of a Work is a not-so-serious podcast that takes a look at someone's, well, body of work. Download episodes on Whitney Houston and Martin Luther King Jr.
Ann Arbor Stories: For All the Marbles
That spring in 1936, seven years into the Great Depression, the entire city of Ann Arbor, age 14 and under, lost their marbles over the biggest sporting event the city had ever known— 1936 Ann Arbor Daily News Marbles Tournament. The champion of the west would punch their ticket to the National Marbles Tournament on the Jersey Shore, and a chance at marbles immortality.
A Selection of Past AADL Events
The African American History of Detroit
Professor Peter Boykin talks about 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 include 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.
Good Black History: Black Business Owners of the 1800s, with Anthony Brogdon
Detroit-based historian Anthony Brogdon focuses on what he calls "Good Black History": the stories of Black business owners in the 1800s.
Culinary Historians | Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue
Across America, the pure love and popularity of barbecue cookery has gone through the roof. Prepared in one regional style or another, in the South and beyond, barbecue is one of the nation’s most distinctive culinary arts. And people aren’t just eating it; they’re also reading books and articles and watching TV shows about it. But why is it, asks Adrian Miller—food writer, attorney and longtime certified barbecue judge—that in today’s barbecue culture African Americans don’t get much love?
In Black Smoke, Miller chronicles how Black barbecuers, pitmasters, and restauranteurs helped develop this cornerstone of American foodways and how they are coming into their own today. It’s a smoke-filled story of Black perseverance, culinary innovation, and entrepreneurship. Though often pushed to the margins, African Americans have enriched a barbecue culture that has come to be embraced by all. Miller celebrates and restores the faces and stories of the men and women who have influenced this American cuisine.
This event was held in partnership with the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor.
After Hours Concert: London Beck and Kenyatta Rashon
Local R&B artists London Beck and Kenyatta Rashon performed live at the Ann Arbor District Library in the summer of 2024. Beck's recordings include “Blinded by Hunger” (2018), “Angxl” (2020), and "The Black Satin Sessions" (2021). They've won numerous awards and have performed at venues across Washtenaw County.
Kenyatta Rashon's releases include "The Art of Keeping It Real" (2019) and several singles.
They are both recipients of the Amplify Fellowship.
Samantha Irby at the Downtown Library
Samantha Irby read selections from her books and took questions from the audience as the highlight of 2024's Big Gay Read.
The Life and Music of Vicente Lusitano
University of Michigan faculty member Garrett Schumann and UK-based choir conductor Joseph McHardy present a thrilling exploration of the life and music of Afro-Portuguese Renaissance composer Vicente Lusitano. This presentation will feature video and audio of McHardy’s world-class performances of Lusitano’s compositions recorded earlier this summer, alongside discussion of the pair’s collaborative research uncovering new details of Lusitano’s music and biography.
Since 2020, McHardy and Schumann’s work on Vicente Lusitano has been featured by the BBC, appeared in VAN Magazine, presented at multiple international academic conferences, and their multiple forthcoming publications on this subject include an article in the celebrated encyclopedia Grove Music Online. In June 2022, McHardy led the world’s first-ever all-Lusitano concert tour in England with an ensemble of renowned vocalists assembled in partnership with the award-winning Chineke! Foundation. Recordings from this tour will appear on a CD released through Decca in the near future.
In addition to sharing their findings, Schumann and McHardy will speak to the connections between Lusitano’s misrepresentation in 500 years of classical music scholarship and this field’s historic erasure of composers of African descent and their music.
Not Too Close Concert Series: La'Ron Williams
Presented by the Summer Festival and the Ann Arbor District Library, the Not Too Close events took place in August 2020 in select city parks.
Nationally acclaimed and multiple award-winning storyteller La’Ron Williams shares both original and traditional tales that appeal to a wide range of ages and social backgrounds. His energetic, music-spiced presentations are always fun, highly participatory, educational and entertaining. Every program is specifically designed to promote diversity, foster community building, encourage peaceful conflict resolution and teach a host of “pro-social” skills, including empathy, self-expression and attentive listening. Williams has received high praise for his skill at presenting diversity workshops for adults, helping participants understand the nature of “invisible” bias and moving beyond the emotional stumbling blocks that prevent us from taking collective responsibility for creating a just and equitable society.
Herb Boyd Discusses Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination
Herb Boyd discusses his award-winning book, Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination. Black Detroit looks at the evolving culture, politics, economics, and spiritual life of Detroit–a blend of memoir, love letter, history, and clear-eyed reportage that explores the city’s past, present, and future and its significance to the African-American legacy and the nation’s fabric. It brings into focus the major figures who have defined and shaped Detroit, including William Lambert, the great abolitionist; Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records; Coleman Young, the city’s first black mayor; diva songstress Aretha Franklin; Malcolm X; and Ralph Bunche, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Building Matters: Black Architects in Michigan
Local experts discuss the contributions of Black architects, architectural designers, and landscape architects to the built environment of Michigan. They touch on Michigan's first Black-owned architectural firm, Detroit's historic Black Bottom neighborhood, and Detroit's connection to the rise of hip-hop architecture.
2021 Washtenaw Reads Author Event | Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely have a conversation about the 2021 Washtenaw Reads selection, All American Boys. They discuss how they came to write All American Boys together, the importance of the book's themes in their own lives, and how we can create meaningful inter-racial dialogue around issues like police brutality.
AADL Black Lives Matter Discussion Series
This intentionally broad discussion series seeks to encourage and support community members in their exploration of and engagement with works that provide insight on anti-Black racism.
Click to view past BLM discussion series videos.
MLK: In His Own Words
Watch 11 videos of hand-drawn Illustrations of quotes from the speeches, articles, and correspondences delivered at various points in Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. Click to see all the quotes or watch the playlist below.
Quote of the Day: Black History Month
Watch a quote come to life every day in February as AADL staff use their skills to make powerful words beautiful. Click for all our videos or watch the playlist below.
Art Prints from the Black Lives Matter: Call for Artists and Black History Bicentennial Murals in AADL's Collection
Following AADL's Black Lives Matter: Call for Black Artists in 2020 and the Black History Bicentennial Call for Artists in 2024 the Library worked with local artists to add their work to the Library's permanent circulating art print collection.
Browse our full art print catalog and request work from these amazing artists. (link includes other artists in AADL's collection as well)