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Ann Arbor 200
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Media

AADL Talks To: Bev Willis

Bev Willis
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.

Washtenaw County Historical Society's Museum on Main Street

African American Cultural and Historical Museum

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Media

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 have 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. Lola and Carol stopped by the library to talk with us one day about the work they have done over the years and where they are headed next. They shared with us some of the interesting people and events they have learned about and brought to the community in their television program, their documentaries, and their book. You can now watch one of their documentaries online at aadl.org in our video collection. A Woman's Town was produced in 1991 and tells the story of Ann Arbor through the voices of prominent African American women.

African American Culture Showcased

African American Culture Showcased  image
Parent Issue
Day
19
Month
October
Year
1994
Copyright
Copyright Protected

Bamidele Agbasegbe Demerson Prepares For Kwanzaa Celebration At Washtenaw Community College, December 1998 Photographer: Leisa Thompson

Bamidele Agbasegbe Demerson Prepares For Kwanzaa Celebration At Washtenaw Community College, December 1998 image
Year:
1998
Published In:
Ann Arbor News, December 27, 1998
Caption:
Ann Arbor resident Bamidele Agbasegbe Demerson, curator of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum, sets up an art exhibit at Washtenaw Community College Sunday evening for a Kwanzaa celebration. The art came from the private collection of residents of Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

David and Letitia Byrd home, February 2001 Photographer: Lon Horwedel

David and Letitia Byrd home, February 2001 image
Year:
2001
Published In:
Ann Arbor News, February 9, 2001
Caption:
This 1825 house on Lohr Road in Pittsfield Township was renovated in the 1970s and '80s, then used as an office by the late David Byrd, who established the construction technology program at Washtenaw Community College. His wife, Letitia, wants to turn it into a black history museum.

Letitia Byrd with newspaper clippings, February 2001 Photographer: Lon Horwedel

Letitia Byrd with newspaper clippings, February 2001 image
Year:
2001
Published In:
Ann Arbor News, February 9, 2001
Caption:
Letitia Byrd wants to create a black history museum in the 1825 house that her husband, David, renovated in the 1970s and '80s. Byrd, with newspaper stories on the renovation, said the museum would be created to honor her late husband, a restoration expert who used the home as his office.