AADL Talks To: Margaret Parker

Thu, 03/21/2024 - 8:13pm

In this episode, AADL Talks to Margaret Parker. Margaret has been working as an artist for seven decades. She talks about her parents’ influence on her desire to become an artist and the evolution of her artistic development, from working in different mediums to confronting social justice issues in her work. Margaret talks about her time with the Michigan chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art and her commitment to bring public to Ann Arbor through her work on the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission.

For more information, see our digital collections related to Margaret Parker, or visit the artist's website.

AADL Talks To: Steve Adams

Sun, 02/25/2024 - 6:09pm

Steve Adams was born, raised -- and still lives -- in Ann Arbor, and he can trace his family's local roots back to the Civil War. In this episode, Steve recalls growing up in the historic Black neighborhood near Mack Elementary School, and a progressive teacher at that time, Allene Green, whom he credits with having a major influence on his life. Steve recounts his connection to several iconic Ann Arbor institutions: Pioneer High School during the school's division into Ann Arbor's second high school, Huron High; the Del Rio restaurant and other local music clubs and venues; the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festivals; and, in particular, Border's Book Shop, where he worked for 32 years, from 1974-2006.

Legacies Project Oral History: Benita Kaimowitz

Wed, 01/15/2020 - 9:43am

Benita Kaimowitz was born in 1935 and grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where her father ran a general store. When she was 11, her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating from college at the University of Hawaii, she got her master’s at Sarah Lawrence College. Kaimowitz helped register voters in Louisiana as a volunteer for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). She was a teacher and a longtime employee of Borders Bookstore in Ann Arbor. She and her first husband Gabe lived in a collective house for over two decades.

Benita Kaimowitz was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor as part of the Legacies Project.