2012 Calendar - The Village That Raised Their Children: The History of Ann Arbor's Black Community
AACHM Oral History: Mike Bass
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. He received a BA in Education from the University of Michigan. Bass is best known for playing in the National Football League for the Washington Commanders (formerly Redskins) from 1969 to 1975. After retiring from the NFL, Bass ran a resort in the Bahamas. He and his wife Rosita now reside in Florida and they have two daughters, Kimberly and Louise.
Boy Scouts Prepare for a Party at the Dunbar Center, February 1948
Year:
1948
Ann Arbor News, February 12, 1948
Caption:
Dunbar Scouts Plan 'Housewarming' Party: Plans for a "housewarming" party tonight at Dunbar Civic Center are being discussed here by members of Boy Scout Troop 75, for whom the party is being given. The scouts (left to right) are Fred Adams, Don Calvert, Marvin Baker, Paul Bacon, Curtis Starks, Coleman Jewett, Robert Henson, John Adams, Duane Calvert, Horace Williams, Hathaway Gulley and James Guster. Scoutmaster Vernon Adams is explaining things. At the party, which will begin at 7 o'clock, the troop will be presented with a flag by the Graf-O'Hara post of Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Scoutmaster Vernon Adams Speaks to Members of Troop 75, February 1948
Year:
1948
AACHM Oral History: Lois Allen-Richardson
Lois Allen-Richardson was born in 1942 in Ypsilanti, where she remembers attending Harriet Street School and spending time at Parkridge Center. As a young adult, she worked briefly at Goodman’s Fashion Center in the heart of Ypsilanti’s Black business district. Allen-Richardson is an ordained minister and served as a missionary in Haiti and Trinidad. Since 2000 she has been a member of the Ypsilanti City Council, where she has been a strong advocate for the city’s south side. In June 2020, she became Ypsilanti’s first Black woman mayor after the resignation of her predecessor.
AACHM Living Oral History Project Walking Tour
Presented in Partnership between the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor District Library
Elsie Tipton Receives Eye Examination at Parkridge Community Center Info Fair, February 1986 Photographer: Tom Marks
Year:
1986
Ann Arbor News, February 17, 1986
Caption:
Elsie Tipton (left) of the Huron Valley Girl Scout Council undergoes an eye examination administered by nurse Elaine Ray Connell of Catherine McAuley Health Center.
Group Posing on Parkridge Community Center Lawn, August 1994 Photographer: Larry E. Wright
Year:
1994
Group Posing with Sharon Newton on Parkridge Community Center Lawn, August 1994 Photographer: Larry E. Wright
Year:
1994
Ann Arbor News, August 7, 1994
Caption:
Sharon Newton, bottom right corner, is program director of Parkridge Community Center and sponsor of uNited Youth on the Move.
Blood Pressure Check at Parkridge Community Center, November 1987 Photographer: Colleen Fitzgerald
Year:
1987
Ann Arbor News, November 4, 1987
Caption:
TIME OUT FOR HEALTH - The Washtenaw County Health Department set up a health resource table to answer health-related questions and to offer free blood pressure checks Tuesday at the Parkridge Community Center in Ypsilanti. At left, public health nurse Betty Dove checks Edward Allen's blood pressure.