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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.
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Roots Oral History Testimonies of Religious Community Bonds in Washtenaw County: Njoki Sandra Kamuyu
Njoki Sandra Kamuyu grew up in the Willow Run Historic Village and has been a member of Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church since age twelve. Kamuyu moved to Kenya with her husband in 1972 and gave birth to her three children there before returning to Michigan in 1989 where she resumed her Brown Chapel membership and has remained involved ever since. Over a lifetime of church involvement, Kamuyu has watched the community evolve and continues to assist in its growth by educating children as a Sunday school teacher.
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Roots Oral History Testimonies of Religious Community Bonds in Washtenaw County: Matthew Schumann
Dr. Matthew Schumann is the Felicity Foundation Chaplain at the University of Michigan, where he serves as the campus imam. Dr. Schumann became Muslim in 2009 and has followed his dedication to Islam from Qatar to Vancouver, a position as a bus driver in Salt Lake City, and in 2021 to Ann Arbor. He works tirelessly to cultivate a vibrant and dedicated Muslim student community at UM through daily prayer services and connecting personally with students.
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Roots Oral History Testimonies of Religious Community Bonds in Washtenaw County: Jesse Bernstein
Jesse Aaron Bernstein has been a member of the Temple Beth Emeth community since he arrived in Ann Arbor in 1970 to pursue a Masters of Social Work at the University of Michigan. He has served on the Temple board and has been an active participant in the development of the Jewish community in Ann Arbor over the past 50 years.
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Roots Oral History Testimonies of Religious Community Bonds in Washtenaw County: Emily Knickelbein
Emily Knickelbein is a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Ann Arbor, where she
completed her conversion to Catholicism in November of 2022. She is a lifelong Washtenaw County resident and was raised in the Lutheran tradition as one of eight siblings. Her commitment to Catholicism has led her to a supportive and like-minded faith community at St. Thomas where she regularly attends mass and works as a liturgy assistant.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Chuck Warpehoski
Chuck Warpehoski was born in 1978 and graduated from Grinnell College with a BA in sociology. He worked in Washington D.C. for the Nicaragua Network and Latin America Solidarity Coalition before moving to Ann Arbor in 2003. He directed the Ann Arbor nonprofit organization Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) for sixteen years, focusing on issues such as nuclear disarmament and affordable housing. He also served on the Ann Arbor City Council from 2012 to 2018. He and his wife Nancy Shore have two children.
Chuck Warpehoski was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2015 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Eunice Burns
Eunice L. Burns was born in 1923 and grew up on a farm in Caledonia, Minnesota. She attended La Crosse State Teachers College and became a physical education teacher. She and her husband Carl Burns had four children, and the family enjoyed camping and other outdoor activities. They were married for fifteen years before his tragic death in a sailing accident. Burns (D) represented the First Ward on the Ann Arbor City Council for six years (1962-68). She championed the Fair Housing Ordinance and the establishment of the Huron River Watershed Council. She passed away on October 20, 2016.
Eunice Burns was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2010 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Stars Rising: Why U-M's Detroit Observatory Matters and Where It's Going
Why is an observatory in Ann Arbor named for Detroit? What made the Detroit Observatory a milestone for the University of Michigan and American higher education? How was the Observatory central to the growth of American astronomical science, when did it lose that role, and how did it get it back? And who were some of the people who made it all happen? Gary Krenz of the University’s Bentley Historical Library will explore these and other questions in this talk. In its 165-year history, the Observatory has gone through many transformations, and it is currently going through another—the construction of an addition to improve access, education, and programming. Krenz will also look at what that project entails and what lies ahead.
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AADL Talks to Larry E. Wright
In this episode, Larry E. Wright, longtime photographer for the Ann Arbor News, talks about being mentored by chief photographer Cecil Lockard, life at a daily newspaper, and how sometimes a photographer's most valuable piece of equipment is his personality.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Alice Sano
Alice Sano was born in 1929 in Los Angeles, California. When the U.S. entered WWII, her family was forced to move to an internment camp along with other Japanese immigrants. Eventually her father secured a job teaching Japanese to army military intelligence students at the University of Michigan, and they moved to Ann Arbor. Sano majored in music theory and cello at the U-M School of Music, and dedicated her career to teaching music.
Alice Sane was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2018 as part of the Legacies Project.