Media
AACHM Oral History: Nelson Freeman
Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.
Nelson Freeman was born in 1939 and grew up in Ypsilanti. He remembers being one of the few black children at his elementary school and the transition to high school with white friends. He also recalls how his father made sure local African American children had a night of their own at the local rollerskating rink, where he became one of the best skaters, and other social and business activities in town. Mr. Freeman spent time in the Navy and had a long career as a dental technician.
Media
AACHM Oral History: Charles Morris
Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.
Chuck Morris was born in 1938 and grew up in Ypsilanti where he attended Harriet Street Elementary School and Ypsilanti High School. He recalls Ypsilanti neighborhoods and businesses, the Willow Run Bomber plant and air raids during World War II, and the opening of Washtenaw Community College. Mr. Morris attended the Navy and retired from the Ann Arbor District Library where he worked as the bookmobile driver/trainer for many years.
Media
AACHM Oral History: Phase Four of the Living Oral History Project
Compilation video from Phase Four of the Living Oral History Project, in collaboration with the Ann Arbor District Library and the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County. With Fred Adams, Audrey Lucas, Chuck Morris, Nelson Freeman, Johnnie Rush, and Janice Thompson.
Media
Author Tom Stanton Discusses His New York Times Bestseller: “Terror in the City of Champions: Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society that Shocked Depression-era Detroit”
Award-winning author Tom Stanton weaves a stunning tale of history, crime, and sports. Richly portraying 1930s America, "Terror in the City of Champions" features a pageant of colorful figures: iconic athletes, sanctimonious criminals, scheming industrial titans, a bigoted radio priest, a love-smitten celebrity couple, J. Edgar Hoover, and two future presidents, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. It is a rollicking true story set at the confluence of hard luck, hope, victory, and violence.
Detroit, mid-1930s: In a city abuzz over its unrivaled sports success, gun-loving baseball fan Dayton Dean became ensnared in the nefarious and deadly Black Legion. The secretive, Klan-like group was executing a wicked plan of terror, murdering enemies, flogging associates, and contemplating armed rebellion. The Legion boasted tens of thousands of members across the Midwest, among them politicians and prominent citizens—even, possibly, a beloved athlete.
The book opens with the arrival of Mickey Cochrane, a fiery baseball star who roused the Clutch Plague’s hardest-hit city by leading the Tigers to the 1934 pennant. A year later he guided the team to its first championship. Within seven months the Lions and Red Wings follow in football and hockey—all while Joe Louis chased boxing’s heavyweight crown.
Amidst such glory, the Legion’s dreadful toll grew unchecked: staged “suicides,” bodies dumped along roadsides, high-profile assassination plots. Talkative Dayton Dean’s involvement would deepen as heroic Mickey Cochrane’s reputation would rise. But the ballplayer had his own demons, including a close friendship with Harry Bennett, Henry Ford’s brutal union buster.
Tom Stanton’s other books include the critically acclaimed Tiger Stadium memoir "The Final Season" and the Quill Award finalist Ty and The Babe. A professor of journalism at the University of Detroit Mercy, he is a former Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan.
Media
AACHM Oral History: Audrey Lucas
Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.
Audrey Lucas was born in 1934 and raised in Ann Arbor where she fondly recalls her school days Jones School. She talks about activities at the Dunbar Center where she had the pleasure of singing at various city events, and some of Ann Arbor's black neighborhoods and businesses. Ms. Lucas worked for the University of Michigan Health System for 47 years, the last 35 before her retirement as a human resources consultant.
Media
AACHM Oral History: Johnnie Rush
Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.
Johnnie Rush was born in 1931 and was the only black person in his class at Ann Arbor High School. He recalls many fond memories of activities with the Second Baptist Church and his family, and he talks about the many challenges for African American businesses as Ann Arbor changed over the years. Mr. Rush is a licensed barber and has run his own barbershop for 55 years.
Media
AACHM Oral History: Fred Adams
Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.
Fred Adams was born in 1934 and grew up in Ann Arbor. He recalls summers playing in the Huron River, youth activities with the Dunbar Center and Jones School, his work as a paperboy, and some of the black neighborhoods and businesses in the Ann St. area. Mr. Adams worked for Johnson Controls for 41 years and owned his own business as an Industrial Manager.
Media
AADL Talks To: AA/Ypsi Reads Author Cristina Henriquez
In this episode, AADL Talks To Christina Henriquez, author of the award-winning novel The Book Of Unknown Americans. The Book Of Unknown Americans was the book selected for Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2016.
The Book Of Unknown Americans centers on fifteen-year-old Maribel Rivera, who sustains a terrible injury. Her family leaves behind a comfortable life in Mexico and risks everything to come to the United States so that Maribel can have the care she needs. Once they arrive, it’s not long before Maribel attracts the attention of Mayor Toro, the son of one of their new neighbors, who sees a kindred spirit in this beautiful, damaged outsider. Their love story sets in motion events that will have profound repercussions for everyone involved.
Henríquez seamlessly interweaves the story of these star-crossed lovers, and of the Rivera and Toro families, with the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America.
For more information and resources related to Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads, please visit the program's website at aareads.org.
Media
AACHM Oral History: Evelyn Payne
Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.
Evelyn Payne was born on November 3, 1924, and although she was an only child, she went on to have 8 children, numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. Evelyn grew up in Tennessee where she remembers segregation and walking 10 miles to school. In 1945, at 20 years of age, she moved to Ann Arbor where she is proud to have raised all her children while working as a nursing assistant - for 25 years at St. Joseph Mercy and 16 years at the University of Michigan.
Media
AACHM Oral History: Robert Fletcher
Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.
Robert Fletcher was born on December 2, 1932. He worked for 15 years for the Veterans Administration, then Sears, eventually retiring from the City of Ann Arbor. Robert went into the service in 1950 and, after engaging in a police action in Korea, was captured and spent 33 months in a prison camp, an experience that deeply affected his personal life and work - eventually leading to his serving on an advisory board for former prisoners of war in Washington, D.C.