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AACHM Oral History: Walter Blackwell
Walter Blackwell was born in 1930 in Petersburg, Virginia. He shares memories of growing up there as well as in Mount Vernon, New York before serving in the army during the Korean War. He worked for 30 years at the Ann Arbor VA hospital, where he enjoyed helping fellow veterans. After experiencing discrimination in housing and employment, Mr. Blackwell fought for civil rights in Ann Arbor as a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and mentored black children in his neighborhood.
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AACHM Oral History: Audrey Monagan
Audrey Monagan was born in Ann Arbor in 1941, and grew up in a close-knit, predominantly black neighborhood on North Fifth Ave. She remembers attending Bethel AME Church with her grandparents, spending time at the Dunbar Community Center, and helping raise her younger siblings. She attended Jones School and Pioneer High School before working for General Motors, where she was an inspector for eighteen years. Mrs. Monagan has been married to her second husband, Philip, for 48 years.
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AACHM Oral History: Gerald Edwards
Gerald Edwards was born in 1950 in Cleveland, Ohio. He remembers being discriminated against as one of three African American students at his elementary school in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education. At Heidelberg College, he participated in sit-ins to help found a Black Student Union House. After beginning his career in automotive manufacturing with Ford Motor Company, Mr. Edwards started his own business, Engineered Plastic Products, in 1987. He and his wife Jada also started the Edwards Foundation, which was dedicated to philanthropy in Namibia.
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AACHM Oral History: Hortense Howard
Hortense Howard was born in Bloomington, Illinois in 1927. Soon afterwards, her family moved to Ann Arbor, where she and her sisters became known as the “Bacon Sisters” for their choral performances at sorority houses and other venues. Ms. Howard attended a music school in Detroit because she “wanted to sing like Sarah Vaughan,” and she met many African American singers while working at the Gotham Hotel. She ran her own daycare, Sitters Unlimited Family Day Care, in Ann Arbor for twenty years.
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AACHM Oral History: Henrietta Edwards
Henrietta Edwards was born in 1919 and grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma before moving to Ann Arbor in 1941. She and her husband worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant during World War II, and owned two filling stations—one downtown at N Fourth Avenue and E Ann Street, and one on Highway 23. She celebrated her hundredth birthday with family, friends, and former coworkers and patients from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where she worked as a pediatric nurse for 32 years.
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Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum | Race and Class Equity in Washtenaw County
Ann Arbor is the eighth most socioeconomically segregated metro area in the U.S.; the second most segregated city in the nation in service class segregation; and the fifth in working class segregation. In 2010, Census data shows white residents accounted for 73% of Ann Arbor's population, just under Michigan's average of 79%, while African American residents accounted for just 8% of residents—nearly half of the state average of 14%. Ypsilanti, on the other hand, is made up of 62% white residents and 29% African American residents: a dramatic imbalance for two closely tied cities. Housing is a social determinant of health so where you live matters. Join local experts as we delve into the issues and opportunities surrounding race and class equity throughout Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County.
Panelists include:
- Dr. Tony Reames (Assistant Professor, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan),
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A2CAF 2019 - Author Discussion: Raina Telgemeier and Jerry Craft
Join Jerry Craft and Raina Telgemeier for a discussion on Jerry's graphic novel, New Kid. Together they'll explore Jerry's journey as a young artist to a published graphic novelist, and how young people might find their own path into comics.
This event was part of A2CAF, an annual all-ages Comic Arts Festival!
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AADL Board Meeting - July 15, 2019
This is where you watch the July 15th, 2019 Meeting of the AADL Board of Trustees.
For more information, see the Board Packet for this Meeting.
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Russell Doré on "America's Classiest Cars"
Learn about the most luxurious classic cars built by American companies. Find out how the Eckhart Brothers, E.L. Cord, the Duesenberg Brothers, and Harry Stutz built their companies. Follow mergers between some of these companies and how the companies finally ended their production.
This one-hour presentation displays the beauty of these automobiles and confirms that the saying “It’s a Duesy” refers to the very best in a field. Cars of these brands were owned by celebrities and you will see their favorites. Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Ginger Rogers, and John Wayne were original owners of the early classics. Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, and Jay Leno became later collectors.
The presenter is Russell Doré, who has been making historical presentations for over 20 years. He is a Board Member of the Motor Cities National Heritage Area, a member of the Henry Ford Heritage Association, the Northville Historical Society, and holds Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Washington in social sciences.
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The Power of Native Women
Throughout history, women have played an important role in the family and the community. But Native women have also helped shape our nation by fighting alongside warriors, becoming doctors and performing other courageous feats. Learn about the impact of these women from historian Heather Bruegl.
Heather Bruegl, inspired by a trip to Wounded Knee, South Dakota, quickly developed a passion for Native American History. Curiosity for her own heritage led her to Wisconsin, where she has researched the history of the Native American tribes of that region. Heather is a graduate of Madonna University of Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in U.S. History. She travels and lectures on Native American history, including policy and activism.