Ann Arbor African American Museum

Ann Arbor Museum Dedicated To Local Black History Now Open To Public

The African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County at 1528 Pontiac Trail in Ann Arbor on Oct. 13, 2021. It’s described as the only museum dedicated to sharing the history and heritage of the African American experience in Washtenaw County.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

ANN ARBOR, MI A local Black history museum years in the making is now open to the public in Ann Arbor.

The African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County is located in an old brick house at 1528 Pontiac Trail thats now open for weekend tours from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

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Museum Of African American History

In 1978, the city of Detroit leased the museum a plot of land in Midtown near the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Detroit Science Center. Groundbreaking for a new museum occurred on May 21, 1985.

Two years later, the doors of the new 28,000-square-foot Museum of African American History were opened to the public at 301 Frederick Street.

Health Environment And Utilities

The University of Michigan Medical Center, the only teaching hospital in the city, took the number 1 slot in U.S. News & World Report for best hospital in the state of Michigan, as of 2015. The University of Michigan Health System includes University Hospital, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital in its core complex. UMHS also operates out-patient clinics and facilities throughout the city. The area’s other major medical centers include a large facility operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor, and Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital in nearby Superior Township.

The city provides sewage disposal and water supply services, with water coming from the Huron River and groundwater sources. There are two water-treatment plants, one main and three outlying reservoirs, four pump stations, and two water towers. These facilities serve the city, which is divided into five water districts. The city’s water department also operates four dams along the Huron RiverArgo, Barton, Geddes, and Superiorof which Barton and Superior provide hydroelectric power. The city also offers waste management services, with Recycle Ann Arbor handling recycling service. Other utilities are provided by private entities. Electrical power and gas are provided by DTE Energy. AT& T Inc. is the primary wired telephone service provider for the area. Cable TV service is primarily provided by Comcast.

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Primary And Secondary Education

Public schools are part of the Ann Arbor Public Schools district. AAPS has one of the country’s leading music programs. In September 2008, 16,539 students had been enrolled in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Notable schools include Pioneer, Huron, Skyline, and Community high schools, and Ann Arbor Open School. The district has a preschool center with both free and tuition-based programs for preschoolers in the district. The University High School, a “demonstration school” with teachers drawn from the University of Michigan’s education program, was part of the school system from 1924 to 1968.

Ann Arbor is home to several private schools, including Emerson School, the Father Gabriel Richard High School, Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor, Clonlara School, Michigan Islamic Academy, and Greenhills School, a prep school. The city is also home to several charter schools such as Central Academy of the Global Educational Excellence charter school company, and Honey Creek Community School.

The Underground Railroad In Michigan

PUBLIC HISTORY AND EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP Partners: African-American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County, Wild Swan Theatre, Ann Arbor District LibraryCourse: Community Projects In the Arts and Humanities

From its launch in 1998, the UM Arts of Citizenship Program helped to research and present Michigan’s rich African-American history. Some projects involved performances with Detroit’s Mosaic Youth Theatre and Matrix Theatre Company . Another, Memories From Hamblin, worked with Heritage Battle Creek to create a website about the history and displacement of that city’s African-American neighborhood.

But our first black-history partnership focused on the Underground Railroad. Southeast Michigan was a key route for enslaved people fleeing the Mississippi Valley for Canada. The local African-American community held a trove of family and community lore about safehouses and conductors an important antislavery journal, The Signal of Liberty, had been published in Ann Arbor. Arts of Citizenship had begun to explore this history in our Students On Site curriculum project . That led a local heritage association, the African-American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County, to ask us to help expand their research and educational programs.

After the run of Along the Tracks, the exhibition was displayed in schools, libraries, historical societies, and other venues across Southeast Michigan and Ontario. It was eventually seen by more than ten thousand visitors.

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Charles H Wright Museum Of African American History

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, or The Wright, is located in Detroit, Michigan in the U.S. inside the city’s MidtownCultural Center is one of the world’s oldest independent African Americanmuseums.

Founded in 1965, The Wright museum holds the world’s largest permanent collection of African-American culture. With a collection of more than 35,000 artifacts, The Wright’s current 125,000-square-foot museum opened as the largest museum in the world dedicated to African American history.

The Wright, whose exhibits include Underground Railroad documents and letters from Malcolm X and Rosa Parks, also hosted memorial events for Parks and the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin, who lay in state in the museum’s rotunda in 2005 and 2018, respectively.

Notably, The Wright is the current home of The National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen The Wright also produces one of the largest festivals dedicated to celebrating the food, fashion, music, and dance cultures of the diaspora — African World Festival.

Aachm Community History Online Exhibits

Hilyard Robinson:

The Promise of Parkridge

Designed by Architect Hilyard Robinson, Parkridge was built in 1943 for area Black workers following an unsuccessful attempt to integrate Willow Run public housin

Mysti Greer and Jayson Atkins at Ypsilanti Pre-School Graduation at Parkridge Community Center, May 1986

African American History in Kerrytown Ann Arbor

The African American Cultural & Historical Museum of Washtenaw County was founded in 1993. Our mission is to research, collect, preserve, and exhibit cultural and historical materials about the life and work of African Americans in Washtenaw County. Our programs include videotaped oral histories with the Ann Arbor District Library, Underground Railroad tours, and performances from local artists in our Focus on the Arts events.

Across from the old Dunbar Center is the home once inhabited by an African American family at 415 N. Fourth Ave. Today, this building is the Kerrytown Concert House. AACHM recently co-hosted a program with Kerrytown Concert House called Blue Skies: A Jazzy Afternoon with Athena Johnson, featuring the lush, soulful voice of this local songstress and her skillfully polished musicians. This virtual performance is available for your personal enjoyment at kerrytownconcerthouse.com.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Day/Week 2021 Virtual Events

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Ann Arbor Historical Notes Population And Enrollment

The census of 1870 listed 231 black community members, but this number soon grew. Due in part to building projects initiated by U-M president James Angell, many black laborers moved to Ann Arbor: between 1900 and 1910 the black population climbed to 515 residents, and continued to rise in the early 20th Century. By 1940, the black community in Ann Arbor was over 1,200 people, about 4% of the citys population.

The city of Ann Arbor appointed their first black police officer in 1907. However, city government took much longer to diversify. Albert Wheeler, Ann Arbor’s first black mayor, was not elected until 1975, more than 100 years after black residents began to settle in the area in large numbers.

Later census surveys added more options for indicating race, so that “Other” could include Native American or Alaskan Native Asian Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Hispanic or Latino two or more races. U.S. Census Bureau Census of Population and Housing.

Minority Enrollment All-Time HighIn 1992, enrollment of underrepresented racial groups reached 21.4% of the student body with 7.8% of the student body African American. U-M President James Duderstadt had set a goal in 1988 to increase minority enrollment. After the 2006 ballot initiative forbidding consideration of race or gender in public education passed in Michigan, black enrollment began to decline considerably.

Hawaiian students were counted starting in 2010, growing to 21 by 2013.

African American Cultural And Historical Museum

About Us :

The African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County was established by 23 founding members in 1993 to document, collect, preserve and share African American History in this community. From the beginning, we have collaborated with other museums, libraries, organizations and universities to present educational programs and exhibits. We offer well-attended cultural arts events and provide a nationally recognized Underground Railroad guided bus tour of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Pittsfield Township. The AACHM is currently raising money and awareness for the 1528 Pontiac Trail Museum Initiative: Securing a permanent home to preserve the past, enrich the present and sustain the future.

African American Cultural and Historical Museum is not affiliated with AmericanTowns Media

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Surface Roads And Paths

The streets in downtown Ann Arbor conform to a grid pattern, though this pattern is less common in the surrounding areas. Major roads branch out from the downtown district like spokes on a wheel to the highways surrounding the city. The city is belted by three freeways: I-94, which runs along the southern and western portion of the city U.S. Highway 23 , which primarily runs along the eastern edge of Ann Arbor and M-14, which runs along the northern edge of the city. Other nearby highways include US 12 , M-17 , and M-153 . Several of the major surface arteries lead to the I-94/M-14 interchange in the west, US 23 in the east, and the city’s southern areas. The city also has a system of bike routes and paths and includes the nearly complete Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail.

The African American Downtown Festival To Offer Music Kids’ Activities And More

Ann Arbor resident Maurice Archerbreak dances in front of a crowd at last year’s African American Downtown Festival in Ann Arbor.

Jeffrey Smith | AnnArbor.com fie photo

And thats what takes place when rain happens to fall during the annual, all-day African American Downtown Festival. This year’s event takes place on Saturday, June 1, from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. in the area around North Fourth Avenue and Ann Street in Ann Arbor.

do not leave, said AADF event coordinator Teesha Montague. They do not leave. They may duck under one of the nearby stores awnings, or go into the stores for a while, but they do not leave. Its amazing.

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Telling Tales Out Of School

The Student Advocacy Center of Michigans annual social justice art project elevates the recent experiences of their students. This year’s project is like none other, because this year is like none other. Students are struggling. They are hurting. Virtual school is temporary for most, but many Student Advocacy Center youth have been forced into virtual settings for many, many years. For this project, SAC students were given two questions to answer:

The artist family Anna Oginsky and their mom, Kathleen Hodges turned these answers into art.

They re-purposed “found” computers and parts and covered them with the messages of reflection and hope from SAC students.

This photo of the piece for the AACHM was taken in the dining room of the David R. Byrd Center on Lohr Road.

The historic farmhouse is more than 150 years old, built on land that was platted in 1825 and was restored by David and Letitia Byrd.

The tools of school were

a slate and chalk, so visually similar to the black and white tools our students use today.

Please visit studentadvocacycenter.org for more information about their annual storytelling drive-in fundraiser on May 7th, 2021. Stories include a high school student who has experienced racism and much more, a parent whose 8-year-old was expelled and an adult who worked with SAC more than 10 years ago and says they saved his life!

The Empty Screens multimedia video project includes spoken word, video messages, dance and more

About African American Cultural And Historical Museum

African American Cultural And Historical Museum is business in ANN ARBOR, 48108 United States. African American Cultural And Historical Museum phone number is 769-1630 and you can reach us on number 769-1630. You should give them a call at 7347691630 before you go. The map below helps you find driving directions and maps for African American Cultural And Historical Museum. This is the only African American Cultural And Historical Museum location in ANN ARBOR, MI.

Google Map of 3261 Lohr Road Ann Arbor, MI 48108. If you find error address or can’t find, please enter another address using the form bellow, then search again.

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A Touchdown For Equality

In 1890, George Jewett became a student at the University of Michigan and changed history, becoming the school’s first African-American football player and varsity letterman. Through two enormously successful seasons, Jewett led with courage, resilience, and tenacity–both on the field and in the classroom.

Intelligent, athletic, sociable, and well-liked, George H. Jewett Jr. embodied what twentieth-century U-M football Coach Bo Schembechler called a “Michigan man.”

After a storied career at Ann Arbor High School Jewett enrolled at U-M in 1890 with aspirations of attending medical school and playing varsity football. There, he became a trailblazer, solidifying the tradition of academic and athletic excellence that has come to define the university.

In the late nineteenth century, football spread from its original home in the northeastern region of the United States–where Rutgers and Princeton Universities faced off in the first-ever game of college football on November 6, 1869–to Midwestern and Southern colleges and universities. A tradition of excellence that would come to define University of Michigan football started on May 30,1879, when the Wolverines defeated Racine College in the first college football game in the Midwest.

University of Michigan 1879 Team

A Star Scholar-Athlete

This photograph of the 1891 Amherst squad shows Jackson in the back row with Lewis immediately in front of him, holding the football.

The 1890 Season

Leaving U-M

Ann Arbor African American Historical Sites

1. Postoffice Barber Shop and Bath103 E Ann StFrom 1888 until the mid 1890s, Civil War veteran Jerome A. Freeman was proprietor of Postoffice Barber Shop and Bath. Freeman served in Company E of the First Colored Infantry. His barber shop was located on the second floor of the ornate Beal Block, on the corner of Main and E Ann. In the late 19th century, the Beal Block housed the Post Office and operated as the informal social center of the city.

2. Keatons Recreation Hall109 E Ann StFrom 1952 to 1974, David and Mozelle Keaton ran a pool hall next door to their successful tavern Midway Lunch. The Keatons establishments were fixtures of the mid-20th-century Black business district on Ann Street. Previous owners John Riggs and Samuel Elliot operated Wolverine Barber Shop and Pool Room in the 1930s.

3. Midway Lunch111 E Ann StIn the 1940s and 1950s, Midway Lunch offered African American workers and businessmen good food, drink, and company right in the center of the thriving Ann Street Black business district. Owners David and Mozelle Keaton first opened the tavern in 1941, and it closed in 1962.

6. Whitmans Pool Hall and Myrtles Beauty Shop 119 E Ann StOften seen with a cigar in his mouth, George Whitman ran his pool hall on Ann Street from 1934 until 1953. His wife Myrtle had a beauty shop on the second floor, which employed several other African American women as hairdressers.

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About African American Cultural & Historical Museum

African American Cultural & Historical Museum, located in Ann Arbor, MI, promotes research and public education through its Museum collection. Visitors to the Museum can see Museum exhibits, attend events at the Museum, and access Museum educational programs. The Museum supports itself through ticket sales, membership, fundraisers, and donations.

You may contact Museums for questions about:

• Museum exhibits and collections