Black History Month

Did you know there is an ongoing oral history archive that captures the thoughts, struggles and dreams of longtime African American residents of Ypsilanti in their own words?

Did you know that the first tenured Black professor at the University of Michigan was also Ann Arbor’s first Black mayor?

Did you know that the first African American sheriff in the history of Washtenaw County has been reelected three times and is a proud graduate of Eastern Michigan University?

Did you know that one of the first African American owners of a major business in Washtenaw County, a company now worth billions of dollars, began his career as a janitor at the University of Michigan?

Did you know that the first African American public school principal in the State of Michigan was hired in Ypsilanti?

Did you know that one of the greatest Black actors of this or any other generation got his training at the University of Michigan?

Did you know that the first Black man in America to receive a Ph. D. in public health did so at the University of Michigan?

Democratic Michigan lawmakers re-introduced a bill to ban discrimination against natural hairstyles, like braids, locks, and twists, Tuesday. Colin Jackson has more.

Did you know that the “Green Book” for Ann Arbor in 1947 included a boarding house for African Americans that is still in use today?

Did you know that the first African American woman to live in the dormitories at the University of Michigan won the hearts of such legendary writers as Langston Hughes and Arthur Miller?