Bodman Honors Black History Month 2023
02/01/23
In honor of Black History Month 2023, Bodman encourages all of our employees, clients, friends, and followers to participate in events throughout the month of February.
Bodman’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has compiled a list of virtual and in-person opportunities in the communities we serve that are open for anyone to attend. The list appears below.
Many of the events are free of charge by pre-registering with the links provided.
Detroit
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
The Wright Museum’s 22,000-square-foot space features over 20 galleries including the And Still We Rise exhibit. This exhibit starts in ancient Africa and covers all the way to the Civil Rights movement and beyond. Visitors will be able to see what living conditions were like back in those times and see stories that will touch the soul.
In observance of Black History Month, the Wright Museum will host many other events that explore and celebrate African American history and culture. The museum will also open on Tuesdays from 9am-5pm for the full month of February.
A Black History Month event schedule has not yet been released, but more details will be available here.
Henry Ford Museum
Rosa Parks Bus Exhibit
Open all February | admission free with museum ticket
Located in the “With Liberty and Justice for All” section of the museum, see the infamous bus where, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand in the Civil Rights Movement and challenged segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat to a white man.
Click here for more information.
“How Long?”: Revisiting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Legacy
Open all February | admission free with museum ticket
The life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are often hidden behind the continual replaying of a few lines from his “I Have a Dream” speech. In fact, Dr. King’s real story – from unknown Baptist minister to American civil rights leader and international human rights spokesperson – is deeper, more subtle and more complex.
As we reflect on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and the 55th anniversary of Detroit’s Walk to Freedom and Dr. King’s assassination, this limited-time exhibit allows us to reflect on his evolution and vision.
Click here for more information.
Detroit Historical Museum
On the Shoulders of Giants: Celebrating Black History Month
February 25, 2023 | 10am-4pm
Join the Detroit Historical Society for an in-person, all-age celebration honoring the legacy of entrepreneurship in the Black community. On the Shoulders of Giants will highlight some of the businesses and history makers that continue to make Detroit great. Shop the curated marketplace of locally owned businesses, take guided mini-tours of Detroit 67: Perspectives, learn about exceptional Detroit entrepreneurs in The Hustle: Fixers & Helpers and Caregivers, and join in a drop-in Paradise Valley-themed kids craft during this all-day event.
Admission is free with registration.
Detroit Public Library
The Detroit Public Library has a comprehensive reading list in honor of Black History Month.
All Things Marketplace
February 4, 11, 18 and 25
This Corktown marketplace is hosting a number of Black History Month events and activities, including pop-up shops from local Black-owned businesses on Saturdays in February. You can also shop Black-owned businesses on their website.
City Institute
Virtual Tour – Redlining, Racism, and Segregation
February 9 from 6pm-7:30pm
City Institute is hosting a free virtual Black History Month tour called Redlining, Racism, and Segregation. The tour will discuss how systemic racism has been part of Detroit since its founding. Viewers will also learn about local organizations that are still fighting for racial justice.
Click here for more information.
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor District Library
Great Migration: Reflections of the Past in Anticipation of the Future
February 18 from 1pm-2:30pm – Westgate Branch
Participants will learn about the exodus of more than 6 million African Americans from the deep South to the North, Midwest, and West Coast between 1910-1970.
Culinary Historians | Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine
February 19 from 4pm-5:30pm on Zoom
Dr. Kelly Fanto Deetz’s talk focuses on enslaved cooks at Virginia plantations including Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and George Washington’s Mount Vernon. She restores these forgotten figures to their rightful place in American and Southern history. Dr. Deetz is Director of Education, Programming and Visitor Engagement at Stratford Hall Plantation in Virginia. She was a professional chef for several years, and is a contributor to The Routledge History of Food and Birth of a Nation: Nat Turner and the Making of a Movement. Her work has appeared in National Geographic History.
Click here for a full offering of the AADL’s Black History Month offerings. There are a number of on-demand resources, including the Living Oral History Project that contains interviews illustrating what local African Americans witnessed, experienced, and contributed to building the Washtenaw County/Ann Arbor community.
Ypsilanti District Library
Great Migration: Reflections of the Past in Anticipation of the Future
February 25 from 1pm-2:30pm – Michigan Branch
Participants will learn about the exodus of more than 6 million African Americans from the deep South to the North, Midwest, and West Coast between 1910-1970.
Film Discussion about Race and Racism
February 26 at 2pm – Whittaker Branch
Watch an interview with Dr. Carol Anderson, Professor of African American Studies at Emory University about her book The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America. After the viewing, La’Ron Williams, local storyteller and peace activist, will facilitate an open, honest discussion about race and racism.
There are also Black History Month book displays at several branches as well as a month-long Black History Month online trivia contest. Click here for more information.
Grand Rapids
Rosa Parks’ Birthday – Downtown Black History Walking Tour
February 4 from 2pm-3pm – Rosa Parks Circle
This tour examines the African American population from 1826 until present. The remarkable people, places, events, issues, legends and facts about being Black in Grand Rapids. Caroline Cook will guide you through a maze of touchstones Downtown that prompt an intriguing and important narrative. The walking tour meets at Rosa Parks Circle and is first come, first served.
Click here for more information.
Grand Rapids Public Library – Main Library
Black History 101 Exhibits with Dr. el-Hakim
February 2 from 1pm-7pm and February 3 from 10am-4pm
Experience the nation’s premiere Black History traveling exhibit, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum. Explore Dr. el-Hakin’s collection of over 7,000 original artifacts of Black memorabilia dating from the trans-Atlantic slave trade era to hip-hop culture. Among this unique collection are rare artifacts representing categories including (but not limited to) slavery, politics, Jim Crow, science, religion, education, music, sports, and civil rights.
Click here for more information.
Grand Rapids Public Library – Madison Square Branch
Black History Month story time
February 9 at 6:30pm
Visit the library for a series of story times during Black History Month. Story times will highlight Black stories and include songs, finger plays, and hands-on fun. Classes end with a special art activity and playtime.
Click here for more information.
More Resources for Events Near You
Please see the below links for a number of events throughout February that may not be listed above.
MLive: (Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Jackson, Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo County, Grand Rapids, Muskegon)
WoodTV: (West Michigan – Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Holland)
University of Michigan: Black History Month List and Schedule of Events