About the Project

A local African American family moves into an area trailer during World War Two. Courtesy YHS.

A local African American family moves into an area trailer during World War Two. Courtesy YHS.

Thanks to a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, the Ypsilanti District Library has partnered with the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County to archive and record stories from Ypsilanti’s rich history as an African American city, and to educate the public about that heritage.

Between August 2016 and June 2017, we will:

  • Digitize approximately 50 oral history interviews that were recorded by historian and EMU professor A.P. Marshall in the 1980s, and are currently held on cassette tapes
  • Record an additional 5-10 interviews with current older residents of Ypsilanti’s African American community
  • Make interviews available online with complete transcripts and detailed annotation about related events
  • Host educational programs to raise awareness about the archive and about Ypsilanti’s African American history

Sponsors

This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.