May 8, 2023
Beyond These Hallowed Halls
After graduating from theUniversity of Michigan Law School, Oscar W. Baker Sr. would make remarkable contributions and achievements working for racial and social justice.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
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May 8, 2023
African American Scholarships During the Great Depression
During the 1930s and beyond, scholarships gave African American graduate students from southern states the opportunity to come north to study.
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April 17, 2023
A Lifelong Educator
Sophia Holley Ellis fought conventions and dedicated her life to creating opportunities for future generations. Story from the spring 2023 issue of the Michigan Alum.
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Eddie Tolan, center, on the stand at the 1932 Olympics.
November 29, 2022
Detroiter and Olympian Eddie Tolan
Eddie Tolan was a celebrated U-M athlete and Olympic medal winner dubbed “the world’s fastest human.” His many successes were the result of a lifetime of perseverance and determination.
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July 12, 2022
Strong as Steel
In 1911, Cornelius L. Henderson became the second African American to earn an engineering degree from U-M. He helped construct two of the major Great Lakes crossings between the United States and Canada.
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June 22, 2022
African American Student Housing in Ann Arbor
The histories of homes connected to the University of Michigan’s African American community.
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April 7, 2022
The Dignity of Man
Paul Cornely, the first African American man to receive a Ph.D. in public health, was a fierce champion of equal health care for all, leading to the desegregation of America’s hospitals.
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March 9, 2022
Col[ore]d Men Are Not Admitted Here
The University of Michigan’s first medical students rose to achievement in spite of prejudice and obstacles.
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February 22, 2022
First in Class
In 1948, Orval Johnson ran against the most popular and decorated football player for class president. On paper, he didn’t stand a chance. But things weren’t that black and white.
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October 28, 2021
Renaissance Man
George Jewett was the first African American football player at U-M. He was also accomplished off the field, studying medicine and opening a business in Ann Arbor.
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October 28, 2021
An Integrated Life
Lyman T. Johnson was the grandson of four former slaves. He integrated the University of Kentucky in 1949—five years before Brown v. Board of Education.
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June 28, 2021
Working His Way Through
“Working my way through the University of Michigan, one of the great institutions of higher learning in the world, really did prove to be a challenge and blessing of my entire life.” – Clarence Norris
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Autobiographies and Biographies
Several African American alumni have published books about their personal stories, both at U-M and beyond.
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Palestine Books, 2020 Lula Mae BloctonAfrican American Experience Through Color and Pattern
Artist Lula Mae Blocton has campaigned for civil rights and explored the intersectional identities of the LGBTQIA+ and Black communities in her vividly colored paintings.
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Rivertowns BooksEducator and Activist: My Life and Times in the Quest for Environmental Justice
Hailing from Flint, Bunyan Bryant Jr. earned his graduate degrees from U-M before becoming the first Black faculty member in the School for Environment and Sustainability and a pioneer in the field of environmental justice.
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Wayne State University Press, 2022 Edward Littlejohn and Peter J. HammerNo Equal Justice: The Legacy of Civil Rights Icon George W. Crockett Jr.
George W. Crockett Jr. was a distinguished attorney, accomplished jurist, and Congressman who dedicated his life to the struggle for civil rights for African Americans and for all those unjustly targeted by the law.
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University of Nebraska Press, 1995 David W. ZangFleet Walker’s Divided Heart: The Life of Baseball’s First Black Major Leaguer
Long before Jackie Robinson, Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first African American to play professional baseball in the major leagues, playing for the Toledo Blue Stockings in the 1880s.
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Wayne State University Press for the Detroit Historical Society, 1973 L.L. HanawaltHenry Fitzbutler: Detroit’s First Black Medical Student
William Henry Fitzbutler was Michigan’s first Black medical graduate and had a long and distinguished career as a physician and educator in Kentucky.
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JAMBE Group, 2013 Betty Brown Chappell:Open Secrets: A Poor Person’s Life in Higher Education
Betty Brown Chappel challenged and overcame the “open secrets” of discrimination to carve a place as a social worker and educator at Eastern Michigan University.
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Author House, 2010 Carole Simpson:News Lady
Carole Simpson is a familiar face to millions of Americans. A career reporter, she was the “news lady” who anchored ABC’s weekend news for more than 15 years.
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Revell Co., 1967 Cazzie Russell:Me, Cazzie Russell
Cazzie Lee Russell was an incredible basketball talent who led Michigan to three Big Ten titles and whose exploits gave Crisler Arena the nickname “the house Cazzie built.”
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San Antonio, Texas: 1987 Clarence Windzell Norris, Sr.:Up From Poverty
Clarence Norris was a proud University of Michigan alumnus who dedicated his life to teaching and to administering historically Black community colleges in Texas.
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Xlibris Corp., 2008 David L. Stratmon, Sr.:From a Small Town to the World: My Story
David L. Stratmon dedicated his life to America’s foreign service, serving as a diplomat and cultural affairs officer throughout Africa and the Middle East.
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University of Michigan Press, 2014 Gwendolyn Calvert Baker:Hot Fudge Sundae in a White Paper Cup: A Spirited Black Woman in a White World
Born in de facto segregated Ann Arbor, Gwendolyn Calvert Baker rose from elementary school teacher to head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
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Bonaparte Press, 1984 Hubert Eaton:Every Man Should Try
Hubert A. Eaton was an extremely skilled tennis player, but more than that he was an accomplished physician and leader in the struggle for civil rights in North Carolina.