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Category Archives: Uncategorized

  • 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.

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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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  • Mackinac Bridge construction, circa 1954.

    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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  • Paul Cornely black and white portrait

    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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  • Medical college register from 1863 with hand-written names

    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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  • Orval Johnson wearing a track uniform in the team photo

    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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  • George Jewett holding football circa 1890

    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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  • Lyman T. Johnson portrait

    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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  • Clarence Norris undated portrait

    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

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Autobiographies and Biographies

Several African American alumni have published books about their personal stories, both at U-M and beyond.

  • Colorful patterns with the author's name, Lula Mae Blocton, in white text.
    Colorful patterns with the author's name, Lula Mae Blocton, in white text.
    Palestine Books, 2020 Lula Mae Blocton

    African 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.

  • book cover for Educator and Activist featuring face of author Bunyan Bryant looking at the reader
    book cover for Educator and Activist featuring face of author Bunyan Bryant looking at the reader
    Rivertowns Books

    Educator 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.

  • cover of No Equal Justice book
    cover of No Equal Justice book
    Wayne State University Press, 2022 Edward Littlejohn and Peter J. Hammer

    No 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.

  • Cover for Fleet Walker's Divided Heart
    Cover for Fleet Walker's Divided Heart
    University of Nebraska Press, 1995 David W. Zang

    Fleet 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.

  • Line drawing portrait of William Henry Fitzbutler
    Line drawing portrait of William Henry Fitzbutler
    Wayne State University Press for the Detroit Historical Society, 1973 L.L. Hanawalt

    Henry 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.

  • Cover for Open Secrets by Betty Brown Chappell
    Cover for Open Secrets by Betty Brown Chappell
    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.

  • Cover of News Lady by Carole Simpson
    Cover of News Lady by Carole Simpson
    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.

  • Cazzie Russell dunking a basketball in 1964
    Cazzie Russell dunking a basketball in 1964
    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.”

  • Portrait of Clarence W. Norris
    Portrait of Clarence W. Norris
    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.

  • Cover for From a Small Town to the World by David L. Stratmon, Sr.
    Cover for From a Small Town to the World by David L. Stratmon, Sr.
    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.

  • Cover for Hot Fudge Sundae in a White Paper Cup by Gwendolyn Baker
    Cover for Hot Fudge Sundae in a White Paper Cup by Gwendolyn Baker
    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).

  • Cover for Every Man Should Try by Hubert Eaton
    Cover for Every Man Should Try by Hubert Eaton
    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.