Resources to learn more about the histories and legacies of
Jones School & black Ann arbor
Included below are some of many resources to help you learn more about local Black history. If you have additional stories, photographs, or other resources you want to share with us or suggest we add to this page, please reach out.
You can email [email protected] or call or text our lead for historical research,
Cindy Haidu-Banks at 504.460.5749.
You can email [email protected] or call or text our lead for historical research,
Cindy Haidu-Banks at 504.460.5749.
African American Cultural & Historical Museum Resources
With exhibits to showcase and celebrate African American art and history, the local African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County has a number of excellent resources available to the public. Find out what is currently on display at the museum at https://www.aachm.org/.
The Museum also helps to host a popular and wonderful bus tour of local sites connected to the Underground Railroad in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Offered from late spring through fall each year, you can find out more about this tour at https://www.aachm.org/programs-tours.
The Museum also helps to host a popular and wonderful bus tour of local sites connected to the Underground Railroad in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Offered from late spring through fall each year, you can find out more about this tour at https://www.aachm.org/programs-tours.
ann arbor district library resources
The African American Cultural and Historical Museum collaborates regularly with the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) to cultivate several oral histories focused on the history of Black Ann Arbor. You can find these histories at https://aadl.org/aachmvideos.
This collaboration has also created a self-guided walking tour of what is now known as the Kerrytown neighborhood in Ann Arbor. You can view that guide here: https://aadl.org/AACHMwalkingtour. They have also curated a lot of lovely photographs and other historical records about this area and the vibrant history of the neighborhood: https://aadl.org/aachm_loh_digitalcollection. This includes some specific details about Jones School, which can be seen here: https://aadl.org/jonesschool.
The AADL also has a number of other resources connected to local Black history that may be of interest, including a way to search the archives of old newspapers (https://aadl.org/research/browse/newspapers). Of particular interest is the information the AADL has about the abolitionist paper published in Ann Arbor, The Signal of Liberty (https://aadl.org/signalofliberty and https://aadl.org/paperinkandpi).
This collaboration has also created a self-guided walking tour of what is now known as the Kerrytown neighborhood in Ann Arbor. You can view that guide here: https://aadl.org/AACHMwalkingtour. They have also curated a lot of lovely photographs and other historical records about this area and the vibrant history of the neighborhood: https://aadl.org/aachm_loh_digitalcollection. This includes some specific details about Jones School, which can be seen here: https://aadl.org/jonesschool.
The AADL also has a number of other resources connected to local Black history that may be of interest, including a way to search the archives of old newspapers (https://aadl.org/research/browse/newspapers). Of particular interest is the information the AADL has about the abolitionist paper published in Ann Arbor, The Signal of Liberty (https://aadl.org/signalofliberty and https://aadl.org/paperinkandpi).
resources created by Community High Students & Teachers
Included below are some slides that were created by Community High School teacher, Joslyn Hunscher-Young, and the students in her African-American Studies course in the winter/spring of 2022. Students created these based on some of the information from the Ann Arbor District Library's resources and the walking tour they created with the African American Cultural and Historical Museum. These slides were shared with all students and families as well.
More resources created by students and staff members at CHS will be added as they become available.
additional resources
Listed below are a number of other resources that provide useful insights as we work to understand the complicated history of Black life in Ann Arbor.
- Another Ann Arbor is both a book and an organization coordinated in part by Carol Gibson, which helps to provide a look at the lives of African Americans and communities of color in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and beyond.
- This is a publicly available report from 1976 written about the desegregation of Ann Arbor Public Schools.
- The University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library has a wide range of physical resources that document different parts of local, Black history. Arrangements can be made to view their resources in person. They also have a number of resources about the Black experience at the University of Michigan, like this African American Student Project.
- Another resource called "Hold Me Up" was curated by an undergraduate class at the University of Michigan and highlights stories of Black community building in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti from the 1920s-1970s.
- Justice InDeed is an organization researching, identifying, and working to repeal racially restrictive covenants that, although not currently enforceable, limited the sales of homes by race.
- The Library of Michigan also has a number of different databases about local and familial histories that can be accessed if you hold one of their library cards. Anyone who is a resident of Michigan can apply for a card.
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