Join the Library of Michigan as they discuss the Michigan Manual of Freedmen's Progress, a compilation of information about the achievements of African American Michiganders.

In preparation for an exhibit at the Illinois (National) Half-Century Anniversary of Negro Freedom and Lincoln Jubilee in Chicago in 1915, the State of Michigan and a panel of Michigan African Americans meticulously compiled information on the achievements of African American Michiganders following the passage of the 13th Amendment. That research would result in the “Michigan Manual of Freedmen's Progress” following the exhibition. Examine the process of developing the Manual and its impact on chronicling the history and culture of the African American community in Michigan from Reconstruction to the years of the Progressive Era. This event will be held on Zoom and registrants will receive the event link one day before the program.

This program is held in conjunction with Lift Every Voice: Why African American Poetry Matters, a national public humanities initiative of Library of America presented in partnership with The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture with generous support from The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Emerson Collective.