Dive into the life of writer Betty Smith, who spent years in Ann Arbor with her first husband. During her time in Ann Arbor, she audited playwriting classes and learned from Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.
women at Michigan
In 1961, the Kennedy Ad-ministration sent the U-M Symphony Band to the Soviet Union in hopes of thawing relations between the two countries through the common language of music. Could young musicians succeed as diplomats?
Music
A student’s senior film project revisited the long-buried history of McCarthyism at U-M. More than 70 years later, the brave fight for academic freedom lives on through the legacy of Mathematics Professor Chandler Davis.
red scare
In 1945, Sarah Elizabeth Ray was denied passage on a ferry on the Detroit River because of racist policies. She fought the injustice, and her case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. For decades, Sarah’s trailblazing civil rights role was nearly forgotten, as was her work later in life as a community activist. But thanks to the work of historians, researchers, archivists, and members of her family, her legacy is being preserved—including through a new collection coming to the Bentley Historical Library.
civil rights
She was hailed as a World War II hero, but the primary sources surrounding Elsie MacGill reveal that her life and legacy were more complex and nuanced than the media would acknowledge.
World War II