63rd Annual Michigan in Perspective Local History Conference VIRTUAL EVENT Friday-Saturday, March 19-20, 2021 Lead Sponsors J. Ferrantino Charitable Foundation For details and registration, visit hsmichigan.org or call (800) 692-1828 Sponsored by Lead Sponsor Lake Superior Sponsors J. Ferrantino Charitable Foundation Lake Huron Sponsors Lake Michigan Sponsors Lake Erie Sponsors Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Bonus Conference Material On-Demand Videos Before, During, and After the Conference! Hear authors Tours! talk about WORKSHOPS! their books! Even more history Learn more about the presentations! conference sponsors! 2021 Michigan History Day® Michigan History Day® (MHD) is a yearlong educational program that encourages students to explore local, state, national, and world history. After selecting historical topics that relate to the annual theme, students conduct research; analyze and interpret their findings; draw conclusions about their topics’ significance in history; and create final projects in one of five categories: paper, exhibit, documentary, website, or performance. Winners of the state-level MHD competition in the Junior and Senior categories move on to compete in National History Day. For the health and safety of judges and students, both the state and national contests will be virtual this year. Volunteer to Be a Judge at Michigan History Day Judges are needed for the 2021 Michigan History Day State Finals, which will be a virtual contest this year. A judge can be anyone who enjoys sharing his or her interest in history with a younger generation. Judging will occur from April 5 to April 13, and volunteers will need access to the Internet and a computer to judge. If you would like to volunteer as a judge, please register online at hsmichigan.org/mhd/judges or call (517) 324-1828. Sign up today! Friday March 19 Opening Keynote Capitals and Capitols: Michigan’s Odyssey From Detroit to Lansing Valerie R. Marvin, Michigan State Capitol Michigan’s current capitol, the third building to hold that distinction, opened in Lansing on January 1, 1879. The road to that day, however, was long and winding. When Michigan declared itself a state in 1835, Detroit served as the seat of state government. But the capital soon moved to Lansing Township—then home to only eight voters. Travel back in time with us to learn the stories behind Michigan’s capitals 9 to 10 a.m. 9 to (the cities) and capitols (the buildings). Sponsored by is pleased to sponsor the Historical Society of Michigan’s 62nd Annual Michigan in Perspective Local History Conference Friday March 19 Living With the Enemy: Exiled to Motown: World War ll POWs in Michigan Detroit’s Japanese Americans Gregory Sumner, University of Detroit Mercy Mika Kennedy, University of Michigan During WWII, Michigan hosted approximately After World War II’s Japanese-American incarceration, 6,000 German and Italian prisoners of war in camps Detroit served as one of the resettlement program’s throughout both peninsulas. The POWs cut pulpwood, major destinations. Come hear how those Japanese harvested and canned fruit, and filled other jobs. Americans were able to preserve their culture in various Escape attempts were rare, and many prisoners enjoyed forms throughout the area. This session will also cover their forced stay in America. Join us to explore this the history of Japanese Americans within the broader little-known chapter of Michigan history. industrial and racial history of Detroit. No News Today: Drawing Back the Curtain: The Detroit Newspaper Strike Black Theaters in Detroit Dan Golodner, Walter P. Reuther Library—Wayne Gary Anderson, Plowshares Theatre Company State University & Shawn Ellis, Teamsters Throughout the twentieth century and into the This presentation looks back on the Detroit newspaper 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. 10:15 to twenty-first, black theaters in Detroit have brought strike, in which six labor unions and 2,500 workers stories of the African-American experience to life. went on strike against The Detroit News and the Detroit Join us as we explore both the rich history and Free Press from 1995 to 1997. Today, the collections of present-day existence of those Detroit establishments, the Walter P. Reuther Library preserve the memory such as the Plowshares Theatre Company, Michigan’s of that important moment in labor history. only professional African-American theater company. Libraries We invite you to explore our collections. The Burton Historical Collection is pleased to support the Historical Society of Michigan and the 2021 Michigan in Perspective: Local History Conference. lib.msu.edu lib.msu.edu/branches/ua/ Friday March 19 Lunch Keynote The Heart of the Matter: A Conversation With Senator Carl Levin With Historical Society of Michigan Trustee Richard Wiener For nearly four decades, Carl Levin served as a U.S. senator, and upon his retirement in 2015, he became the longest-serving senator in Michigan’s history. Senator Levin witnessed wins, losses, and compromises for Michigan throughout his career, but he never stopped fighting for what he believed in. Join us as Senator Levin shares stories of his time in the Senate with Richard Wiener, who serves on HSM’s Board of Trustees. Do not miss this conversation between friends! 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. to Sponsored by Visit Safely! Our museums are open with enhanced safety measures to fight the spread of COVID-19. Featuring new exhibitions and virtual options Museum Tours / Group workshops / Virtual programs for students and adults Find details at detroithistorical.org Friday March 19 The Not So Open Road: Detroit’s Green Book From the Roots Up: Jamon Jordan, Association for the Study of Urban Farming in the Motor City African American Life and History Billy Wall-Winkel, Detroit Historical Society After being turned away from hotels, restaurants, Detroit. The name does not evoke images of and gas stations during a journey, African-American vegetables and flowers—but it should. Urban postman Victor Hugo Green, along with the help of farming dates back to the 1890s, when the city’s other mail carriers, created the “Green Book,” which then-mayor urged residents to plant on unoccupied listed U.S. businesses that welcomed African-American lots, and today, the practice continues to bring travelers. Come hear how Detroit’s Green Book opened people and garden-fresh food together. Tune in the road for African Americans in Michigan. to discover this fresh yet historic subject. We Can Do It! Shock Waves From Stonewall: The Rosies of Willow Run LGBT+ Liberation in Michigan 1 to 2 p.m. 1 to Alison Beatty, Yankee Air Museum Tim Retzloff, Michigan State University As men were called to military duty during In 1969, the Stonewall Uprising in New York City World War II, women began to populate defense catapulted the issues of gay rights to America’s plants across the United States. Join us at this center stage. In Michigan, the LGBT+ community session to receive a history of the Willow Run responded with its own movement, which led to B-24 Bomber Plant in Ypsilanti and the women, some significant milestones and change. Learn collectively known as “Rosie the Riveter,” more about the struggles of the gay community in who worked there. the 1970s and beyond. The Detroit River Runs Through It The Anishinaabe Women of Mackinac Dave Dempsey, For Love of Water & Eric Hemenway, Little Traverse Bay Bands John H. Hartig, University of Windsor of Odawa Indians Detroit was the epicenter of the Fur Trade Era, an The history of the Straits of Mackinac cannot be unparalleled leader of shipbuilding for 100 years, told without including the lives of the female the “Silicon Valley” of the industrial age, and the Anishinaabe leaders in the area. Join us to hear unquestioned leader of the Arsenal of Democracy. about those strong women, such as Agatha Biddle, Learn how the Detroit River has influenced and who helped preserve Native customs and traditions been influenced by the city’s industries and how it is during a period of cultural amalgamation in the changing for tomorrow. Great Lakes region. Notes in the Air: Jazz From Detroit Back on Track: Mark Stryker, Arts Journalist and Author The Michigan Central Station In the 1940s and 1950s, a thriving Black Rich Bardelli, Ford Motor Company community in Detroit supported a vibrant It is an iconic landmark and a vestige of a 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. 2:15 to nightlife and exceptional public school music former era. It has had its fair share of press— programs that transformed Detroit into a both good and bad. Explore the history, the jazz authority. This golden age nurtured many turmoil, the abandonment, and the recent legendary musicians. Discover more about the revitalization of a one-of-a-kind Detroit city’s pivotal role in shaping the course of structure—the Michigan Central Station— modern and contemporary jazz. in this breakout session. Friday March 19 Freedom and Resistance: Tuning In: Detroit TV Movie Hosts The Underground Railroad in SE Michigan Tim Kiska, University of Michigan—Dearborn & Ed Golick, detroitkidshow.com Rochelle E. Danquah, Michigan Freedom Trail Commission and Wayne State University Rita Bell. Sir Graves Ghastly. Bill Kennedy. The Ghoul. This presentation explores the antislavery, abolition, and Southeastern Michiganders were entertained by Underground Railroad movements in western Wayne and these and other TV movie hosts, who introduced Oakland Counties and how area residents contributed various films and flicks and amused viewers during to those efforts with their assistance. Come to this commercial breaks. Tune in to reminisce and learn session to learn about the freedom-seekers’ courage and more about the larger-than-life hosts who we determination as they traveled through Michigan.