Welcome to the Great Michigan Read, a free, statewide humanities initiative inviting Michiganians to read and participate in book discussions and events in their hometowns.
This year’s program features Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age by Detroit native Kevin Boyle.
We’ve officially run out of Arc of Justice books (again!). This means that those organizations that apply for book kits will be put on a wait list. We cannot guarantee when books will arrive. You may still apply for the kit, but with the understanding that you may not receive books given our supply. We will continue to keep you updated on our book supply. In the meantime, we are still sending teacher’s and reader’s guides, newspaper inserts, bookmarks and additional materials. The 2011-12 Great Michigan Read continues to be a success, and we’ve now reached 287 partners. Thank you to everyone for making this such a great year!
This past Saturday, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History held an extraordinary event surrounding the Arc of Justice. A dramatization of the Sweet Trials, poetry reading and panel discussion drew more than 300 to the museum. We have many wonderful programs still this winter surrounding the Great Michigan Read. Check out the Events Page to see a full list.
The museum will also host the Great Michigan Read traveling exhibit, We Don’t Want Them, in February.
Happy New Year everyone! The number of 2011-12 Great Michigan Read partners now tops 280 and registration is still open! Organizations can register online and receive free Arc of Justice materials such as bookmarks, reader’s guides and teacher’s guides. We have a small supply of books still available for those non-profits interested in applying for a book discussion kit. More books should be on their way, so any book kit applications approved will be put on a wait-list if books are not available at that time.
In exciting news, the National Endowment for the Humanities has commissioned an article on the Great Michigan Read for a future issue of Humanities magazine, the NEH bi-monthly print magazine. We’ll keep you posted of when the story will be published.
As of today, November 22, we’ve awarded more than 4,000 copies of Arc of Justice to program partners in all corners of the state. As of now, partners requesting free copies of the book will be placed on a waiting list. We anticipate a few more books will become available after loaned copies are returned to the Council, but we cannot make any guarantees. We still have other program materials available, though! Thank you for your support of the Great Michigan Read!
The Council is delighted to report that 267 organizations have joined the Great Michigan Read — and this doesn’t include the scores of retail partners ranging from all Meijer stores to Snowbound Books (Marquette). We’ve shipped more than 30,000 bookmarks, 17,000 reader’s guides, 1600 teacher’s guides, and a half-million newspaper program guides.
Based on popular demand, the Council ordered 2,000 additional Great Michigan Read editions of Arc of Justice. Last week, more than 1,500 of these were distributed statewide, without cost, to dozens of schools, libraries, and other organizations. Free copies still remain — nonprofits may submit a book discussion kit for consideration.
The Great Michigan Read author tour, featuring Arc of Justice author Kevin Boyle, was a tremendous success. From October 22 to 27, Boyle made ten appearances in six communities, covering more than 1000 miles on the tour. The tour reached more than 1300 individuals, including standing-room-only crowds in Marquette, Grand Rapids, and Lansing and a packed house at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Amazing appearances in Flint and Alpena rounded out the schedule, along with classroom and college visits. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this momentous program!
Due to popular demand, Author Kevin Boyle will make an additional Grand Rapids appearance at Davenport University’s Lettinga Campus on Tuesday, October 25, at 10:00 am in the Sneden Center’s Lettinga Auditorium. Davenport is engaging in a campus-wide program featuring Arc of Justice, and the author’s appearance will mark the kickoff of their program. The event is focused on Davenport students, staff, and faculty, but is free and open to the public. Faculty member Dr. Terri Tomaszek will moderate the author’s presentation.
Other student programs include an early morning visit to Eric Hammerstrom’s Marquette Senior High School classroom on October 24, a student program at Flint Public Library for local high school students on October 26 (contact Leslie Acevdeo, lacevedo@fpl.info, to register), and a classroom visit at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Detroit on October 27.
The Michigan Humanities Council is holding special, private receptions for the Great Michigan Read author tour. Register now for pre-event festivities in Grand Rapids (October 24), Lansing (October 25), and Detroit (October 27). Tickets are $35; attendees will be able to meet author Kevin Boyle and other Council supports, board members, and staff. Proceeds benefit the Michigan Humanities Council. Learn more at the official reception webpage. This is your chance to support the Michigan Humanities Council, which provides the Great Michigan Read and other programs free to all Michiganians.
Michigan Humanities Council, in conjunction with Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion, has selected nine host sites for the Great Michigan Read traveling exhibit: We Don’t Want Them.
We Don’t Want Them places the events documented in Arc of Justice in a broader context of policies and practices that limited where some could live, thus impacting their past and present quality of life. The exhibit acts as a powerful backdrop for local dialogue on issues of segregation, discrimination and tolerance.
A product of Michigan Roundtable, the original exhibit has toured metro Detroit before, but this version of We Don’t Want Them was created specifically for the Great Michigan Read through a $10,000 strategic grant from the Michigan Humanities Council. The exhibit will first visit Flint on October 4. From then, it will travel monthly across Michigan to the following sites until the exhibit’s scheduled end in June 2012:
October: Greater Flint Arts Council / Mass Transportation Authority (downtown transfer station)
November: Three Rivers Public Library
December: Davenport University (Grand Rapids)
January: Peter White Public Library (Marquette)
February: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (Detroit)
March: Interlochen Center for the Arts (3/1-3/10, Interlochen); Dennos Museum Center (3/11-3/18, Traverse City); Traverse Area District Library (3/19-3/29, Traverse City)
April: Castle Museum of Saginaw History / Saginaw News (Saginaw)
Great news! The Great Michigan Read has surpassed 200 partner organizations. We’re also delighted to report that, due to popular demand, we’ve purchased another 2000 copies of Arc of Justice to distribute to nonprofit partners (link to apply). Check out an updated map of program partners statewide.
Last but not least, our retail partners now number 127, including all Meijer stores statewide. All in all, with retail and organization partners, there are 334 Great Michigan Read partners.
Welcome to the Great Michigan Read, a free, statewide humanities initiative inviting Michiganians to read and participate in book discussions and events in their hometowns.
Michigan Humanities Council, in conjunction with Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion, has selected nine host sites for the Great Michigan Read traveling exhibit: We Don’t Want Them.
