1. Art and Diseño

February 2015
Wayne County Community College District
Division of Student Services
Presents
CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
Gateway to Freedom
Statue
Tower of Freedom
Statue
International Underground Railroad Memorial, Detroit, MI & Windsor, Canada
Commissioned by Detroit 300, Inc., an international consortium, of the U.S. & Canada,
these two sculpture memorials honor Detroit and the State of Michigan’s Underground
Railroad System, with a network of operatives, safe houses and a point of debarkation
to Windsor, Canada. It also honors the City of Windsor and the State of Ontario as a
point of willing embarkation for safe refuge for thousands of enslaved Africans.
The Detroit sculpture component features two gateway pillars that bracket a ten foot
by twelve foot sculpture with nine slaves and a railroad 'Conductor' looking and
pointing toward Canada in anticipation to board the boat across the Detroit River
to safety. This assemblage is installed in Hart Plaza on the bank of the Detroit River,
on the existing river front promenade.
Several routes of the Underground Railroad went through Michigan. This statue commemorates the route through Detroit. Another favorite crossing point was south of
Detroit near where Amherstburg, Ontario is located. This is, perhaps, the narrowest
Point in the Detroit River. And by the mid-1830s, there was a modest population of
former slaves living there who aided others to escape to freedom.
Location Hart Plaza, Detroit, MI
The sculpture in the United States, Gateway to Freedom, shows six fugitive slaves
ready to board a boat to cross to Canada. The gentleman pointing from Detroit to
Windsor is George DeBaptist, a Detroit resident who helped slaves to get across the
river to freedom.
Location: 200 Pitt Street East, Windsor
About the Artist
Edward Dwight, a native of Kansas City, joined the Air Force in the early 1950s and
became a test pilot. In 1961, President Kennedy appointed him to the training program for astronauts. He was the first African-America to qualify as an astronaut. I
believe that he completed his military service in the early 1970s and devoted himself
to sculpture. One of his early major pieces portrayed the first black man to serve as
lieutenant governor of Colorado, George Brown. The statue of Hank Aaron at the
Atlanta Braves baseball stadium was sculpted by Ed Dwight. A statue of Dr. Martin
Luther King that he designed is in Denver's City Park. At the headquarters of the
Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, you will find another sculpture by Ed Dwight—
a memorial to the slaves who won their freedom by traveling the Underground Railroad. He won a competition to design the International Memorial to the Underground
Railroad with the impressive statues on both sides of the Detroit River.
Celebrate and Honor
African American Heritage During
Black History Month
To register for the programs listed in this brochure,
please call 313-496-2600 or visit our website at www.wcccd.edu
All events are open to the public and at no cost.
WAYNE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
SEVEN LOCATION - ONE COLLEGE DISTRICT
Black History Month 2015
13th Annual Passport to Africa Program
Saturday, February 21, 2015
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Downtown Campus
1001 West Fort Street, Detroit, MI 48226
Wayne County Community College District’s
“13th Annual Passport to Africa” will be held
at the Downtown Campus. The drumbeat
welcomes everyone from east to west and from
north to south – Africans, African Americans,
and all who are eager to learn about the
contributions of the African continent.
The day-long community-based educational
program is jointly supported by Detroit Public
Schools, United African Community
Organizations of Michigan (UACO), and the
Alkebu-Lan Village, an African centered
organization that embraces the rich, cultural
and traditional values of Africa. Passport to
Africa affords participants the
chance to explore the wonders of
Africa and its people without
leaving Detroit.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Thursday, February 26, 2015
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Downtown Campus
1001 W. Fort Street
Detroit, MI 48226
Lacks was a wife, mother of five, native of rural southern Virginia,
resident of Turner Station in Dundalk, Maryland—Henrietta went to
Johns Hopkins complaining of vaginal spotting. She was diagnosed with
cervical cancer which quickly consumed her body despite of radiation
treatment. Henrietta’s life was cut short on October 4, 1951. Not all of
Henrietta Lacks died that day. She unknowingly left behind a piece of
her that still lives today—it’s called the HeLa cell. Her cells were taken
and used for medical research without her consent. And for more than
20 years after her death Henrietta’s family would learn how science
retrieved her cells and of her enormous contribution to medicine and to
human life.
The birth of the HeLa cells were making its mark worldwide. After all
the “HeLa” cells continue to multiply daily as no other cell outside the
human body, a breakthrough in cell research. With that being said the
world will never be the same due to the “HeLa” phenomena which began
in 1951. Since then there has been a mass production of the cells which
have traveled around the globe, even into space! Even though Henrietta’s
cells launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological
materials, the family never saw any of the profits or that Henrietta
received the recognition she deserves. The “HeLa” cells are continually
used for research; in the early 50’s the cells were used to help develop a
polio vaccine and now today, the cells are used for cancer and aids
research and theories about the cause and treatment of diseases.
Henrietta, unknowingly, changed the medical & science world forever!
She has been called many things: Immortal, Heroine of Modern Medicine,
Medical Miracle, and Wonder Woman.
To her family she was and is: daughter, wife, mother, and
grandmother. Henrietta was a phenomenal woman during her life time,
in Henrietta’s passing her medical contributions exhibits what a
phenomenal woman she really was. She continues to enhance many lives
who are unaware of her past existence. After all, she has a rich and
important history and a great legacy that she left for her family to carry.
The New York Times best seller, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
by Rebecca Skloot takes readers on a fantastic journey into the world of
Henrietta and science.
Black History Month 2015
The rhythmically constructed, non-traditional tapestries of
artist Carole Harris have been exhibited nationally in museums
and galleries and are composed of hundreds of richly colored
fabrics which are cut, overlaid, appliquéd, pieced and quilted.
A professional interior designer and fiber artist, she creates
one-of-a-kind, improvisational works that provide warmth and
texture to enhance any environment.
BROWN AND JUANITA C. FORD ART GALLERY
DOWNTOWN CAMPUS • LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER
1001 Fort Street, Detroit, MI 48226
OPENING RECEPTION
February 17, 2015
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday • 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
50th Anniversary of
Malcolm X, Exhibit of
Lost Writings/
Unpublished Poetry
Historic Museum Stops
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Downriver Campus
21000 Northline Road
Taylor, MI 48180
ATTORNEY
GREGORY REED
Black History Month 2015
Thursday
February 5, 2015
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Eastern Campus
5901 Conner
Detroit, MI 48213
The Keeper of the Word
Foundation (KWF) Expedition presents the Discovery of
the Malcolm X Lost Chapters. Malcolm X’s unrevealed
words, views and thoughts are now being disclosed 46
years after his death. The presentation is given by
multi-award winning author Gregory J. Reed, founder
of The Keeper of theWord Foundation, who rescued
The Lost Chapters. Reed is one of the United States
Major Cultural Preservationists.
Soul/Funk
Musician
AMP FIDLER
Tuesday
February 3, 2015
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Northwest Campus
8200 West Outer Drive
Detroit, MI 48219
After learning piano as a child, Fidler studied music at
Oakland and Wayne State Universities, and with the
jazz great Harold McKinney. His expansive mellifluous
music takes stylistic cues from all these encounters,
but emerges as earthy, supremely relaxed, and rooted
in the funk and soul that Amp feels most connected to.
And, as he suggests, it is music for the head as much as
food for the heart and soul.
Wednesday
February 25, 2015
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Northwest Campus
8200 West Outer Drive
Detroit, MI 48219
Get on the bus as we visit three historic museums.
First stop will be Detroit’s own Motowm Museum; next
walk the streets of Old Detroit at the Detroit Historic
Museum. The final destination will be the Charles H.
Wright Museum of African American History. For bus
reservations, Downriver Campus please call Gail Arnold
at 734-946-3500. Northwest Campus please call Nahla
Baaqi, 313-943-4000. Seats are limited.
Black Storytellers
GENEVIEVE AND JOHNNY BELLAMY
Monday, February 9, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Northwest Campus
8200 West Outer Drive
Detroit, MI 48219
Black History Month 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
10:00 a.m. –
12:00 p.m.
Eastern Campus
5901 Conner
Detroit, MI 48213
Step back in time with Genevieve and John Bellamy as
Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. The Bellamy’s
will share stories of slavery, being on the plantation and
the daring escape to freedom.
National Speaker
EDWARD FOXWORTH, III
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Western Campus
9555 Haggerty Road
Belleville, Michigan 48111
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Northwest Campus
8200 West Outer Drive
Detroit, MI 48219
Edward Foxworth, III is a Entrepreneur,
Author and Speaker who is highly sought after to
present before Corporations, Colleges & Universities,
Nonprofit Organizations and Conferences throughout
the U.S. Mr. Foxworth was raised in New York City,
where he quickly grew up with four brothers and sisters
in the house and battling the low-income lifestyle
that invited opportunities to make poor choices. He
integrates his childhood experiences and life lessons
into messages of passion, faith and perseverance.
Life and Travels of
Merze Tate
SONYA BERNARD-HOLLINS
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Downtown Campus
Juanita Ford Art Gallery
1001 W. Fort Street
Detroit, MI 48226
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame inductee, Merze Tate
(1905-1996), Merze Tate, PhD, First African American
graduate of Western Michigan University, 1927 and the
first African American to graduate from Oxford
University, a 1950s Fullbright Scholar to India, an
author, a professor, a U.S. State Deparment
representative, and much more. She traveled around
the world and took pictures of her adventures. Merze
Tate descended from pioneer farm families who
migrated to Michigan during the Homestead Act. She
sought a life not restricted by color. She reserved a
seat on Pan American Air’s first flight to outer space.
Tate lived a life without limits.
Black History 101
Mobile Museum
KHALID el-HAKIM
Thursday, February 12, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Eastern Campus
5901 Conner
Detroit, MI 48213
The Mobile Museum is an innovative traveling
table top exhibit depicting Black memorabilia spanning
slavery to Hip Hop. The mobile museum is a cost
effective approach to present historical artifacts to
school systems, communities, colleges and universities
throughout the nation. The
museum has over 5,000
rare treasures among its
collection including original
documents from historic
Black figures whose
contributions helped shape
the United States.
Freedom Trails
DR. KAROLYN SMARDZ FROST
Monday, February 16, 2015
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Western Campus
9555 Haggerty Road
Belleville, MI 48111
Black History Month 2015
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Downtown Campus
1001 W. Fort Street
Detroit, MI 48226
Is an archaeologist and historian based in Toronto.
Her thirty-year career in multicultural programme
development and antiracist education has included the
establishment of the Archaeological Resource Centre,
Toronto's innovative learning facility. Karolyn is a
part-time professor at York University and a Fellow of
the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the
Global Migration of African Peoples. Ms. Frost authored I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land – which won the
Governor General Award for non-fiction — that
recounts the extraordinary lives of Thornton and
Lucie Blackburn. More than twenty years of historical
detective work into this fugitive slave couple’s
dramatic escape to Detroit then Canada via the
Underground Railroad.
Multifaceted Artist
MIKE ELLISON
Tuesday,
February 24, 2015
11:00a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Eastern Campus
5901 Conner
Detroit, MI 48213
Mike utilizes artistry and outreach as a vehicle to
address myriad social, educational and charitable
initiatives throughout the United States. His
production, “BROKEN MIRRORS: Bullies &
Bystanders”, incorporates live music, interpretive
dance, and multi media elements to address bullying
and explore this social plague's greater historical
relationship to broad-based intolerance.
Journey to
Midnight
UNDERGROUND RAIL
BUS TOUR
Wednesday,
February 18, 2015
Northwest Campus
10:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
8200 West Outer Drive
Detroit, MI 48219
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Downtown Campus
10:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
1001 W. Fort St.
Detroit, MI 48226
The Civil Rights Movement, a non-violent action for
freedom of African Americans, was not a new idea. For
over a 150 years men and women African American,
Europeans, American Indian and Mexicans had already
begun a movement to free approximately 600,000
Africans who were enslaved in the newly formed
country known today as the United States of America.
Starting with individual and unorganized incidences
of assisting freedom seekers to escape from slavery in
the early 1800’s, the concept grew into a well-organized sophisticated system which eventually became
known as the “Underground Railroad.
By 1820 Detroit, a booming river town in Michigan
was known as “Slave Haven or Midnight.” The tour
will include historic stops as Finney Barn, the home
of William Lambert and George DeBaptiste, and the
home of William Webb. Your conductor will be
Kimberly Simmons, Detroit River Project and a 5th
generation Underground Railroad Descendant. For
bus reservations please call (313) 496-2633. Seats are
limited.
Genealogy
TONY BURROUGHS
Thursday, February 19, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Western Campus
9555 Haggerty Road
Belleville, MI 48111
Black History Month 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Eastern Campus
5901 Conner, Detroit, MI 48213
Tony Burroughs is founder and CEO of the Center
for Black Genealogy. He is an internationally
known genealogist who taught genealogy at
Chicago State University for fifteen years.
Burroughs researched Olympic Gold Medal sprint
champion Michael Johnson’s family history and
consulted on the Reverend Al Sharpton-Strom
Thurmond genealogy; the Oprah Winfrey
genealogy; African American Lives 2; The Real
Family of Jesus and consulted with Chicago Public
Schools, New York Public Schools, Chicago City
Colleges and Ancestry.com.
Entrepreneur
of the Year
JEROME LOVE
Wednesday,
February 25, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Downriver Campus
21000 Northline Road
Taylor, MI 48180
Jerome Love, voted Entrepreneur of the Year
(National Black MBA Association, Houston
Chapter), Pinnacle Award Finalist (Houston
Citizens Chamber of Commerce), and Multi-Million
Dollar Top Producer (Prudential Texas Realty), is a
favorite keynote speaker amongst both corporate
and collegiate audiences.
He’s effective, he’s engaging and he’s funny! His
energetic style and vivid stories keep audiences
on the edge of their seats as he candidly shares
practical steps on how anyone can achieve the
prosperity and lifestyle they desire.
Downriver
Campus
21000 Northline
Taylor, MI 48180
734-946-3500
Voice/TDD
734-374-3206
Downtown
Campus
1001 W. Fort
Detroit, MI 48226
313-496-2758
Voice/TDD
313-496-2708
Eastern
Campus
5901 Conner
Detroit, MI 48213
313-922-3311
Voice/TDD
313-579-6923
Northwest
Campus
8200 W. Outer Drive
Detroit, MI 48219
313-943-4000
Voice/TDD
313-943-4073
Western
Campus
9555 Haggerty
Belleville, MI 48111
734-699-7008
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Mary Ellen Stempfle, Chairperson, District 1
Vernon C. Allen, Jr., Vice-Chairperson, District 3
Denise Wellons-Glover, Secretary, District 5
Alan Anderson, Treasurer, District 7
David A. Roehrig, Member, District 2
Myron Wahls, Member, District 4
Larry K. Lewis, Member, District 6
Charles Paddock, Member, District 8
Sharon P. Scott, Member, District 9
Dr. Curtis L. Ivery, Chancellor
Mary Ellen
Stempfle
University
Center
19305 Vernier Road
Harper Woods, MI
48225
313-962-7150
Mary Ellen
Stempfle
University Center
Center for
Distance
Education
19191 Vernier Road
Harper Woods, MI
48225
313-499-1680