Production has begun for the pilot episode of the new television series Family Pictures: USA! We continue to highlight the histories of everyday Detroiters throughout the summer. The story below has been shared by Dr. Akosua Barthwell Evans about the many accomplishments of her family members despite the racial adversity they faced. “My family has always been a very important part […]
As we prepare for our pilot episode for the Family Pictures: USA television series, we’ll be highlighting the untold stories of everyday Detroiters. Detroit native and artist, Michelle May shares her family story below about growing up in the historic neighborhood of Boston-Edison. “Historic Boston-Edison is a 36-block neighborhood area of Detroit containing approximately 900 houses. The District is bordered by Boston […]
We are pleased to be working on our Detroit Digital Diaspora in partnership with Detroit Historical Museum as part of it’s D67 commemoration project and working with Detroit Public TV and our community partners: Detroit Historical Society, the Horace L. Sheffield, Jr. Center – Detroit Association of Black Organizations, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Arab American National […]
Check out our schedule and be ready to share your stories and family photographs! The Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow will be in Detroit this summer to film the pilot for Family Pictures USA, our new television series! In partnership with the Detroit 67 Project conducted by the Detroit Historical Society, host Thomas Allen Harris will be […]
My father, the late Joe Von Battle, was an important mid-century recorder and producer of blues and gospel music in Detroit, from 1945 until 1967. He has been called the “Chess of Detroit”, referring to the iconic Chicago Record company, and is regarded by many as a cornerstone in the building of the “Detroit Sound.” Joe […]
Chantel Henry (Ginew Kwe or “Golden Eagle Woman”) became aware of her and her family’s deep connection to the city of Detroit about four years ago. We are so honored that she decided to share with us the story of how her grandparents, Arnold and Freda Henry, came to Detroit and her family’s rich history […]
Last March, I had the pleasure to join my brother, artist Lyle Ashton Harris at the the 2017 Whitney Biennial opening reception to celebrate his exhibition Once (Now) Again. Lyle Ashton Harris’s Once (Now) Again, a site-specific multimedia installation, features a three-channel video work comprised of projected images taken from Harris’s Ektachrome Archive (photographed 1986–2000) as well as three new […]
There are so many reasons to save and share your home movies. They are a record of our unique and common histories captured in motion. They can also be used creatively. I have used them as a source of inspiration for my artistic work for almost 25 years. Now, there is a unique opportunity to […]
The Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR) Roadshow comes to the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum on January 22th at 3:30pm with co-host and co-producer Reverend Malika Lee Whitney. Participants are invited to share family photographs and the stories that accompany them. This roadshow is for kids to adults and price is $7 for adult and free […]
“I met writer Doug Cooper Spencer via Facebook and asked him to consider writing a piece. A few days later he sent me his essay, ‘The Language of Light’, a meditation on the power of photo literacy and stories buried behind the images. Below Doug shares some of his photos from his hometown Lincoln Heights, […]