ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan will sponsor a semester-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision, beginning in January with a campus appearance by the Brown sisters and featuring noted speakers. In addition, faculty members are offering a wide array of courses that will examine aspects of relevant issues in a theme semester.

Linda Brown Thompson (left) and Cheryl Brown Henderson

(To save the large image, right-click on it)Linda Brown was a Topeka, Kansas girl forced to walk seven blocks and then ride a bus five miles to school each day because she was barred from attending an all-white public school four blocks from her home. Her father was the first named plaintiff on the famous case undertaken by the NAACP. On
Linda Brown Thompson and her sister, Cheryl Brown Henderson, will present their historic stories first-hand.

Other related events for a semester-long commemoration, titled “Fulfilling the Promise,” will include appearances by Lani Guinier, the first tenured black female law professor at Harvard; Ernest Green, one of the Little Rock Nine who, with others of their generation, helped integrate Southern schools in the 1950s; and Beverly Tatum, a U-M graduate who is president of Spelman College.

A theme semester, coordinated by the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, will offer more than 30 undergraduate courses specially designed to promote deeper learning about the topic. The instructors include former U-M President James Duderstadt. A new digital archive of related teaching materials has been created by the University Library and placed online at:http://www.lib.umich.edu/exhibits/brownarchive/main.html

The attention to Brown v. Board in the larger community will include Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Reads which will promote reading and discussion of Tatum’s book “Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race,” and the first annual Ann Arbor Book Festival, featuring authors of related books and a benefit dinner with the writers. Tatum earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from U-M.

Among the campus events:

Jan. 12. Linda Brown Thompson and Cheryl Brown Henderson will present first-person accounts of their role in Brown v. Board of Education. U-M undergraduate student leaders will join them onstage for “A Conversation with the Brown Sisters.” Rackham Auditorium, 6 p.m.

Jan. 19. Lani Guinier, Professor of Law at Harvard University, will serve as the keynote speaker for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Symposium. Guinier gained national fame in 1993 when former President Clinton withdrew her nomination to head the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division after some of her views sparked outcry from opponents. Hill Auditorium, 10 a.m.

Feb. 12. A public presentation on the legacy of the Little Rock, Ark. desegregation efforts of the late 1950s will feature Ernest Green, the oldest of the Little Rock Nine. Green had to be escorted by federal troops to enter a previously all-white high school and later became the first member of the group to graduate from Central High School. A managing director at Lehman Brothers in Washington, D.C., he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University. Rackham Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

May 17. The 50th anniversary of the ruling, the annual Provost’s Seminar will focus on multi-cultural teaching. Time and place to be announced later.

http://www.lib.umich.edu/exhibits/brownarchive/main.htmlhttp://www.umich.edu/brown50“Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Reads,” from the Ann Arbor District LibraryLani GuinierLinda Brown ThompsonErnest GreenJudge Damon Keith