A company known by generations for its baby food was slightly more than 20 years old when the fates of German World War II prisoners of war, the city of Fremont, Mich., and the Gerber Products Company intertwined. University of Detroit Mercy History Professor Gregory Sumner brought new life and …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine co-presented the webinar, “Teaching the Underground Railroad,” with Oakland University Development and Educational Studies Instructor Carol Bacak-Egbo, Sept. 23. This session was part of the virtual Michigan Underground Railroad Heritage Gathering.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine gave the talk, “A Slave Couple Crosses Lake Erie, 1820,” as part of a webinar Freedom Seekers Traveling the Great Lakes Region of the Underground Railroad, Sept. 17. The event was sponsored by the AKA Sorority of the Great Lakes Region, a leading African …
In honor of Constitution Day, the Black Abolitionist Archive, History Department, Political Science Department, Women’s and Gender Studies Program and McNichols Campus Library will sponsor a discussion about voting and elections on Thursday, Sept. 17 from 1-2 p.m. on Zoom. 2020 is an election year and marks the 150th anniversary …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine participated in a panel for the webinar, “The Fluid Frontier Revisited: The Underground Railroad in the Detroit River Borderland,” Sept. 1. This meeting was the first event in the month-long Michigan Underground Railroad Heritage Gathering.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine was interviewed on Travel Michigan about the upcoming Michigan Underground Railroad Heritage Gathering, airing on state radio stations, Aug. 29-30. The gathering is a ten-session virtual program that will air as a Zoom webinar throughout the month of September. Finkenbine chaired the Program Committee …
Daniel Doyle’s college career didn’t get off to a stellar start. He admits adapting to the college environment was difficult and he struggled with some of the required core classes during his first two years at University of Detroit Mercy. But Doyle stuck with it, working with the Student Success …
Professor of History Greg Sumner was quoted in the Detroit Free Press for his insights into a little known story of Michigan World War II history – the story of “America’s Siberia.” Read the full article online.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine was interviewed on the “Underground Railroad in Missouri” by the National Park Service’s Slave Stampedes Project, based at Dickinson College. Finkenbine is a member of the board of advisors for the project. Watch the video here:
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine presented at national webinar, informing and mobilizing efforts to designate September as International Underground Railroad Month. The event was co-sponsored by the National Park Service, the Maryland Office of Tourism and the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission. Finkenbine was also recently chosen to participate in …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine wrote the History News Network article, “It’s time for white parents to have the talk with their children,” June 14.
Professor of History Greg Sumner’s op-ed was recently published by the Detroit Free Press. The article speaks to the Italian campaign in World War II — a point in history often overlooked in history. Sumner points out how approximately 8,000 American soldiers lost their lives before Allied troops finally entered …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine was quoted in the Truthout op-ed, “Formerly Incarcerated People Should Be Compensated for Telling Their Stories,” May 17. The article compares ex-slaves who spoke for the antislavery movement with former prisoners who advocate for the prison-abolition movement.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine published an invited article, “Black Abolitionists and the Fifteenth Amendment,” on the National Park Service website. The article highlights the Black Abolitionist Archive at Detroit Mercy.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine published the article, “Teaching the Underground Railroad,” on michiganology.org, the digital arm of the Michigan History Center. Read the full article online.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine was interviewed on WDET about the Nancy and Sean Cotton Collection of American Art, 1850-1940 on exhibit at the Oakland University Art Gallery. Finkenbine also gave the talk, “What’s Missing from the Picture?” at the gallery, Feb. 20.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine published the op-ed, “The Erasure of Slavery at Sullivan’s Island,” Feb. 10. Finkenbine gave the talk, “The Underground Railroad: An Overview,” at Clinton-Macomb Public Library in Clinton Township, Feb. 13. On Feb. 14, Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed Finkenbine to another term on the Michigan …
Would you like to see India with your own eyes? In conjunction with a journey to Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta and Delhi, students can earn three credit hours in history with Associate Professor of History Diane Robinson-Dunn. Project dates for the trip are from May 22 to June 4, 2021. All …
Detroit Mercy celebrates Black History Month throughout February with a variety of events and engagements that are free and open to everyone. Monday, Feb. 3 “Race: The Power of an Illusion” — an open conversation on race in America McNichols Library, Bargman Room, Second Floor — 6:30-8:30 p.m. “Race: The …
Associate Professor of History Diane Robinson-Dunn’s article, “Penser les liens entre les orientalismes francais et britannique: L’etude de l’esclavage et de son abolition en afrique du nord et au moyen-orient,” have been published by L’esclavage Oriental et Africain au regard des littératures, des arts et de l’histoire (XVIII-XX siècles) edited …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine spoke to Microsoft health care executives about the work of the Equal Justice Initiative, and related local efforts aimed at racial reconciliation, Jan. 7.
Professor of History Greg Sumner had two books, “Detroit in World War II” and “Michigan POW Camps in World War II,” available in select Target Stores as part of a holiday promotion between Arcadia publishing and the big box retailer.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine’s op-ed, “Does Truth Matter Less Than in 1974?” was published by History News Network, Dec. 22.
Professor of History Greg Sumner will emcee The Macomb Symphony Orchestra’s concert, “Holiday Flicks,” on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts. Sumner will set the stage for the fourth consecutive year.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine led a workshop Underground Railroad for volunteers at the Michigan History Center in Lansing, Nov, 15. Finkenbine was also interviewed on Michigan Public Radio’s “Stateside,” as part of a program on “sanctuary churches” in the era of the Underground Railroad and today, Nov. 12. …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine was a keynote speaker at the 2nd annual Michigan Underground Railroad Heritage Gathering in Lansing, Oct. 26. Finkenbine spoke on “The Native American Underground Railroad in the Midwest” and led the workshops, “Teaching the Underground Railroad.”
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine presented the paper, “Intersecting Migrations: Freedom Seekers, Native Americans, and the Underground Railroad in Eastern Wisconsin,” at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in Charleston, S.C., Oct. 3.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine gave the talk, “The Underground Railroad: The View from Western Ohio,” to Emerson Employees Coming Together, a corporate group in Sidney, Ohio, Oct. 14. Finkenbine also gave the talk, “Rumley: An African American Pioneer Community in Frontier Shelby County,” part of the Shelby County …
Detroit Mercy’s Black Abolitionist Archive and McNichols Campus Library will sponsor a viewing and discussion of two recent short films that offer insights into the Underground Railroad. “Fighting for Freedom” by the National Park Service and “Railroad Ties” by Ancestry/Sundance TV will be presented on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at noon …
The stories of the women and men in Detroit who followed their calling and helped build what is now University of Detroit Mercy are being told in a far-reaching and important new online archive being announced this week by the Detroit Mercy Libraries and Instructional Design Studio. The Jesuit and …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine gave the talk, “Fugitive Slaves in Indian Country,” at Freedom Movement Pt. 2, a symposium on the Underground Railroad, at the Wayne County Community College District main campus, Sept. 21.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine’s article, “The Forgotten History of the Native Americans Who Helped the Underground Railroad,” was published online by Time, Sept. 19.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine was interviewed by Jennifer Epperson and quoted in The Outline article, “What reparations might look like,” Sept. 17.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine presented the case study, “Crossing Michigan, Crossing Boundaries: Lessons Learned from Odawa Oral Tradition,” at the National Park Service Network to Freedom Training in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Sept. 12. Finkenbine’s article, “Native Americans Who Assisted the Underground Railroad,” was published by the History News …
In honor of Constitution Day, the Black Abolitionist Archive and the McNichols Campus Library will sponsor a talk about the 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson. This event is on Tuesday, Sept. 17 during dead hour (12:45 to 1:45 p.m.) in the Student Union Presidents Dining Room. The famous …
For the month of September, Neighborhood HomeBase will act as a satellite location for the Detroit Design 139 exhibit. Detroit Design 139 proposes that through design, Detroiters can prioritize the importance of both processes and outcomes for all future projects throughout the city’s 139 square miles. Through exhibitions, events and …
For the third year in a row, a group of University of Detroit Mercy students studied the American civil rights movement and joined Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine on a week-long trip through Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. The journey was part of a “Topics in African American History” class …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine presented the paper, “Native Americans and the Underground Railroad: Evidence from the Midwest,” at the Midwestern History Conference in Grand Rapids, May 30.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine gave the talk, “Fugitive Slaves in Indian Country,” at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Saginaw Valley State University, May 9.
Professor of History Greg Sumner was recently interviewed on an episode of “The Mind’s Eye” podcast, exploring the life and novels of Kurt Vonnegut on the 50th anniversary of Slaughterhouse-Five. Listen to the podcast online.
Associate Professor of Architecture Gilbert Sunghera, S.J. discussed with 101.9 FM WDET host Stephen Henderson how we mourn sacred spaces and historic buildings after they have been damaged or destroyed. Listen to the full interview here.
Associate Professor of Architecture Gilbert Sunghera, S.J. discusses the meaning of #NotreDame in a recent SoundCloud podcast, produced in partnership with the Jesuits of Canada and the United States. Listen to the SoundCloud podcast here. John Staudenmaier, S.J., University of Detroit Mercy’s assistant to the president for Mission and Identity, …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine was part of a panel, “Working for Freedom: The Often-Ignored Labors of the Underground Railroad and New Directions for Understanding,” at the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians in Philadelphia, April 6.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine gave a talk on “The Underground Railroad in the Detroit River Borderland” at the Baldwin House Senior Living Community in Birmingham, March 28. He will deliver the same talk at the Bloomfield Township Senior Center on April 12. Finkenbine spoke to students at Anna (Ohio) Local …
Professor of History Greg Sumner was recently featured in the Detroit Free Press article, “Michigan history: State was home to 6,000 POWs during WWII,” March 3.
Professor of History Greg Sumner’s article, “The ‘Blissfield 16,’” will be featured in the March/April issue of Chronicle, published by the Historical Society of Michigan.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine published the op-ed, “What Popular Histories Often Get Wrong about the Underground Railroad,” in the History News Network, Feb. 3.
Associate Professor of History Diane Robinson-Dunn’s book and supplementary research materials, “Le harem, l’esclavage et la culture imperiale britannique : Les relations anglo-musulmanes a la fin du XIXe siècle,” have been translated and published by French academic press Les Presses Pluridisciplinaires de L’Université Grenoble Alpes.
The Black Abolitionist Archive invites the Detroit Mercy community to its upcoming “lunch and learn” presentations: On Friday, Nov. 30 at noon in the Presidents Dining Room, Professor of History Greg Sumner will talk about his new book, “Michigan POW Camps in World War II.” A book signing will follow …
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine published the op-ed, “The GOP needs to stop calling itself the party of Lincoln,” in the History News Network, Nov. 4. It was re-published by Portside.org on Nov. 6.
