University of Detroit Mercy is commemorating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrating Black History Month with a series of programs on the McNichols, Riverfront and Corktown Campuses in January and February.
Below are the event details. Stay up to date with this and other programming by visiting Detroit Mercy Live.
All event dates and times are subject to change.
Thursday, Feb. 1-Thursday, Feb. 29
Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood Exhibit
St. Ignatius Chapel, Commerce & Finance Building
University Ministry will have an exhibit in St. Ignatius Chapel highlighting six Black Catholics on the road to sainthood. Their stories share the influence and impact they had on the Catholic community and their deep sense of faith and spirituality.
Tuesday, Feb. 20
AI and Race
12:45-2 p.m.
Bargman Room, McNichols Campus Library, second floor
This event will explore artificial intelligence and several questions, including how AI implements individual and social identities, how and when it becomes racialized, how race and AI create and recreate each other and possible social consequences of a racially marked AI-driven future.
This event is sponsored by the McNichols Campus Library, the Black Abolitionist Archive, African American Studies and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Tuesday, Feb. 20
Black History Month Poetry Slam
6-8 p.m.
Student Union Ballroom
Join the Campus Activity Board for a poetry slam to honor Black History Month. This is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats may vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation.
Wednesday, Feb. 21
Self-care Workshop
6:30 p.m.
Special Functions Room, School of Dentistry
Explore self-love and self-compassion in order to increase awareness around our own personal tools of self-care. We hear words like self-care and self-compassion all the time, but what do they really mean? It can be easy to focus your energy on taking care of the needs of others, all the while forgetting about your own needs.
Thursday, Feb. 29
Cardio Fitness Class
6:30-7:30 p.m.
School of Dentistry Gym
This energetic class challenges you with a variety of low-impact aerobics, step, kickboxing, strength training and sculpting. Core conditioning and stretching conclude this class.
Past events
Ecojustice Immersion Day
Students joined University Ministry and the Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) for an immersion day that included service and reflection as they toured tour Detroit’s 48217 ZIP Code, which has the worst air quality in Michigan, and met with leaders of organizations to learn about environmental justice and the intersectionality with racial justice.
National Day of Racial Healing Snack and Chat
The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion hosted a discussion on race and racism in our world.
Black History Trivia
Titans tested their knowledge on African American firsts, famous African American trailblazers, Black athletes and entrepreneurs.
Titans basketball Black History Games
The men’s and women’s basketball teams battled Robert Morris in their Black History Month Games, which featured Titan Trivia highlighting Black History and the Civil Rights Movement, music by Black and Detroit artists and pre-game performances of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Virtual book talk: By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners
Margaret Burnham, founding director of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University, discussed her recent book, By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners. The book explores a series of legal cases involving African Americans from 1920 to 1960 and shows the connections between the laws of slavery and the legal system under Jim Crow in the late 19th and 20th Century South. Many of the cases involved rendition, the legal process by which Southern states sought to return accused African Americans to Southern “justice.” This prompted battles over questions of jurisdiction, many right here in Detroit.
Interfaith Dinner
The Interfaith Dinner brought our community come together to celebrate our diversity of cultural and religious traditions over a meal.
Painting Night
Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion hosted Paint, Vibe and Celebrate as part of its celebration of Black History Month.
Motown Museum Tour
Titans took private tour of Detroit’s Motown Museum with UDM’s Student Life Office.
Love Stories from the Underground Railroad
Ilyon Woo discussed her recent book, Master, Slave, Husband, Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom, which recounts the story of William and Ellen Craft, the most famous couple to flee enslavement in the south.
They did so by “hiding in plain sight;” Ellen, who was light skinned, posed as a slave owner traveling northward with her personal servant, William. They made it to freedom by boat and railroad car. The couple wanted to legalize their marriage – which was denied to them in slavery – and raise a family in freedom.
This was the 11th consecutive year for Love Stories from the Underground Railroad, which celebrates Black History Month and Valentine’s Day
Black History Month Jeopardy
Students at Detroit Mercy Dental tested their knowledge and learned about African American people, events and terms.
Past, Present and Future panel discussion and mixer
Alumni, students and young attorneys shared and led conversations about the legal field during Past, Present and Future, a panel discussion hosted by Detroit Mercy School of Law’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and the Association of Black Law Alumni (ABLA).
Participants discussed a number of topics, including surviving in the legal world, the dismantlement of affirmative action and how community engagement can be strengthened.