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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 8, 2004
Contact: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer
(517) 372-7770 -- shirko [at] michiganhumanities.org

$73,000 AWARDED TO FOUR HISTORY PROJECTS

ACCESS, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Flint Cultural Center Corporation each receive We the People grants from NEH Chairman Bruce Cole

(DEARBORN)-----National Endowment for the Humanities Chiarman Dr. Bruce Cole awarded four We the People grants totaling $73,000 from the Michigan Humanities Council as part of the Council’s 30th Anniversary Celebration on September 30,2004, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. We the People is a wide-ranging initiative funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history, and to share these lessons with all Americans. The Michigan Humanities Council’s We the People program funds projects that explore the places, people, stories, documents, and objects that embody the ongoing struggle to bind our valuable differences into something larger.

Dr. Bruce Cole, in his March 13 testimony before Congress on We the People, stated: “The Endowment's We the People initiative is designed to broaden and deepen Americans' understanding of their nation's history and culture. At this critical time, it is urgent that Americans understand the principles, events, and ideas that have defined our past and shape our future. Democracy, unlike other forms of government, is not self-perpetuating. Its principles and practices must be cultivated in order to be transmitted and sustained. Indeed, we cannot defend what we do not understand.”

Michigan Humanities Council Executive Director Jan Fedewa stated: “These four projects are excellent examples of the We the People program – all will benefit communities’ understanding of how their heritage helped shape American life.”

The Public Museum of Grand Rapids has been awarded a $20,000 We the People grant for “Development of Educational Outreach and Teacher Training Material for Exhibition at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids.” This project will support the development of educational outreach and teacher in-service materials to accompany a 4,250 square foot permanent ethnic history exhibition entitled, “Newcomers: The Peopling of This Place,” slated to open in January 2006.

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in Dearborn has been awarded a $20,000 We the People grant for “Women and Their Communities: An Oral History Project in the Arab American Community.” This is an oral history project that reflects the lives and accomplishments of local Arab American women. The collection of oral history recordings and related artifacts will be conducted by Arab American young women and supervised by humanities scholars in the fields of history, museum studies, and women’s studies. “Women and Their Communities” will culminate in a temporary exhibition to open at ACCESS’ Arab American National Museum on October 1, 2005.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) has been awarded a $20,000 We the People grant for “Dear Mrs. Parks.” The project consists of the commission of an oratorio entitled “Dear Mrs. Parks” by famed composer Hannibal Lokumbe; two performances of this oratorio by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with an inter-community chorus and soloists on February 19-20, 2005 at DSO’s Max M. Fisher Music Center; and, residency and outreach activities by Mr. Lokumbe and the DSO.

The Flint Cultural Center Corporation has been awarded a $13,000 We the People grant for “A View from the Front Porch.” As a major part of the 2005 City of Flint Sesquicentennial Celebration, “A View from the Front Porch” will actively engage community members in documenting, sharing, interpreting and exploring the history of Flint neighborhoods from 1855-2005 through storytelling, historical research, artifacts, photography and the performing arts.
The Michigan Humanities Council celebrated its 30th Anniversary at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn with a presentation by Dr. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an address from Governor Jennifer Granholm, music from award-winning Detroit jazz musician Marcus Belgrave, an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions to the humanities, and a limited edition commemorative publication highlighting 30 outstanding projects funded by the Council since 1974.
Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is the state's private, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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