Traveling Great Michigan Read Exhibit Moves to U.P.
 We Don’t Want Them, a traveling exhibit showcasing the history of housing segregation in Detroit, will be on display Jan. 6-25 at Peter White Public Library in Marquette.
This exhibit is part of the Michigan Humanities Council’s Great Michigan Read program, and is a collaborative effort between the Council and Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion. Peter White Public Library is also a Great Michigan Read partner, and was a participating site for the 2011 Author’s Tour.
“Peter White Public Library is proud to host the traveling exhibit We Don’t Want Them, which continues the library’s programming around the current Great Michigan Read book selection, ‘Arc of Justice,’” said Cathy Sullivan Seblonka, youth services librarian for Peter White. “The exhibit encourages Marquette to look at its housing history and explore local housing issues.”
Prominently displayed in the exhibit is Dr. Ossian Sweet, the subject of this year’s Great Michigan Read, “Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age.” This book tells the story of Dr. Sweet and the chain of events that occurred after he purchased a home for his family in an all-white Detroit neighborhood in 1925.
The exhibit, which will be housed in the Huron Mountain Club Gallery on the main floor, uses historic photographs and documents on freestanding displays to tell stories like the 1967 Uprising and Sojourner Truth Housing Complex.
To compliment the exhibit, the library will be hosting community panel discussions. On Jan. 16 and 24, the public is invited to participate in a lively discussion on “Are you my Neighbor.” On Jan. 26, Bill Jersey’s film “A Time for Burning” will be shown. All events will begin at 7 p.m. in the Community Room.
Marquette is the fourth stop of the exhibit’s tour, which began in October. Each of the nine sites have the exhibit for one month. The remainder of the schedule is as follows:
February: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (Detroit)
March: Interlochen Center for the Arts / Dennos Museum Center / Traverse Area District Library
April: Castles Museum of Saginaw History / Saginaw News
May: Old Mill Museum (Dundee)
June: Artworks (Big Rapids)
The exhibit at Peter White will be open according to library hours. Please call the library directly for viewing information, at (906) 226-4323. For questions on the Great Michigan Read and how you can be involved, contact the Council at (517) 372-7770 or kkolenda@mihumanities.org.
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