The Exhibit’s Final Opening Reception @ AADL
Written by Meghana Tummala
The Family Foundations Exhibition had its final opening reception at Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) on June 9th! After the exhibition’s tour from the African American Cultural & Historical Museum to Washtenaw Community College, its final stop at AADL will last through July 28th, 2024.
The opening reception at AADL, had an amazing turnout of 40-50 people, with remarks from Michele Trigg (Jewett descendant), Rev. Terrence Vick (Kersey descendant), and Les Jackson (Asher Aray descendant). At the end of the descendant remarks, attendee George Shirley, the first African-American tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera, shared his comments with the group.
Jack Schmitt, the BWCC Exhibit Coordinator, who attended the reception, stated it was thrilling to see the book finally in everyone’s hands. In fact one of the attendees, John Hopewell, shared with the team that he was one of the many babies delivered by Dr. Bass.
It has truly been amazing to have the incredible journey of this exhibition throughout Washtenaw County and we’re grateful to those who took the time to attend the events and the locations to learn about the community’s history! We’d also like to thank the Descendant Families for helping share their stories! And lastly a big thank you to the BWCC Exhibition Team, Joyce Hunter, Jack Schmitt, Claire Zimmerman, Brian Williams, Mostafa Salama, Meghana Tummala, Mia Glionna, Soyoon Ryu, and Bailey Sullivan.