1970s

Remembering the 1967 Detroit Riot, part 2: “Be calm and as quiet as possible”

by Brian Matzke July 12, 2017

“Be calm and as quiet as possible”: Rebellion on the television Grand River and Joy Susan Messer TV Land–Detroit Gordon Castelnero The Detroit Tigers Reader Tom Stanton, Editor Violence in the Model City Sidney Fine Susan Messer’s novel Grand River and Joy begins on Halloween 1966. Harry Levine arrives at his wholesale shoe warehouse in downtown Detroit to find an ethnic slur soaped on his window. Searching the basement for supplies to clean the window, he discovers a makeshift living room with a stash of marijuana and black power literature, left there by Alvin, the teenaged tenant who lives in the apartment […]

The Press in Art: Kerry James Marshall’s “SOB, SOB” in NYT Style Magazine

by Lauren Stachew November 4, 2016

The most recent issue of the New York Times Style Magazine received a lot of attention for featuring a series of striking black and white portraits taken by photographer Collier Schorr of First Lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by four thank-you notes written by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, activist Gloria Steinem, editor Jon Meacham, and actress Rashida Jones. However, at the Press, there was another reason entirely for us to be excited about this particular issue. A spotlight article on Chicago-based painter, Kerry James Marshall, famous for his large paintings depicting African American figures, life, and culture, featured several full-color images […]

June is African-American Music Appreciation Month: Celebrate with many titles from UM Press!

by Lauren Stachew June 7, 2016

This month is the 37th annual African-American Music Appreciation Month. Originally called ‘Black Music Month,’ Kenny Gamble, Ed Wright, and Dyana Williams developed the idea in 1979 to set aside a month dedicated to celebrating the significance of black music. The group successfully lobbied President Jimmy Carter to host a reception on June 7th, 1979 to formally recognize the month, and since then, African-American Music Appreciation Month has grown into a nationally celebrated and revered occasion, with events held annually across the country. The University of Michigan Press has many exciting titles that celebrate the rich and inspiring history of […]

Throwback Thursday: 102 Years of Michigan Trees

by Kasie Pleiness November 12, 2015

Michigan Trees: A Guide to the Trees of the Great Lakes Region is the must-have reference book for anyone who wants to learn about the trees of this unique North American region. The first edition of Michigan Trees was published in 1913 and preceded the University of Michigan Press by 17 years. After the Press was founded, a second edition was released under our imprint in 1931. New editions have been released every 20 or so years since then, appearing in 1954, 1972, 1981, and most recently, in 2004. While previous editions of the book had focused on identification, the […]

Guest Post: Working Behind the Desk at the Michigan Daily

by Sam Killian August 12, 2015

The following essay was written by Stephanie Steinberg, editor of In the Name of Editorial Freedom, a University of Michigan Press publication that will be released in September. Stephanie and other contributors to the book will be appearing at a number of promotional events in the coming months. A list of those events appears at the end of this post. If you’re a University of Michigan alum, you may have vivid memories of rallies in the Diag, concerts in Hill Auditorium or victories in the Big House. Odds are you sat in class debating the implications of Brown v. Board of Education or […]

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