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UMich African American Student Project launches Black student database through 1970 Academic achievement, extracurricular involvement and housing information now available for all Black students enrolled at the University through 1970 SAMANTHA RICH Summer News Editor

The University of Michigan recently announced the launch of a new public database of Black students who attended the University from 1853 through 1970. The database, searchable by factors like enrollment years, hometown, college or graduate school and extracurricular activity involvement, is the first centralized compilation of its kind at the University. Angela Dillard, History Department Chair and a member of the Bentley Historical Library executive committee, said the concept of a centralized database in part grew out of the Being Black at the University of Michigan movement (#BBUM) beginning in the fall of 2013. “There was a list of demands on the University that student activists put forward and one of them was more help in understanding the archival records associated with African American students, in particular, at the University,” Dillard said. “All of this stuff has always been over at the Bentley Historical Library … But I think what student activists wanted was help making sense of it.” This helped spark the creation of the African American Student Project, which is working to uncover the histories of Black students at the University. From the first Black student enrolled in

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the University in 1853, to those that enrolled through the year 1970, the Bentley Historical Library collected records of various aspects of student life like academic achievement, extracurricular involvement and housing. Terrence McDonald, Bentley Historical Library director and history professor, said they began by looking at U-M and U-M-affiliated records, such as enrollment information and student directories published by The Michigan Daily. They then expanded into census records, genealogy software and other methods to help confirm a person’s identity with at least two sources. Brian Williams, assistant director of the Bentley Historical Library and archivist for University history, said this database provides a new, innovative way to understand the Black experience of U-M history. “The key thing is that it’s a database that can be queried and data could be shown in different ways, visualized (in) different ways,” Williams said. “We’ve put this together and encouraged people to use it (in) all

kinds of different ways to find different stories … It’s something we couldn’t do before.” The project also emphasizes the history of housing segregation in Ann Arbor and at the University. In a data visualization on their website, the project team created a map of the city of Ann Arbor, including the U-M dorms, using the housing records of African American students. The map allowed them to understand patterns of segregation at the time and after the desegregation of Ann Arbor and the University — trends that continue to impact Washtenaw County today. McDonald said creating an allencompassing database can redirect attention from the “pioneers” of history, such as the first African American student to attend the University, to broader institutional patterns. “The issue at the core of the project is this: how can you shift the focus of historical knowledge from the so-called ‘pioneers’ to the next 100, the next 1,000, the next 2,000?” McDonald said. “The patterns of people when there’s a large number tell you something about the institution, whereas the focus on pioneers tells you something about individuals. And most organizations in American society should (focus more) on the larger numbers and less on the pioneers in many ways.”

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Michigan ballot initiative for abortion access gathers nearly 800,000 signatures

Ballot initiative to amend the Michigan Constitution to protect abortion rights only needs signatures to be verified to be included on November ballot RILEY HODDER

Summer Managing News Editor

At a city council meeting Tuesday, Councilmember Linh Song, D-Ward 2, co-chair of the Reproductive Freedom for All ballot initiative, claimed that the initiative had reached almost 800,000 signatures — nearly double the required number to be put onto the ballot in November. Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) were overruled by the Supreme Court in June, ending federal protection of abortion rights and returning the decision on whether or not to continue supporting access to abortions to the states. In Michigan, a preliminary injunction against a 1931 abortion ban currently protects abortion access throughout the state, but conservative activists sought to have the injunction overturned in May, and two prosecutors in Michigan have stated that they will enforce the ban regardless of the injunction.

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The Reproductive Freedom for All ballot initiative seeks to have the Michigan Constitution amended to protect healthcare providers and the right to multiple forms of reproductive healthcare, including abortion. The initiative needed just over 425,000 signatures to earn itself a spot on the ballot this November. Song stated that nearly 800,000 signatures have been collected for the ballot initiative, and thanked those who worked to gather those signatures. “Many thanks to community members who went to great lengths to collect signatures at every public event, on their own block, having these discussions with neighbors and understanding that this is truly an issue about the health and safety of women,” Song said. The ballot initiative needs to have its signatures verified by the Bureau of Elections and the Board of State Canvassers before it will officially be included on the ballot.