In celebration of Black History Month, the Archives of Michigan would like to highlight certain collections for research. The Archives has a wonderful collection documenting the use of the Underground Railroad in the case of Thornton Blackburn.  Mr. Blackburn escaped Kentucky and came to Detroit in 1833. Pursued by the Kentucky authorities, Mr. Blackburn and his wife were arrested. A riot ensued in which the Blackburns' escaped to Windsor and later Toronto, Ontario.

Another interesting collection is the photographs of the African-American resort town of Idlewild, Michigan.  Idlewild served as a mecca for black entertainers and celebrities in the early twentieth century. The images of this collection are used in the book Black Eden by Dr. Benjamin Wilson which details the history of this remarkable community. We also encourage you to search our online catalog and circulars for similar collections and topics. Happy Black History Month!

SPECIAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT: The Archives of Michigan was proud to co-sponsor - with Schuler Books and Music - a special book signing and reading. On February 17, 2006, Dr. Anna-Lisa Cox signed copies of her book, A Stronger Kinship and read selected passages. Click Cox book signing for a photo and description of that event. A Stronger Kinship describes experiences in Covert, Michigan, an integrated town established around the time of the Civil War. Dr. Cox utilized Archives of Michigan holdings during the course of her research. Please click A Stronger Kinship for more information on the book. Click A Stronger Kinship Tour for other book tour events.

Click Archives of Michigan to visit the Archives of Michigan home page.

Click Image of the Month Archives for other archived image pages.

State Archives of Michigan
Michigan Library and Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo Street
Lansing, MI 48913
Phone: (517) 373-1408
E-mail: archives@michigan.gov

This page was the Archives of Michigan Image of the Month page for February, 2005. It was updated to again spotlight Black Month History in February, 2006.

Updated 05/18/2006

Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
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Send comments about this page to archives@michigan.gov.