Did you know that after the Civil War Ypsilanti had one of the largest African American populations in Michigan? Members of this well-organized community lived through the Jim Crow era, fought racism during World War II, and led the local Civil Rights movement. You can explore their stories through the A.P. Marshall African American Oral History Archive.
A.P. Marshall was a local historian who sought to preserve the stories of Ypsilanti’s African American community and did so by recording numerous oral history interviews in the 1980s. The interviews are now available online, with each one featuring a biography of the interviewee and an annotated transcript. The annotations include segment synopses, keywords and subjects, and links to related pictures and articles, all helping to enrich the experience of reading and listening to the oral histories.
Visit the Archive at: http://history.ypsilibrary.org