The Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections recently partnered with the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw to launch a photograph installation documenting moments in local African American history. This exhibit is part of the Black Voices in the Copper Country project, a research and outreach series developed by the Michigan Tech Archives. This project was designed to illuminate black social history in Michigan’s northwestern Upper Peninsula, especially Houghton and Keweenaw counties. The primary goal of this project will be to inform and engage the public about the existence of historic black residents in the Copper Country and to explore how themes of community, belonging and identity evolved and changed over time, from the late 1800s into the present day. These themes are being explored in both a historical context and a modern context, with sights set on exploring the region generally as well as on activities and student life at the Michigan Technological University campus.
A reception and presentation to discuss the exhibit, the project and the mission of the Michigan Tech Archives will take place at the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw, in downtown Houghton, on Tuesday, February 23 starting at 6:30 p.m. A short reception will be immediately followed by a presentation at 7:00 p.m. in the museum’s downstairs Community Room. Refreshments will be served.
The Black Voices exhibit is curated by Lindsay Hiltunen, Senior Archivist at the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections. This project is funded in part by the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information about the project or the Michigan Tech Archives, please contact Lindsay Hiltunen at (906) 487-2505 or by e-mailing copper@mtu.edu.
For more information about other programs and exhibits at the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw, please contact Elise Nelson at (906) 482-7140 or by e-mailing elisen@cityofhoughton.com
