Courtesy Dan Lijana
It’s the country’s highest honor for museums and libraries “that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.”
Over the past 24 years, the award has celebrated 182 institutions that are making a difference for individuals, families, and communities. Only two Michigan museums have received the honor before: Artrain USA (Ann Arbor, 2006) and the Henry Ford (Dearborn, 1998).
We were even surprised by the depth of the exhibit when it premiered last year, asking, “How do you take a tumultuous flashpoint in Detroit's history and present it for discussion when there are such widely different takes on it?”
The answer is, of course, very carefully. In fact, it took five years of working with community, internal staff, funders, corporate partners, and board members to create something that would resonate with as many people as possible – and avoid stepping on any of the topic's many land mines.
Upon news that the exhibit, to which he devotes years of effort, recieived the honor, director Marlowe Stoudamire said, "Receiving the National Medal validates our decision to embrace a difficult story in a bold, inclusive and forward facing way”
For more information, call the Detroit Historical Museum at 313-833-1805 or see detroithistorical.org.
Get our top picks for the best events in Detroit every Thursday morning. Sign up for our events newsletter.
