Admission is free, and there will be a discussion afterwards about the impact of the 1967 events on the subsequent history of Detroit.

Spirit of Detroit, a new play by Mercilee M. Jenkins tells the story of two people, Anthony, a black man, and Lucy, a white woman, who return to Detroit after a long absence to find a very different city. They grew up on the east side in different worlds only three blocks from each other, together survived the events of July 1967–alternately described as a riot and a rebellion–and now meet again forty years later. As they revisit their past through Anthony’s paintings, they come to a new understanding of their relationship to each other and the future of the city. Two actors play all the characters in Spirit, demonstrating our connections to each other, even in our moments of deepest conflict. The Spirit of Detroit reminds us why we stayed, why we left, why we came back and why we’re here now–the opportunity to create a twenty-first century Detroit. The play, which has had staged readings at Matrix Theatre in Detroit, will be directed by Kate Mendeloff of the UM Residential College. It is a featured program University of Michigan’s LSA Winter 2013 Theme Semester Understanding Race. http://understandingraceproject.org/