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DTSTAMP:20260812T142950
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260911T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260911T200000
SUMMARY:Film Screening:9/11: Reclaiming Ground Zero
DESCRIPTION:Join us at the State Theatre for a viewing and discussion of the documentary Reclaiming Ground Zero\, which follows New Yorkers in the aftermath of 9/11 as they struggled to decide what to do with the site of the attacks.\n\nTickets are free but limited\, so please complete the registration to secure a seat.  \n\nAfter the 9/11 attacks\, once the smoke cleared and the rubble was removed\, New Yorkers had a city to rebuild. There was one fundamental question: no one could agree on the future of Ground Zero. Some wanted the towers back\, while others believed the site should remain a memorial. \n\nThen the city decided to do one of the bravest—or stupidest—things in the history of city planning. They gathered 5\,000 representative New Yorkers into the largest town hall in American history to vote on the city’s six proposals. People expected chaos and yelling. But instead\, the representatives rejected all the proposals and this top-down approach and successfully charted a new path forward. It was this meeting that determined what is at Ground Zero today.\n\nRegister: https://forms.gle/yw2mkN3JVA2FxY827
UID:150076-21907986@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150076
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:american history,Ann Arbor,Community Engagement,Democracy,Democracy And Civic Engagement,Democracy Week,Democratic Engagement,Film,Media,Politics,Public Policy,Social Impact
LOCATION:Off Campus Location - State Theatre
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260812T110856
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260914T170000
SUMMARY:Performance:How to Disagree Better: A Forum with Governors Spencer Cox and Governor Lujan Grisham
DESCRIPTION:Disagree Better\, in partnership with the University of Michigan\, will bring together Governors from across the political spectrum for a panel discussion on reviving America’s democracy through healthy conflict and constructive dialogue. \n\nKicking off the University of Michigan’s Democracy Week as the keynote event\, and in the lead-up to the November 2026 elections\, the conversation will highlight our shared civic values and spotlight leaders modeling disagreement as a civic skill. At a time when higher education is often the epicenter of polarization\, this partnership offers a tangible way to model constructive conflict resolution and champion civic engagement in our Leaders. \n\nThe event offers students and members of the University community an opportunity to engage directly with elected leaders who are disagreeing better and charting a new path for democracy\, one characterized by passion\, determination\, dignity\, and respect.\n\nEvent is free to the public\, but advance registration (open 8/13/26) is required by using the Related Link on this page.
UID:150014-21907812@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150014
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Free,Mutotix
LOCATION:GA - Rackham
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260818T103931
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260914T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260914T223000
SUMMARY:Film Screening:Democracy on the Diag Film Series: National Treasure
DESCRIPTION:Join us on the Diag for democracy centered film features this week!\n\nNational Treasure (2004) follows historian and cryptologist Benjamin Franklin Gates as he races to find a legendary Templar treasure\, steals the Declaration of Independence\, and evades a rival team of mercenaries\n\nBring a blanket or a lawn chair. Popcorn and refreshments provided.
UID:150400-21909169@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150400
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:american history,Ann Arbor,Civic Engagement,Community Engagement,Democracy,Democracy And Civic Engagement,Democracy Week,Democratic Engagement,Film,Free,gerald r. ford school of public policy
LOCATION:Diag - Central Campus
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260818T104421
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260915T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260915T223000
SUMMARY:Film Screening:Democracy on the Diag Film Series: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
DESCRIPTION:Join us on the Diag for democracy centered film features this week!\n\nDiscover the true power of the dark side in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Years after the onset of the Clone Wars\, the noble Jedi Order leads a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide war against the Separatists. When the sinister Sith unveils a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy\, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes arises the evil Galactic Empire. Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become the Emperor’s new apprentice.\n\nPopcorn and refreshments provided! Bring a blanket or lawn chair!
UID:150401-21909170@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150401
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Community Engagement,Democracy,Democracy And Civic Engagement,Democracy Week,Democratic Engagement,Film,Food,Free
LOCATION:Diag - Central Campus
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260818T104851
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260916T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260916T223000
SUMMARY:Film Screening:Democracy on the Diag Film Series: Selma
DESCRIPTION:Join us on the Diag for democracy centered film features this week!\n\nSelma is a 2014 historical drama directed by Ava DuVernay that chronicles Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dangerous 1965 campaign for equal voting rights\, culminating in the historic marches from Selma to Montgomery and the signing of the Voting Rights Act.\n\nBring a blanket or a lawn chair. Popcorn and refreshments provided.
UID:150402-21909171@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150402
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Activism,African American,American Culture,american history,Ann Arbor,Civic Engagement,Civic Learning,Community Engagement,Democracy,Democracy And Civic Engagement,Democracy Week,Democratic Engagement,Food,Free,Politics,Public Policy,Social Impact,Social Justice
LOCATION:Diag - Central Campus
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260727T154304
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T190000
SUMMARY:Fair / Festival:Party for Democracy
DESCRIPTION:Join a wide variety of campus and community partners for a resource and engagement fair to help college students\, as well as faculty\, staff\, high school students\, and community members\, to reflect on our role in building local democracy\, to learn about local voting and civic engagement resources\, and to participate in a variety of activities designed to strengthen their civic muscles and create community.\n\nFood! Swag! Joy!
UID:148592-21904491@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/148592
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Democracy And Civic Engagement,Voting
LOCATION:Regents Plaza
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260821T125831
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T180000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Digging Deeper Lecture | They Wanted Cicero\, They Got Gladiators: Bare-Knuckle Boxers and the Fight for Citizen Identity
DESCRIPTION:This is a story about a lesser-known aspect of our Roman inheritance. The founders looked to the Romans as an ideal for their own republican aspirations: institutions that tempered the excesses of the *populus*\; statesmen like Cicero who projected an unflinching defense of the Republic\; and stories that described their own experiment of strangers fleeing from their homes to carve out a new community from the wilderness. But the United States also inherited another aspect of Rome that grew out of these rugged\, founding stories. It was not the enlightened\, republican body but the gladiatorial body that emerged as a rival conception of what an American looks like. The gladiatorial body\, which received prominence in outlawed\, bare-knuckle boxing\, as well as the theater\, was physically imposing\, violent\, anti-intellectual\, and brash. This talk takes us inside the worlds of the gladiator and bare-knuckle boxer to understand their allure as images of the citizen body.\n\nJoin us in Room 125 of the Kelsey Museum’s Newberry Hall to hear from Dr. Dean Hammer\, the John W. Wetzel Professor of Classics and Professor of Government at Franklin and Marshall College. Light refreshments will be available.\n\nThis lecture is being presented in connection with the Kelsey Museum’s temporary exhibition\, “‘There Are in America\, No Kings\, Princes\, or Nobles’: Caesar\, Cato\, and Washington\,” and the University of Michigan’s Democracy Week—a campus-wide initiative designed to highlight the importance of democratic principles\, participation\, and civic empowerment. Funding for this event was provided by the U-M Initiative for Democracy & Civic Empowerment. \n\n“They Wanted Cicero\, They Got Gladiators” is free and open to all visitors. If you have any questions or concerns regarding accessing this event\, please visit our accessibility page at https://myumi.ch/zwPkd or contact the education office by calling (734) 647-4167. We ask for advance notice as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
UID:150459-21909476@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150459
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Ancient Rome,Classical Studies,Culture,Democracy And Civic Engagement,Democracy Week,Discussion,Education,Food,Free,History,Lecture,Politics,Research,roman empire,Talk
LOCATION:Kelsey Museum of Archaeology - Newberry Hall, Room 125
CONTACT:
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DTSTAMP:20260821T152828
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T190000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Penny Stamps Speaker Series - Holly Bass
DESCRIPTION:\n\nSince 1776\, Americans have used major anniversaries of the nation’s founding to celebrate\, debate\, revise\, and perform the story of the United States. For We Hold These Truths\, her new exhibition opening at UMMA in October 2026\, artist Holly Bass looks to three of those anniversary years—1876\, 1976\, and 2026 to explore how national ideals are staged in public\, preserved in private\, and passed down through generations. \n\nIn this talk\, Bass will discuss the ideas behind We Hold These Truths\, her process of transforming UMMA’s iconic Apse into an environment\, and the role art plays in helping communities consider these varied histories. Drawing from her practice across performance\, visual art\, theater\, writing\, and engagement\, Bass will offer a preview of the exhibition and explain how historic home museums inspired this new body of work.\n\nBass is the 2026 Roman J. Witt Artist In Residence and an award-winning artist and cultural worker based in Washington\, DC. Her work—held in the collections of the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery—frequently engages communities through workshops\, devised theater\, and participatory installations and explores themes of American history\, generational labor\, and liberation. \n\nBass has been recognized with awards for multiple art forms. She received a 2024 Washington Award for art and social justice. She is a 2022 MAP Fund recipient for theater\, a 2020 Live Feed Resident Artist at New York Live Arts for choreography and dance and a 2021–22 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. She performed at the 2022 Venice Biennale as part of Loophole of Retreat\, Simone Leigh’s special project for the U.S. Pavilion. She regularly contributes book reviews to the New York Times and was the first journalist to put the term “hip hop theater” into print in a 1999 article for American Theatre magazine. Bass directed an arts program for adjudicated teens in DC’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services from 2014 to 2019. From 2019 to 2025\, she served as national director of Turnaround Arts at the Kennedy Center\, a program that increases access to the arts in under-resourced elementary and middle schools. She studied modern dance under Viola Farber and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College before earning her Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. In fall 2026\, Bass will also be a Towsley Policymaker in Residence at the U-M Ford School of Public Policy.\n\nWe Hold These Truths opens at UMMA on October 3\, 2026. The exhibition and Bass’ Penny Stamps Speaker Series program are presented in partnership with the Roman J. Witt Residency Program and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.\n\nAbout the University of Michigan Roman J. Witt Residency\n\nThe Roman J. Witt Residency Program\, developed with the support of University of Michigan alumna Penny W. Stamps and named in honor of her father\, is an annual international competition that awards one residency per academic year to a visiting artist/designer who proposes to develop a new work in collaboration with University of Michigan students and faculty.\n\nLead support for the exhibition is provided by the Benedek Endowment Fund for the Humanities\, the Richard and Rosann Noel Endowment\, the Greg Hodes and Heidi Hertel Hodes Partners in the Arts Endowment Fund\, the Herbert W. and Susan L. Johe Endowment Fund\, and Stamps School of Art & Design.\n\nPresented in partnership with the U-M Museum of Art\, with support from U.S. at 250\, U-M Ford School of Public Policy\, and the U-M Initiative for Democracy & Civic Empowerment. \n\nSeries presenting partners: Detroit PBS\, ALL ARTS\, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.\n
UID:150475-21909498@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150475
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Art
LOCATION:Off Campus Location
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260820T155055
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260917T230000
SUMMARY:Film Screening:Democracy on the Diag Film Series: The Words that Built America
DESCRIPTION:Join us on the Diag for democracy centered film features this week!\n\nThe Words That Built America is a 2017 HBO Documentary Films special directed by Alexandra Pelosi and narrated by historian David McCullough. It features diverse Americans—including U.S. presidents\, politicians\, journalists\, and school children—reading the text of three foundational U.S. documents.\n\nBring a blanket or a lawn chair. Popcorn and refreshments provided.
UID:150403-21909172@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150403
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:American Culture,american history,Ann Arbor,Civic Engagement,Civic Learning,Community Engagement,Culture,Democracy,Democracy And Civic Engagement,Democracy Week,Democratic Engagement,Film,Food,Free,Politics,Social Impact,United States At 250,Us At 250
LOCATION:Diag - Central Campus
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260805T103133
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20261028T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20261028T200000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:America at 250: History\, Memory\, and Truth
DESCRIPTION:Rescheduled from the original March\, 2026 date!\n\nFree and open to the public. Registration is not required but we would appreciate it if you let us know you're coming at https://myumi.ch/bDEz9.\n\nMuseums are the classrooms of our country. They play a crucial role in helping us understand the nation’s complex past. Join us for a dynamic conversation with Lonnie G. Bunch III\, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and Lynette Clemetson\, Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists\, as they reflect on the significance of the 250th anniversary of the United States.  At a moment in which discussions about our shared past and collective future feel especially urgent\, this event offers an opportunity to learn from a leader who has devoted his career to informing and inspiring Americans to strive for the public good. \n\nQ & A will follow and copies of Secretary Bunch's book *A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush\, Obama\, and Trump* will be available for purchase. \n\nParking is available at the Thayer Parking Structure\, 216 S. Thayer\, at the standard charge of $10/vehicle.\n\nLonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian. He assumed his position June 16\, 2019. As Secretary\, he oversees 21 museums\, 21 libraries\, the National Zoo\, numerous research centers\, and several education units and centers. Two new museums—the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum—are in development. Bunch was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Bunch chronicled the creation of the museum in his book\, *A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush\, Obama\, and Trump*\, and is the first historian to be Secretary of the Institution. Since 2024\, Bunch has been Honorary Professor of Practice at Queen’s University Belfast. A member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences\, Bunch received France’s highest award\, The Legion of Honor\, in 2021.\n\nLynette Clemetson is Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists\, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists at the University of Michigan. She came to the university from NPR where she was Senior Director of Strategy and Content Initiatives\, developing and guiding projects across broadcast\, digital and events to develop new audiences. Her career in journalism spans newspapers\, magazines and audio across a range of platforms. As a reporter\, she was a Washington-based correspondent for *The New York Times *and *Newsweek*\, writing about politics\, social issues and demographic change. Prior to her domestic correspondent work\, she was an international correspondent for *Newsweek *based in Hong Kong\, where she covered the former British colony’s return to Chinese rule in 1997. She moved into digital strategy and leadership in 2008 as the founding managing editor of TheRoot.com\, launched for The Washington Post Company with Henry Louis Gates Jr. She is also the former Director of Content Strategy at Pew Center on the States.\n\n*This 2026 Marc and Constance Jacobson Lecture is presented by the Institute for the Humanities in partnership with Wallace House Center for Journalists. Additional support provided by the Initiative for Democracy & Civic Empowerment\, Life-Changing Education\, Museum Studies Program\, U-M Library\, and the U-M Museum of Art*.
UID:142899-21891778@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/142899
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:African American,american culture,Art,Art History,Democracy,Discussion,History,Humanities,Michigan Arts Festival,Museum
LOCATION:Rackham Graduate School (Horace H.) - Auditorium
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260821T154602
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20261112T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20261112T190000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Penny Stamps Speaker Series - Voices of Dissent
DESCRIPTION:\n\nDirected by Anthony Arnove\, Voices of Dissent combines dramatic readings with live musical performances to bring the words of ordinary people throughout U.S. history to life. The performance features acclaimed actor David Strathairn\, an Academy Award nominee for his portrayal of Edward R. Murrow in Good Night\, and Good Luck. and an Emmy Award winner for Temple Grandin\; acclaimed singer-songwriter Allison Moorer\, an Oscar and Grammy-nominated artist known for her Americana songwriting and powerful storytelling\; and Thornetta Davis\, the award-winning Detroit vocalist known as the \"Queen of Detroit Blues.\" Drawing from letters\, diaries\, speeches\, and songs\, Voices of Dissent includes accounts from Ann Arbor\, the University of Michigan\, and across the state. Through a collaboration with the University of Michigan’s Inclusive History Project\, the production incorporates archival materials and local histories from the University’s archives at Bentley Historical Library and the Labadie Collection that illuminate the experiences of people who have fought for justice\, equality\, and freedom. \n\nInspired by the work of historian Howard Zinn (1922-2010)\, the production is based on A People’s History of the United States\, which has sold more than five million copies\, and Voices of a People’s History of the United States\, co-edited by Zinn and Arnove. By connecting these powerful historical voices to the present day\, Voices of Dissent reminds audiences that the struggle for justice is ongoing and that democracy depends on the participation of everyday people.\n\nAnthony Arnove is the editor of several books\, including Voices of a People’s History of the United States\, which he co-edited with Howard Zinn\, and Voices of a People’s History of the United States in the 21st Century\, which he co-edited with Haley Pessin. He also wrote the introduction to the 35th anniversary edition of Zinn’s classic book A People’s History of the United States. Arnove cofounded the nonprofit education and arts organization Voices of a People’s History of the United States\; co-wrote\, co-directed\, and co-produced the documentary The People Speak\; and has directed stage and television versions of The People Speak in Dublin with Stephen Rea\, in London with Colin Firth\, and across the United States with various arts groups\, including Lincoln Center\, the Brooklyn Academy of Music\, and the Sundance Film Festival. He also produced the Academy Award–nominated documentary Dirty Wars.\n\nIn partnership with the Inclusive History Project\, with and support from the U-M Ford School of Public Policy\, U.S. at 250 and the U-M Initiative for Democracy & Civic Empowerment. \n\nSeries presenting partners: Detroit PBS\, ALL ARTS\, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.\n
UID:150485-21909508@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/150485
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:American History,Art,Dissent,Music
LOCATION:Off Campus Location
CONTACT:
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