CADL Celebrates The Great Michigan Read

Press Release: CADL Celebrates The Great Michigan Read (PDF)    To return to CADL's Press Room click here.

This year's Michigan Humanities Council selection for the Great Michigan Read, their state-wide reading initiative, is Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle. It's an electrifying account of a real-life murder trial that resulted when an African American family purchased a home in a white Detroit neighborhood in 1925. For a brief synopsis of Arc of Justice and some words from the author, check out the video Great Michigan Read: The Sweet Trials and Detroit in the 1920s.

The Capital Area District Library and its community partners are proud to present these special events related to the themes of the book, culminating in a visit from author Kevin Boyle. For more detail about the book, check out the Reader's Guide and the Teacher's Guide provided by the Michigan Humanities Council.

A Night of Jazz
Thursday, Oct. 13, 7:00 PM
Enjoy live music from the Arc of Justice era - the 1920s and 30s - performed by the MSU Student Jazz Ensemble.
Refreshments courtesy of the Greater Lansing Historical Society.
Co-sponsored by
Location: Mill Supplies Building
336 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing (corner of Museum Drive)

The Cartography of Race
Thursday, Oct. 20, 7:00 PM
Covenants signed by white homeowners to keep African-Americans from moving into their neighborhoods affected maps created by local officials - maps that defined patterns of segregation for decades. Presented by Matthew Daley, Ph.D., an expert on Detroit's rapid urban growth from 1915-1945.
Location: CADL Downtown Lansing Auditorium
401 S. Capitol Avenue, Lansing (corner of W. Kalamazoo St.)

Meet Great Michigan Read Author Kevin Boyle
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:00 PM
Co-sponsored by

Location: Thomas M. Cooley Law School
300 S. Capitol, Lansing (corner of W. Washtenaw St.)
Books will be available for sale and signing.

The Great Michigan Read is presented by the Michigan Humanities Council with support from Meijer and the National Endowment for the Humanities.