A public symposium Friday, March 31, at the Alan Wildeman Centre for the Creative Arts will highlight the Detroit River as a focal point for teaching local history and leverage that understanding to strengthen society and shape community.

“Presenting the Past to the Public: A Symposium on Race, Slavery, Resistance, and Identity,” presented jointly by the Detroit River Project; the University of Windsor Department of History; and the University of Michigan Center for Design, Evaluation, and Research; will feature UWindsor history students demonstrating how local Black history narratives are creatively conveyed, as well as keynote addresses and panel discussions.

Speakers include:

• historian Elise Harding-Davis, a consultant on African-Canadian heritage;
• law professor Anneke Smit from UWindsor’s UN Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development;
• Jay Meeks, a former 5-12 social studies teacher, teacher educator, and University of Michigan program administrator; and
• James Holly, a University of Michigan faculty member dedicated to counteracting anti-Black racism in engineering.

The panel discussion, including audience questions, will be moderated by Kimberly Simmons, president of the Detroit River Project.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration for remote or in-person participation including complimentary lunch is required and available here.