What is happening: The Grand Rapids Public Museum will present the final installment in its GR Stories series, “The 14th Amendment – Living, Loving, and Learning,” at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum on Tuesday, Aug. 6. “Living in Grand Rapids” will consist of a panel discussion focusing on how Grand Rapids residents and officials responded to segregation in the city with strategies formed through strong relationships. Carla Hills, who served as President Ford's secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1975 to 1977, will welcome presenters and the audience by video.
What it is: Attendees will learn about national changes supported by the 14th Amendment through local stories. The Constitution, as a living document, gains relevance through its practical application in everyday life. This event will highlight how national cases have local impacts, illustrating the Constitution's influence on our communities.
What they are saying: "We are proud to partner with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation to create a space where our community can share authentic stories of their experiences in Grand Rapids," said Dale Robertson, president and CEO of the Grand Rapids Public Museum. "Through this discussion, we hope audiences will learn something new about their community. These stories become part of our collections, highlighting the enormous impacts of residents from the founders of the Auburn Hills neighborhood to President Gerald R. Ford.”
What will happen: The panel will discuss how the lives of Grand Rapids residents were impacted by the pivotal Supreme Court decision Shelley vs. Kraemer (1948), which held that private racially restrictive covenants could not be enforced by the state, and by the Fair Housing Act (1968), supported by then-Congressman Gerald R. Ford, which protects people from housing discrimination.
Panelists will explore these topics through three unique stories: memories of growing up in Grand Rapids’ Auburn Hills neighborhood, developed specifically to allow African Americans to purchase homes; how Ford’s childhood in Grand Rapids influenced his support of the Fair Housing Act; and the story of the founding of the Fair Housing Center.
Panelists will include Beverly Grant, Cheryl Franks, Richard Norton Smith, Lee Weber, and Doretha Ardoin, with moderation by the Rev. Joe Jones. Grant and Franks are the daughters of Dr. Julius Franks, one of the founding investors and residents in the Auburn Hills neighborhood. Smith is an award-winning author and presidential historian. Ardoin and Weber held leadership positions in the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan. Jones was the president and CEO of the Urban League of West Michigan for nine years and founded the Hekima Group LLC, a consulting firm focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
When it will happen: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The panel discussion will begin at 6 p.m. and is free to the public, but advanced registration is recommended. Visit
www.grpm.org/gr-stories/ to register.
After attending the event, audiences can continue engaging with the topic of housing discrimination and fair housing protection by attending Circle Theatre’s productions of “A Raisin in the Sun.”
The play, written by Lorraine Hansberry, is about her experiences growing up in a family facing housing discrimination in Chicago. Hansberry became the first African American woman to have one of her plays performed on Broadway with “A Raisin in the Sun.”
Performances will run from Aug. 8 through Aug. 24, with 12 shows in total. Tickets can be purchased at
https://circletheatre.org/individual-tickets/
For deeper insights and a broader national perspective, resources are available at the
National Constitution Center. These include classroom materials, videos, comprehensive resources, and analyses focusing on the 14th Amendment.
The Public Museum’s partners for “The 14th Amendment: Living, Loving, and Learning '' include the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Circle Theater, and the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan.
Why is it important: The Great Migration of African Americans from the South to Northern cities in the 1910s through the 1960s included Grand Rapids as a final destination. Escaping Jim Crow segregation and finding employment motivated this dramatic move. As African Americans arrived in northern cities, the places where they could live were legally and culturally limited to small ghetto areas.
In Grand Rapids, this area was located on the southeast side of the city, roughly bounded by Wealthy Street on the north, Franklin Street on the south, and Division Avenue. These ghettos were created using legal tools that reinforced the cultural prejudices and preferences of the already-established white communities. Restrictive covenants and, later, redlining, introduced by the federal government, led to the entrenchment of a well-maintained color line of housing in the city.
What’s the background: GR Stories is a series hosted by the Grand Rapids Public Museum that showcases authentic stories from within the community. Created to dive deeper into the local community, GR Stories takes audiences throughout Greater Grand Rapids to hear from the people themselves, sharing their rich history and contributions. These programs are bridges being built to better understand one another.