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Detroit Marks 60th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act as Selma Civil Rights Leaders Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Jackson’s Home Heads to Greenfield Village

August 6, 2025

As Detroit approaches local elections with candidates vying for the city's top seat, the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 2025, holds special significance. The Detroit Public Library is commemorating this milestone with a presentation by Amber Mitchell, Curator of Black History at The Henry Ford, about the historic Jackson Home from Selma, Alabama, which was relocated to The Henry Ford campus in 2024. This historic home, where civil rights leaders like Dr. King strategized before the Selma to Montgomery marches, will open to the public at Greenfield Village in June 2026.

Who is affected

  • Detroit residents/voters navigating local elections
  • Black voters who continue to face structural barriers to voting
  • Potential visitors to the Jackson Home exhibit at Greenfield Village
  • School groups and future generations who will learn from the preserved historic site
  • Detroit's Black community, who could see the election of the city's first Black woman mayor
  • Detroit's broader community affected by upcoming elections for City Council seats, Board of Police Commissioners, and city clerk

What action is being taken

  • The Detroit Public Library's Main Branch is hosting a public program on August 6 featuring Amber Mitchell presenting on the Jackson Home
  • The Henry Ford is preserving the Jackson Home as part of its collection at Greenfield Village
  • Local elections are being conducted in Detroit with mayoral candidates competing
  • The Detroit Branch of the NAACP is supporting civil rights education through involvement with the Jackson Home preservation
  • Mitchell is conducting research on how memory is preserved and which stories are deemed worth saving

Why it matters

  • The anniversary coincides with Detroit's local elections that could result in the city's first Black woman mayor
  • The Jackson Home represents a critical meeting place for civil rights leaders before the Selma to Montgomery marches
  • The Voting Rights Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices like literacy tests and poll taxes
  • Recent years have seen new restrictive laws that reduce early voting, purge voter rolls, and limit access to absentee ballots
  • Detroit has deep historical connections to the Civil Rights Movement, including hosting the 1963 Detroit Walk to Freedom
  • The preservation of the Jackson Home creates a space for intergenerational learning about civil rights history
  • The home's relocation brings a Southern civil rights narrative into Detroit's historical context

What's next

  • The Jackson Home will open to the public at Greenfield Village in June 2026
  • Interested individuals can register for the free presentation at the Detroit Public Library on August 6
  • Detroit residents will vote in upcoming local elections for mayor, City Council seats, Board of Police Commissioners, and city clerk

Read full article from source: Michigan Chronicle