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American Democracy Live Event | That They Lived: Americans Who Changed the World

Online discussion and live Q&A featuring author Rochelle Riley

Join us on Wednesday, February 16 as we hear from Rochelle Riley about her new book, That They Lived which fills in gaps in the history that American children have been taught for generations. For African American children, it will prove that they are more than descendants of the enslaved. For all children, it will show that every child can achieve great things and work together to make the world a better place for all. This will be an all-ages presentation.


About Rochelle Riley

Rochelle Riley ended a nearly 20-year career as an award-winning Detroit columnist in 2019 to become the City of Detroit’s Director of Arts and Culture. She now guides the city’s investment in the creative economy and transformative innovation. In 2020, she conceived and coordinated the United States’ first city-wide memorial to victims of Covid-19: 15 funeral processions that circled the city’s Belle Isle past 924 photo billboards of victims. The installation gained international attention in August 2020 and provided closure for families across the city who could not hold individual funerals. More than 25,000 cars drove past the billboards; millions viewed it online and on television; and it was featured during national coverage of President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Riley, an essayist, keynote speaker and artist, remains a writer by trade, warrior by necessity. She is the author of “That They Lived: African Americans Who Changed the World” (Wayne State University Press, 2021) and “The Burden: African Americans and the Enduring Impact of Slavery (WSUP, 2018). Rochelle travels the country hosting conversations about the burden that America still bears by refusing to deal with the aftermath of American enslavement. She was a 2016 inductee into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, a 2019 inductee into the North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame and a 2021 inductee into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame. And she is a co-founder of Letters to Black Girls, an initiative to give letters of advice and encouragement from women across the country to girls across the country. Rochelle lives near the banks of the Detroit River. But the world traveler never stays at home long. She has visited 28 countries and 33 states … and counting.


Live American Democracy events are hosted by Ted Everingham, former-Chair and current member of The War Memorial’s Board of Directors, and produced by Michael Montgomery who, when not working with us, is a lecturer in the College of Education, Health and Human Services at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

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January 12

American Democracy Live Event | Bridge Builders: Bringing People Together in Today’s Polarized Age

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March 16

American Democracy Live Event | RADIOACTIVE: The Father Coughlin Story