Tag Archives: newspaper

Josiah Henson and Harriet Beecher Stowe

It seems an unlikely pairing, but one theory in the history of slavery assures us that Harriet Beecher Stowe was influenced to write her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin after reading the autobiography of Josiah Henson, former slave and Black Abolitionist.  Stowe’s character of Uncle Tom even looks a bit like the photograph of Henson available on various web sites devoted to African American history.  And according to one site, Henson’s supporters even encouraged this connection after the book’s popularity to...

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Black Abolitionist Archive , , , , , , , , Updated: September 4, 2016

Tamarack Collection Overview

This first publication of the Tamarack came after 20 years of discussion about whether or not to start a college newspaper, or so the editor tells his readers in his “Salutatory” introduction (shown below). The college itself had only been around that long. And during those first 20 years Detroit College was alone, the only Catholic college in Michigan. Having its own newspaper was important not only to ensure its place among institutions of higher learning, but as an expression of pride in its knowledgeable and talented student body. And now, at long last, here it was fresh and humble....

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Tamarack Archive , , , , Updated: April 17, 2014

Digital History

Looking for an interesting way to spend your time this weekend? Here’s a suggestion: travel digitally through the history of Detroit and the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM)! Both the city and the university offer a diverse and interesting past just waiting to be shared. Since the end of the 19th century, each has reflected the changes in the other. The successes and growth of both Detroit and UDM are reflections of the people who live, work, and dream here. Be part of something vital by checking this out....

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Digital Special Collections , , , , , , , Updated: February 20, 2014

95 Years Ago

Ninety five years ago on January 1, 1918, the first Varsity News newspaper was published. This first headline read, “Varsity News Begins Career” and offered its readers enthusiastic reports of the booming economy, new university courses, tidbits about the happenings on campus, and the usual list of advertisers. This newly release chronicle was a sign of the times, a fresh expression of news and information, and a slick example of the technological advances of the day. Before the debut of the Varsity News, however, the focus of communication for the students and faculty of Detroit College was a literary one....

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Varsity News Collection , , , , Updated: April 24, 2014

Tamarack

A Tamarack is a type of pine tree with reddish-brown bark and blue-green needles. It’s also the name of a series of publications from the University of Detroit that appeared between 1890 and 1923. These are considered the first issues of what in 1923 would be absorbed by the Varsity Newspaper that started its publication in 1918.

We are proud to introduce you to the Tamarack, a new addition to our digitized collection. We will begin making these available every two months beginning in late September until the collection is complete....

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Varsity News Collection , , , Updated: September 5, 2013

Agitation

Agitation is an interesting word and one used often in the Black Abolitionist speeches and editorials. One definition offered by dictionary.com is: “persistent urging of a political or social cause or theory before the public.” This defining seems to fit, yet it also offers the idea that this type of action is at once determined and steady without being violent and aggressive. “Agitation” says “we’re not going away” as it demands change. While protest marches and rioting can spark immediate attention and forceful response in kind, agitation works slowly to alter the direction of a nation over time....

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Black Abolitionist Archive , , , , , , Updated: August 1, 2013

Henry Bibb — Abolitionist

The story of Henry Bibb is fairly typical of a lot of Black Abolitionists. He was born into slavery in the early 1800′s at the peak of American slave holding, and he died before Emancipation. (His mother was a slave and his father was purported to be a wealthy plantation owner.) He sought out education illegally, witnessed his siblings sold to other plantations, and married young. He escaped slavery more than once, and established Canada’s first black newspaper The Voice of the Fugitive. He became an outspoken activist for abolition, fighting for freedom along side Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown, and became one of the best known Black Abolitionists of his day....

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Black Abolitionist Archive , , , , Updated: August 8, 2013
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