Pure Michigan: The History of Hate in the Great Lakes Region

Pure Michigan: The History of Hate in the Great Lakes Region explores several leading individuals, publications, movements, and organizations that contributed to the spread of hateful ethnic, religious, or racial ideology in the Midwest and beyond in the twentieth century. Through archival exploration, student researchers uncovered that Michigan and the Great Lakes region occupied a unique position in the history of American hate. The Great Lakes region acted as a landing spot for various forms of racial and religious hatred from the Southern US and Europe, as industry drew migrants to the region in search of jobs and opportunity. However, this region was not just a passive landing point, but an area where rapid industrialization and technological advancements transformed and pioneered new mechanisms for the perpetuation of hate that influenced the greater US, and ultimately the world.

This project traces the continuity of these ideologies, networks, and organizations through the twentieth century in the Midwest. In order to demonstrate the continuance of hate-oriented beliefs in Michigan, this online exhibit is divided into four roughly chronological categories that explore various phases and themes relating to the propagation of hate in the region.

Pure Michigan: The History of Hate in the Great Lakes Region is part of Michigan in the World (MITW), a paid undergraduate internship program where students develop online public exhibitions. MITW is coordinated by the  U-M History Department  in partnership with the  Bentley Historical Library  and the  College of Literature, Science, and the Arts . 

Project Team

Bentley Michigan in the World Fellows: Haley Deitsch, Tessa Florida, Lily Herman, Jeanette Lawrence, Eden Reavis, Audrey Rosenberg

Faculty Leader: Jeffrey Veidlinger

Project Coordinator: Miriam Eve Mora

Graduate Student Supervisor: Brooklyn Oxandaboure

Public Engagement Manager: Joseph W. Ho

Archivists: Meghan Courtney, Sarah McLusky