This session begins with a screening of the Players' Emmy-Award winning film How Do We Begin created with the Duderstadt Center. The film shows a punctuated history of Black student experiences at U-M through ideas of one character: Bell, a graduate student who is writing a historical research project on Black student exclusion at U-M. Each moment in history is told through different metaphors and styles of performance, as Bell tries to make sense of what she is learning, how it affects her, and what her interaction with history prompts her to do. Post film, participants share in a facilitated discussion about the ways that they, their students, and their community members have been affected by this history, and vision together about using their agency and choice to create new futures on campus.
This session is appropriate for all members of the higher education community. The session can be offered in person or virtually in 60, 90, or 120 minute versions. It will be available across the 2026-27 academic year.
In this session, participants will:
- Reflect on historical tensions within U-M’s values and their present-day impact.
- Examine institutional patterns that may hinder progress.
- Explore role-based ways to take action and advance meaningful change.
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