In 1971, pioneering activist Jim Toy helped found U-M’s Spectrum Center to support LGBTQ+ students!

“Growing up in an Ohio village in the 1930s and 1940s, I felt totally alone,” Toy said of his childhood. Then, he discovered the LGTBQ+ community in Detroit, and it changed his life, sparking a lifetime of work to create LGBTQ+ communities for others who needed support.

Toy spoke out against discrimination, educated other people about LGBTQ+ rights and issues, and created groups and spaces to help support LGBTQ+ people in Michigan, including the Spectrum Center for students at U-M, which he co-founded with Cynthia Gair.

Today, the Spectrum Center (one of the earliest student support centers of its kind) uses education, research, and community building to help students thrive at U-M!

Click through to learn more about Jim Toy’s lifetime of advocacy!

You can also learn more about Jim Toy’s work through his papers, preserved at the Bentley Historical Library, which include notes about outreach, newspaper clippings, poetry, posters, and more.

#JimToy #UMich #LGBTHistory #SpectrumCenter #PrideMonth ...

TBT to U-M’s Pride celebrations in the 1990s!

U-M’s “Lesbian and Gay Men`s Pride Awareness Commitment Week,” often shortened to “PAC Week,” was celebrated in October in the early ‘90s, as you can see in this photo!

“PAC Week” was a community celebration including things like an author talk from Alison Bechdel, coffeehouse gatherings, dances, marches, a candlelight vigil, Coming Out Day, and Jeans Day (a day of awareness for equal rights that focused on wearing blue jeans as a symbol of support.)

According to the Michigan Daily, some supporters wore pink ribbons and hats, and workshops included topics like novel writing, and acting. The focus of the week was on raising awareness of the LGBTQ+ community’s existence and needs, giving people the courage to come out if they wished to, and reminding people in the community that they aren’t alone.

Happy Pride! ❤️

📸: Photo of a “PAC Week” banner, from the Jim Toy papers

#TBT #UMich #Pride #MichiganHistory #LGBTHistory #1990s #DidYouKnow ...

The Peony Garden’s first flowers were given to U-M over 100 years ago!

Those very first peonies were donated by U-M Medical School alum Dr. W.E. Upjohn in 1922, and the garden, planted in Nichols Arboretum, was later named in his honor! A peony enthusiast, Dr. Upjohn also published a 1920s peony booklet from Brook Lodge Gardens, with his own descriptions of these flowers, like:

"It is a flower of soft shell-pink color with the sun just rising out of the center." (About the “Jeannot” peony.)

"Of the prominent growers, two call this salmon pink, two mention it as a rose white or lilac white, to me it is a pink with a rose shade. We all agree, however, that it is good." (About the “Albert Crousse” peony.)

"This is a flower having many friends." (About the “Claire Dubois” peony.)

Click through for a brief history of the W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden, with details from the archives!

Peak bloom is predicted for this weekend, so it’s a good time to plan your visit! 🌸 A FREE weekend shuttle will run every 15–20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 24–25, May 31–June 1, and June 7-8, picking up from Mitchell Field (1900 Fuller Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105) and dropping off at Nichols Arboretum.

Details can be found at: myumi.ch/qZA7X

📸: Upjohn Family Papers, Michigan Daily archives, Faculty and Staff portraits, ⁨Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum records

#UMich #PeonyGarden #NicholsArboretum #TheArb #History ...

Did you know that part of U-M’s art museum was built in memory of U-M soldiers and veterans?

This building, known as the Alumni Memorial Hall, was opened in 1910. Although this building was first proposed as a memorial to U-M’s Civil War soldiers, the concept was expanded to memorialize soldiers from other wars, too, and alumni worked together to raise the funds to build it.

Initially, it featured gallery spaces for art, as well as spaces for alumni to gather. The galleries looked different back then, including palm fronds and greenery alongside the artwork, but the exterior, with its tall columns, is still recognizable today.

Today, this building is part of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, @ummamuseum, and you can still find plaques dedicated to U-M’s soldiers inside, honoring the legacy they left behind.

This Memorial Day, we honor those who gave their lives to serve.

#MemorialDay #UMich #AlumniMemorialHall #UMMA #CampusHistory ...