The Detroit Historical Society is pleased to invite the community to a poignant and timely discussion with the Honorable Robert L. Wilkins and Detroit Historical Society Vice President of Education and Outreach, Rodney Deal. They will explore Judge Wilkins' book, Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
This special event will take place at 2:00pm on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at the Detroit Historical Museum. The talk is included with museum admission, registration for the event is requested, though walk-ins are welcome.
The talk coincides with the final days of If history were taught as stories it would never be forgotten… Black Architects and the Smithsonian National African American Museum of History and Culture, now on display in the Community Gallery at the Detroit Historical Museum.
Conceived and curated by University of Michigan architecture professor Craig Wilkins, this exhibition explores the century-long effort to establish an African American presence on the National Mall. It highlights the role of Black architects and the complexities of history, architecture, and identity. Through four time-specific narratives—three historical and one Afrofuturistic—etched onto rearrangeable tiles, the installation challenges fixed historical narratives. With 64 pre-written and 34 blank tiles for public input, visitors are invited to reinterpret the past, present, and future while questioning who shapes these stories and why.
The Honorable Robert L. Wilkins played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, serving as Chairman of the Site and Building Committee of the Presidential Commission that led to its authorization and location selection. Opened in 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. Judge Wilkins wrote about his experience, and the long history of the project, in Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He will join Detroit Historical Society Vice President of Education and Outreach, Rodney Deal, for a conversation about his experiences, and the vital role museums play in preserving and sharing history.
Judge Wilkins has had a distinguished career in law and civil rights. Named one of the "90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years" by Legal Times, he played a key role in a landmark civil rights case, Wilkins v. Maryland, which led to reforms in police stop-and-search practices. A native of Muncie, Indiana, he earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. After clerking for Judge Earl B. Gilliam, he served as a public defender in D.C. and later as Special Litigation Chief. Appointed by President Obama, he became a U.S. District Judge in 2010 and was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2014.
The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Ave. (NW corner of Kirby) in Midtown Detroit. The Detroit Historical Museum is open to the public Wednesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Historical content and virtual tours and exhibits are available at detroithistorical.org. Just opened: The Links Incorporated: Our History, Our Story in the Robert and Mary Ann Bury Community Gallery and Kresge 100 in Wrigley Hall. Permanent exhibits include the famous Streets of Old Detroit, the Allesee Gallery of Culture, Doorway to Freedom: Detroit and the Underground Railroad, Detroit 67: Perspectives, Detroit: The “Arsenal of Democracy,” America’s Motor City and The Glancy Trains.
The Detroit Historical Society is an independent non-profit organization that manages the Detroit Historical Museum in Midtown and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, while caring for an outstanding collection of nearly 300,000 historic artifacts. The Society presents hundreds of educational tours, programs, workshops and lectures annually and stages several new exhibits every year. Founded in 1921, Detroit Historical Society has worked for over 100 years to foster an appreciation of our region’s rich history, telling Detroit’s stories and why they matter.
