University of Michigan Heritage Project

The First Flu Shot

As World War II loomed, the military turned to U-M experts to fight a deadly enemy: Influenza

Francis gained his original expertise as a lab researcher, but as an epidemiologist, he turned to the compiling of data.

Incontrovertible evidence is now available that the resistance of man to infection by the viruses of influenza A and B can be enhanced.

– Tommy Francis and Jonas Salk

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Blue Angel

^“We go around the world like a lot of sorry ghosts, being forever ashamed of a thing we’ve no reason to be ashamed of.^”
– Kurt Gray, from “Better Angel”

After coming out of the closet at 86, alumnus Forman Brown revealed he was the author of a groundbreaking novel about being young and gay at U-M.
“Of Splendid Ability”

^“She will be the first colored lady that enters the institution.^”
– Ann Arbor Courier, 1876

Mary Henrietta Graham was the first Black woman admitted to Michigan.
“Lonely As Hell”

^“The reality was so massive that all a person of good will could do was make token gestures.^”
– Willis Ward

In a forgotten series of interviews, Black Michigan athletes of the past recalled times when racial lines in sports were firm—then faded.

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