WSU's Department of Anthropology is teaming up with Project We Hope, Dream, and Believe to excavate the home of Civil Rights icon Malcolm X
Wayne State University's Department of Anthropology is proud to announce that it will be teaming up with the Inkster-based non-profit organization Project We Hope, Dream, and Believe (PWHDAB) to conduct archaeological excavations at the one-time home of American Civil Rights icon, Malcolm X, at 4336 Williams St. in Inkster, Michigan.
Both university faculty and anthropology students will team up with PWHDAB, which will also include the participation of local high school student volunteers who will join us in this educational undertaking. Wayne State's archaeology program has extensive experience in surveying, excavating, and documenting an array of historical sites throughout Detroit and Hamtramck and is honored to launch the Malcolm X Inkster Archaeological Project (MIAP). The Department of Anthropology's archaeology program will be offering its full range of resources including equipment, technology, storage options, and expertise.
Malcolm X, who resided at the home between 1952 and 1953 spent many of his formative years in the Great Lakes State and referred to himself as a "Detroiter" in his autobiography. While living in 1940s Harlem, he was known as "Detroit Red" and went on to describe his life in Detroit and Inkster in one of his last major public speeches, which he gave in the Motor City on February 14, 1965, a week before he was assassinated. Further, Malcolm has a special connection to Wayne State, where he spoke to a large student audience at the university's very own State Hall, in room 101, on this day of October 22, 1963.
More information on this joint archaeological initiative will be announced in the near future, so please stay tuned for updates from the Department of Anthropology.
For questions, please contact:
Dr. Tareq A. Ramadan, project manager at PWHDAB/professor: Wayne State University, Department of Anthropology, tareqramadan@wayne.edu.
Dr. Krysta Ryzewski, chairperson: Department of Anthropology (WSU), Professor, and Archaeologist, krysta.ryzewski@wayne.edu.
Mr. Aaron Sims, founder and executive director of Project We Hope, Dream, and Believe, adsims1977@gmail.com.