Michigan Humanities Council Wins Schwartz Prize for Outstanding Public Humanities Programming
Winning Program Shares History of All Michigan’s People, Examines Connections to Unveil State’s Racial and Ethnic Past
[Nov. 11, 2016 – Salt Lake City, UT] The Federation of State Humanities Councils presented the 2016 Schwartz Prize for outstanding work in the humanities, for the first time, to the Michigan Humanities Council for its program, “Heritage Grants: Exploring the History of All Michigan’s People,” on Friday, November 11, 2016 at the National Humanities Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. “Heritage Grants” is made possible by a $1.7 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
“This year’s Schwartz Prize winner highlights the vital role councils play in engaging communities around important, and difficult, conversations,” said Esther Mackintosh, Federation President. “At a time when questions of race, inequality, and social justice are prevalent, council programs like Michigan’s Heritage Grants demonstrate how the humanities can move conversations toward understanding across generations and among diverse backgrounds. We couldn’t be more proud of the council for their well-deserved award.”
About the Heritage Grants
According to its nominating statement, Michigan Humanities Council created the program to support projects that “explore local histories at the intersection of race, ethnicity, and cultural identity in Michigan” and that use authentic voices, history, and experiences that highlight Michigan’s diverse and underrepresented groups. Grants of up to $25,000 were awarded to nonprofit organizations to conduct a variety of programming, ranging from exhibitions to oral histories, and to produce a digital component, which the council collects and shares through an online portal.
Learn more about Heritage Grants and read the council’s nominating statement at www.statehumanities.org/program/heritage-grant-program/
About Michigan Humanities Council
The Michigan Humanities Council connects people and communities by fostering and creating quality cultural programs. In carrying out its mission, the council encourages and supports, through advocacy, fundraising and community engagement, a variety of activities which bring humanities scholars and the public together to examine culture.
Learn more about the programs and grants offered by the Michigan Humanities Council at www.michiganhumanities.org
About the Schwartz Prize and Judges
Each year the Federation of State Humanities Councils awards the Schwartz Prize to up to three councils for outstanding work in the public humanities. The prize is funded through an endowment from founding Federation board member Martin Schwartz and his wife, Helen. The Schwartz Prize judges are selected from the previous year’s winning councils.
For more information about the Schwartz Prize, please visit: www.statehumanities.org/about-us/schwartz-prize
The Federation of State Humanities Councils
The Federation of State Humanities Councils, founded in 1977 as the membership association of state and territorial councils, provides support for the state humanities councils and strives to create greater awareness of the humanities in public and private life.
For more information about the Federation of State Humanities Councils, please visit: www.statehumanities.org.
The State Humanities Councils
The state humanities councils are independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations supporting grassroots humanities programs and community-based activities. Humanities councils were created by Congress in the early 1970s and receive an annual congressional appropriation through the National Endowment for the Humanities, which most councils supplement with state and private funding.
For more information about the state humanities councils, please visit: www.statehumanities.org/the-state-humanities-councils/
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