Upcoming Meetings

Author and educator Dr. Sally Howell will share her public history project on how Arab Americans have adapted their homes for a growing, changing community. 

While they may not have invented the idea of creating "third spaces" - semi-public and semi-private living spaces - out of rooms usually related for storage, immigrant families have created a distinctive custom of converting their basements and garages into social spaces.  Many have expanded the practice of upgrading their musty basements and spider-filled garages in creative and sometimes confounding ways.  It's a custom inspired by the many traditions associated with Arab hospitality, but uniquely Americanized and adapted to housing and living conditions in Michigan.  

Join us at the McFadden-Ross House, 915 S. Brady, or watch the meeting on our Facebook page.

Photo by Razi Jafri, Halal Metropolis. Reprinted with permission from Dr. Sally Howell’s website