April 12, 1861 marks the anniversary of the date that shots were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, sparking the United States’ Civil War. Now, 150 years later, schools, museums, libraries and learning centers will take this time to reflect on this pivotal point in our nation’s history. Drawn from the Michigan State University (MSU) Museum’s historical collection, the exhibit highlights Michigan connections in the Civil War. Notably, the entire first graduating class of the Michigan Agricultural College (now MSU) was excused before the graduation ceremonies in 1861 so that they could join the Union Army. Another thread: Luther Baker, the man who led the capture of Lincoln’s assassin, was a Michigan native who returned to Lansing after the war. Several artifacts relate to Civil War General John G. Parkhurst from Coldwater, Michigan, who spent time in the notorious Confederate Libby Prison. Other artifacts include Civil War uniforms, weapons, camp goods, medical equipment — including an amputation and surgery kit – Grand Army of the Republic Veterans’ mementos, and objects relating to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Although no battles were fought on Michigan soil, Michigan does have a number of compelling ties to the war. The exhibit will convey a sense of daily life from the era. The exhibit is not attempting to tell the whole story of the Civil War and all its battles; rather, with the MSU collection, a flavor is given of what it was like to live through the war either as a participant or as someone on the home front waiting for a friend or relative to return from the conflict.

The Michigan State University Museum presents a new exhibit, Lincoln’s Assassination, in the Ground Floor Gallery. The exhibit is a companion to the museum’s special exhibit, Michigan and the Civil War: the 150th Anniversary and part of national observance on the part of museums, libraries and schools during the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Lansing collector and historian Rick Brown has loaned original newspapers and other paper materials for the exhbit, which also covers the funeral train and the multiple funeral and memorial ceremonies, as well as the capture, trial and hanging of the assassination conspirators.

As a tribute to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, we are pleased to present the Midwest premiere of this Obie Award winning play. This play, says Artistic Director David Magidson, is a jewel of the theatre. Inside an exciting war framework it tackles issues of family, tradition, freedom, slavery, compassion and hate – all without us really being aware of it. This is the theatre at its best. Director of the play and Artistic Director of Plowshares Theatre Company Gary Anderson contributes, This is the collaboration that JET and Plowshares have been looking for; it provides a direct connection between the Jewish and African American communities. The play brings to light the connection there is between faith and freedom. When praying for deliverance, one does not always know it is coming. But when deliverance is bequeathed, it is our duty to remind the new generations for whom freedom was a given just how precious and potentially delicate it really is. It is the first night of Passover, 1865. Time for a Seder. Where? A half-destroyed house in Richmond, Va. The wine? Stolen. The matzo: a small square of hardtack, the tough soldier’s bread. Uncooked collard greens play the role of the bitter herbs. And the three unlikely participants? All Jewish: two newly freed slaves and a Confederate soldier whose family home all three are uncomfortably inhabiting in the reordered aftermath of the just-concluded Civil War. It is Simon, the elder of the two former slaves and a man of strong, unswerving faith who leads the ceremony. This arresting new play blazes with intelligence, making everything we think we have always known new again as Simon hauntingly intones, Let all who are in need come celebrate Pesach. This year we are slaves, next year may we be free.. And then with an emotionally potent few verses of Go Down Moses, makes the connection between the suffering of enslaved Jews and the African-Americans sold or born into slavery.