On Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., the Ann Arbor downtown library will offer a Martin Luther King Jr. Day-inspired event: a screening and discussion of "Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward & the '34 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game." Attendees will learn more about Willis Ward, Gerald Ford and the famous discriminatory incident that tore at the fabric of U-M Athletics and the Ann Arbor community. Then, join the post-film discussion with the director and writer, Brian Kruger and Buddy Moorehouse of Stunt3 Media, who will share their experiences in putting together this important film of Ann Arbor history. "Black and Blue" tells the story of the 1934 game between Michigan and Georgia Tech - a story that's never been told on film before. When the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets agreed that season to play the Wolverines in Ann Arbor for a game, they insisted on one condition - Michigan had to sit out Ward, the lone African-American player on the U-M team.

Many of Ward’s teammates were outraged when U-M athletic officials at agreed to the demand. Among these was Ford, Ward’s roommate and a U-M lineman. Ford threatened to quit the team in response to Ward’s benching—and changed his mind only after Ward convinced him that he had to play. Learn how the incident galvanized U-M students and the Ann Arbor community, which held loud and vocal protests against the decision to keep Ward out of the game. Ward was later inducted into the University Of Michigan Athletic Hall Of Honor in 1981. For more information on this event, call the Library at 327-4555 or visit the website at aadl.org.