Two of the first African American owned resorts, a film to be shown at Park Library
An audience gets ready for the show to begin during the 2018 Film Festival on Feb. 14th at the Park Library Auditorium
A film about some of the first African American owned and operated resorts in the country, “In Between the Trees: The Story of Idlewild and Woodland Park, Michigan,” will be shown at 5 p.m. on March 1 in Sarah and Daniel Opperman Auditorium. The film’s creator and author, Rose Hammond, will be there for a Q&A following the screening of the film. The event is free and is open to the public to attend.
The documentary follows the story of two resorts that came to light in the early 1900s, a time when segregation was prevalent and when not everybody could enjoy the same resorts or vacation destinations. Idlewild and Woodland Park operated and owned by African Americans, was a place where African American individuals could come and enjoy the pleasures of northwest Michigan. According to Michigan.gov, Idlewild and Woodland Park were two of the 30 resorts in the country where African Americans could go on vacation and purchase property before discrimination became illegal in 1964.
According to runwith-it.net, the film has been shown at multiple film festivals including the LA Independent Women Film Awards, New York Independent Cinema Awards and the Detroit Black Film Festival and more. The screening of this film is being presented on behalf of the Clarke Historical Library Spring 2023 Speakers and Events series.
Hammond is the owner of the company Run With It which launched in 2004 and tells non-fiction stories about the African American experience. Currently, the company is credited with producing three books and the documentary being shown on March 1.
For more information about the screening of “In Between the Trees: The Story of Idlewild and Woodland Park, Michigan” and other events in the speaker series, visit cmich.edu.
