By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


An event next month will explore the story of Howell’s Black History.

Local historian and Howell native Lindsay Root will present an online event on Tuesday, February 15th from 7 to 8pm. It is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Livingston County and the Howell Carnegie District Library and will take participants on what is described as “an exciting historical journey” to learn “the untold stories of Black citizens' contributions to the Howell community.”

Root, who was born and raised in Howell, spent 18 years in Hollywood working a variety of freelance film production work before returning home to be a family caregiver in the early 2000s. That’s when he began producing video stories with a Livingston County angle, including the history of the Howell Opera House. In the course of that work, he discovered that his grandparents had met there in 1908 while on a blind date.

That connection sparked an interest in Howell's history, which led him to a variety of long-forgotten stories. Among them was that of Howell High School's first football coach from the 1890s, George Henry Jewett II. Jewett was the first Black football player in the Big Ten, playing for both the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. The newly-established George Jewett Trophy was named in his honor and goes to the winner of the annual contest between the Wolverines and Wildcats.

Registration for Root’s presentation is required. Those details can be found through the link below, along with a link to submit questions ahead of time as the event includes a live Q&A session after the presentation as time permits.