Anyone who's used the Michigan Humanities webpage in the last week has seen a message in big red letters, informing residents of the suspension of all programs and grants.
Approximately 90% of all funds from the non-profit come from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). On April 2, humanities programs across the country were informed via letter that all funding has ceased. This includes grants that had already been awarded and appropriated by Congress.
Not unlike the recent cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the employees of NEH have been placed on administrative leave.
According to USSpending.Gov, the federal website showing citizens where funding goes, the National Endowment for the Humanities is less than 0.01% of the federal budget.
A quote from one of the letters states the decision to pull all funding is due to a necessity to "safeguard the interests of the federal government."
Michigan Humanities President Jennifer Rupp says the seizure of funds appropriated by Congress is illegal and unconstitutional and is considering legal action.
Michigan Humanities uses their funds to run programs such as the Great Michigan Read and Poetry Out Loud, the latter of which grants scholarships to high schoolers on both a state and national level. 2025 is the 20th year of the program.
Rupp told WCMU that Michigan Humanities is unsure if they'll be able to send out a representative with the Michigan Poetry Out Loud champion to the national championship in DC early next month.
They also help fund local historical museums, public library programming, community summer concerts, and much more.
"As we continue to kind of see this erosion of funding across libraries and museums and now humanities programming, I think people are going to start to see it in their own communities," Rupp said. "Maybe the historic house museum that has been open every weekend is no longer able to be open or the exhibits aren't refreshed. Or you're not seeing as much programming come out of your library, there aren't as many summer performances to go to."
The Great Michigan Read selected for 2025-26 is Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin. The program gives a two-year highlight on books centered around Michigan. Not only does the author do a tour across the state, but it allows anyone in the state to access the book digitally for free, with limited physical copies available through schools, libraries, and other events.
"We can't take on the expense of ordering 6,000 books or purchasing e-book and audiobook downloads for people to use for free," Rupp said. "We certainly can't plan a two week author tour. I mean, right now we just we can't commit to that kind of expense."
The previous book was Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, focusing on the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. According to the Michigan Humanities website, 29,000 people participated for the in-person events in the 2023-24 Great Michigan Read across all 83 counties. Rupp said another 41,000 participated just through the free book downloads.
The removal of programs like the Endowment for the Humanities has been something President Trump has aspired for since his first term.
"We help communities have reflective conversations about issues and topics that they're concerned with and they don't quite know how to come together and connect," Rupp said. "These cuts are going to be deep and they're going to be widely felt."
