Hero or Villain? Metro Detroit's Legacy of Leadership March 3, 2010

What makes a leader? Are there certain qualities or characteristics that define leadership? Are leaders a product of their time or would they have risen to such status regardless of when they lived? Moreover, why do some think of a particular leader as a "hero" and others as a "villain"? This exhibit explores these questions by focusing on the lives of a wide range of community leaders who provoked passionate opinions throughout metro Detroit. They sparked conversation and controversy, drawing praise or criticism from pundits, politicians, pastors and the public. On streetcars and front porches, we discussed them, we adored them, or we despised them.