Local Government
Tepfirah Rushdan is appointed Detroit’s first director of urban agriculture
In many ways, Tepfirah Rushdan was already acting as Detroit’s unofficial director of urban agriculture for years before she was officially given the title. Rushdan is the co-director of Keep Growing Detroit, one of the city’s biggest urban farms. She’s also one of the co-founders of the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund, which helps buy land […]
Macomb County community honors former U.S. Rep. David Bonior
Dozens of Macomb County residents and others assembled on Saturday to dedicate a bike path and a newly created sculpture after Democratic former U.S. Rep. David Bonior. A host of political leaders, including former Michigan Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer as well as former state House members Nick Ciaramitaro, Fred Miller, Paul Gieleghem, all Democrats, […]
Duggan announces changes to tax plan to address concerns by Detroit’s urban farmers
When Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced a proposal to increase taxes on vacant land earlier this summer, Tepfirah Rushdan started asking questions. As co-director of Keep Growing Detroit and co-founder of the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund, she had been advocating for farmers to purchase land to grow their own food. The question was: Does […]
Group calls for I-375 project to invest more in Black community than a walkable boulevard
Plans are underway to demolish Detroit’s I-375 freeway and replace it with an “urban boulevard” in an effort to reverse the destruction it brought to the historically Black neighborhoods Paradise Valley and Black Bottom. Social justice group Detroit Future City, however, is questioning whether simply replacing I-375 with a walkable boulevard is enough to restore […]
‘The rent is too damn high’: Dems plan to tackle housing costs in Michigan
From immigrant rights’ groups and affordable housing advocates in Detroit to students in Ann Arbor and community organizers in Lansing, there’s a phrase that is said time and again when talking about housing costs: “The rent is too high.” There are variations of that – “damn” is often inserted in there, for example – but, […]
Couch, car or curb: Defining which young person is ‘homeless’ affects aid state by state
The spectrum of youth homelessness is vast. It includes young children sleeping with their mothers in crowded shelters and families living in tent encampments in public parks. There are teenage runaways who have fled abusive homes to live on the streets and kids who spend their nights hidden in cars or abandoned buildings. But youth […]
Michigan ‘bill of rights for the homeless’ to be introduced as part of larger housing package
For people experiencing homelessness, the trauma of losing access to housing is a major burden that’s often worsened by the barriers people face when trying to find housing, employment or access public services and medical care. Folks experiencing homelessness often face a Catch-22 when applying for work without a permanent address, including discomfort in applying […]
Michigan leaders salute hip-hop at 50: ‘It’s part of a fabric of our culture’
Hip-hop, a rhythmic music often featuring vocals over samples of soul, jazz, rock and other styles, is credited with being popularized as early as this month in 1973. While hip-hop is rooted in New York City culture, several Michiganders have contributed to its legacy. They include the late J Dilla of Detroit and MC Breed […]
Historic Detroit meeting space for Black women receives $75K federal grant
Updated, 3:40 p.m., 8/15/23 The city of Detroit Historic Designation Advisory Board on Monday announced that the Detroit Association of Colored Women’s Club (DACWC) is one of only eight projects selected by the National Park Service to receive a $75,000 History of Equal Rights grant. The grant will establish a historic structures report, which will […]
M.O.M.S. Tour visits Detroit to support improving maternal health outcomes
Mental health professionals, birth workers, medical professionals and community members came together Saturday as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched its M.O.M.S. Tour (Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers) in Detroit. HHS said over 500 pregnant and postnatal women, dads and children gathered at the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ […]
Weeks after anti-trans salon posts, Traverse City grapples with legal, community implications
Nearly a month after a hair salon owner’s anti-trans Facebook posts sent shockwaves through the Traverse City community, officials and locals alike are still wrestling with what it means to be accepting in northern Michigan. Christine Geiger, the owner of Studio 8 Hair Lab, found herself in the national spotlight after posting on Facebook that […]
Coleman and Stone advance in two SE Michigan mayoral races
Following Tuesday’s local primary elections, Democrats are one step closer to potentially losing, albeit temporarily, their slim majority in the Michigan House. Two of the contests in Southeast Michigan featured Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Kevin Coleman (D-Westland) and Lori Stone (D-Warren), who advanced in mayoral races in their respective cities amid light voter turnout. In Westland, […]