Black Michiganders have been shaping our state since day one. The impact of Black history extends into every aspect of culture: art, music, science, medicine, sports, and more.
Here, you can find some of the stories of African-Americans that may have been left out of your history book.
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For more than 50 years, Helen Moore was a fixture at Detroit school board meetings and a voice for parents who felt excluded from decisions affecting their children. The City of Detroit recently honored Moore by renaming the Dexter-Elmhurst Community Center after her. -
In 2013, Senita Lenear became the first Black woman elected to the Grand Rapids City Commission. She joined Michigan Public to look back on her breakthrough career. -
A look at Governor Gretchen Whitmer's State of the State address. Plus, one of this year's Rhodes Scholars from Michigan is a UM alum. Then, Detroit high school students advocate for accommodations during Ramadan, and a Michigan judge remembers the life and career of Lucile Watts, the first African-American woman elected to a Michigan circuit court. -
The late Lucile Watts was the first Black woman elected to a circuit court in Michigan. Michigan Public spoke with her former colleague, retired Judge Cynthia Stephens. -
For Black History Month, Michigan Public is featuring pioneering Black women in Michigan politics. Brenda Lawrence broke new ground as a mayor and served in Congress. -
A new historical marker honors a beloved Ann Arbor school that closed 60 years ago and the complicated history that shaped the school and the surrounding neighborhood. -
How tariffs could be affecting grocery costs, Detroit poet Melba Boyd on writers and historic thinkers who influenced her work, and remembering ACCESS founder Ismael Ahmed.
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The new building for the Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives is 15 times the size of its previous storefront location. -
A new historical marker honors a beloved Ann Arbor school that closed 60 years ago and the complicated history that shaped the school and the surrounding neighborhood.
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In this episode of Stateside, the rebuilding of the Edenville dam begins, but residents are the ones footing the bill and lawsuits have been filed. And we celebrate the 100th birthday of Malcolm X.
