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.
-
Detroiter Khaliph Young wanted to hear stories from people who lived through the Civil Rights era. So he made a podcast to do just that.
-
We talk about QLine subsides and money in public transportation. The racial disparities around the spread of COVID-19. Then, a dive into some Detroiters who were involved in the Black Power movement.
-
Plowshares Theatre Company returns to the stage with the world premier of Hastings Street, a musical "set on the cusp of change in Detroit." We speak with the writer and composer of the musical, and we hear from the director of Plowshares about the company's return to in-person theatre.
-
“Ypsilanti is, has been, a center of military service, and the proportion of Black soldiers that served from Ypsilanti in the Civil War is really extraordinary, so to have an additional recognition of that here on Juneteenth is really special,” said Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist.
-
State Senator Mallory McMorrow fired back at GOP attacks on LGBTQ community. A new vision for Michigan's first HBCU — and the history behind it.
-
For some Black people in the 19th and 20th centuries, "passing" meant living part or all of your life as non-Black. Recent creative works — Lovecraft Country, Passing, and The Vanishing Half — have brought the idea of passing back to the forefront. This month on Stateside, we discuss the life of a Detroiter who passed as white in the '40s and return to historical, pop culture references to passing in America.
-
In 1914, Elsie Roxborough was born into a wealthy, Black family in Detroit. But when she died in 1949, her death certificate listed her as white. Her life was rich, curious and at times, troubled, all while attempting a sort of high-wire-act of living multiple lives, between cities and names and races.
-
Cultural references to passing have been around for a long time. But recent works like the Rebecca Hall’s film adaptation of Nella Larsen’s book, Passing, have brought it back to the forefront. Today, we talk about the contexts that have caused this narrative to recur across the centuries.
-
After closing its doors in 2013, The Lewis College of Business in Detroit is being resurrected by Designer Brands Inc., which invested $2 million into reopening the school.
-
A further look at the Russian-Ukrainian conflict with Congressman Tim Walberg and a Ukrainian American scholar. And, the story of the Black woman behind Michigan’s only HBCU, which is about to reopen.