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In-depth reporting on Michigan's largest city and surrounding communities, including deep dives into the big changes afoot in Detroit, its schools, neighborhoods, institutions and city hall.
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Protests continue in Detroit more than a week after George Floyd’s death
The killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white policeman in Minneapolis is the catalyst for nationwide protests in at least 150 cities, suburbs and small towns. Police brutality is only part of what draws Detroit protesters. Gen Z and Millennial organizers are advocating for something new.
Grand Rapids, this is us: A dispatch from unrest in a segregated city
A Michigan Radio reporter surveys the destruction of Grand Rapids during protests on Saturday. Despite what city leaders insist, he says outsiders didn’t cause all the damage. It came from within.
White cops in black communities underscore tension in Michigan protests
Police departments in several Michigan cities have a lower share of African-American officers than the communities they serve, leading to some scars that have yet to heal.
Pain, strength and agitation underlie Detroit protests against police brutality
What happened in Detroit and the streets of at least 35 other cities reflects the raw state of urban America. Months of dealing with a killer virus. Surging economic despair. Then another viral video emerged of a Black man killed while being arrested by a white policeman in Minneapolis.
Detroit population continues to decline, according to Census estimate
The upcoming count will offer a better understanding of Detroit’s demographic changes but the state's largest city is grappling with a low response rate for Census 2020.
Announcing BridgeDetroit: A new civic information service for Michigan’s largest city
At a time when credible news has never been more important, a new team of journalists aims to respond to Detroiters’ most crucial information needs.
Authentically Detroit podcast celebrates one-year milestone (BridgeDetroit podcast)
Authentically Detroit celebrates a year of being on the airwaves by asking Kat Stafford and Candice Fortman what it means to be an authentic Detroiter.
Diego, Frida, and my grandfather in Depression-era Detroit
The author's grandfather, Antonio Martinez, met the artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Depression-era Detroit.
Shakur, Senghor, and Burton-Harris wants to change the narrative around prisons to acknowledge the humanity of inmates (BridgeDetroit podcast)
In this episode, hosts Orlando Bailey and Donna Givens explore the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan prisons.
Efforts across community begin to turn the coronavirus tide for Detroiters
The pandemic hit Detroit harder than most cities, but coordinated efforts have made a difference, and begun to pay off.
Hit hard by coronavirus, Detroit gets creative to boost census counts
Detroit had marshaled huge resources to boost census participation. Then came COVID-19. Now, as cases decline, the city is trying to play catchup because millions of dollars are at stake from an accurate count.
Faith and hope as antidotes to coronavirus tragedy in Detroit (BridgeDetroit podcast)
Authentically Detroit is a BridgeDetroit partner podcast that tells the stories of Detroiters’ lives through exposition and interview.
In Detroit, a funeral moves outside as coronavirus deaths mount
An open-casket funeral outside is a small step toward closure and rethinking funerals at a time traditional spaces are forbidden, says the pastor of Plymouth United Church of Christ in Detroit.
Detroit food banks overrun by coronavirus demand
Despite adding capacity, food banks throughout Michigan are running out of food, crushed by the hunger created by the pandemic’s economic strain.
On Easter weekend, Detroit churches mourn the COVID-19 dead from afar
In a city devastated by the coronavirus, there will be no eucharist and no fellowship this Easter. But churches say they are persevering and adjusting how they tend to mourning congregations.
‘We need help’: Coronavirus ‘devastating’ black cities in outstate Michigan
Racial disparities that struck southeast Michigan are repeating in Flint, Saginaw, Lansing and Ypsilanti, highlighting inequities in health care. And even as Detroit cases ebb, the mourning is just beginning: ‘I just feel numb,’ one says.
Coronavirus forces Michigan soup kitchens to feed hungry from a distance
The same government orders that closed restaurants also forced soup kitchens to take their missions outside. In Detroit, volunteers pack paper bag lunches and feed the needy from parking lots.
As coronavirus bears down, Detroit enters a grim new phase
In metro Detroit, the epicenter of Michigan’s outbreak, the pandemic is spreading rapidly as hospitals, government leaders and residents deal with medical shortages and some painful goodbyes.
In battle-tested Detroit, neighbors help each other as coronavirus spreads
Detroit and the rest of Wayne County comprise nearly half of Michigan’s coronavirus cases, forcing residents to summon resilience forged through decades of crisis.
In life, he hosted Detroit’s grand funerals. COVID-19 makes his own uncertain
O’Neil Swanson was the man to call for decades for stately funerals in Detroit. But his own death shows how grieving has changed in the age of the coronavirus.