Section 19 of the new Emergency Manager (EM) law, Public Act 436, promises a whole new set of lawsuits such as have plagued the courts and enriched attorneys since the state first targeted struggling cities with emergency management. Section 19 requires the EM to submit a plan of action to the elected board for the closing of any school or sale or transfer of any asset valued at $50,000 or more, Detroit Pub ...

Mind snacking on what is the difference between Columbine, Oklahoma City, an Aurora, Colorado movie theatre, Newtown or 9/11 (two numbers that have become a world-wide lexicon for terrorist killings), USA Middle East drone strikes with “collateral damage” and now, the really not so unthinkable, “Boston Marathon?” I reached a 313 conclusion. ...

Detroit’s young people have been counted out more times than one cares to imagine yet, they continue to beat the odds. Through it all they’ve continued to set their sights to attain and achieve unprecedented goals. A group of six students, who have fought long and hard along with a collectively devoted and active group of teachers, administrators and community leaders, will display that resilience Detroiter ...

These are unprecedented times in Detroit. One man has the absolute power to make every decision about the public life of our city. The Emergency Manager has complete authority over every single aspect of civic responsibility. ...

Standing behind the Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corporation building in Detroit on a Monday night, members of the Hardcore Detroit hip hop dance crew prepare themselves for their weekly practice. The group members have all made a lifetime commitment to the art of dance and the Hardcore Detroit brand has become one of the most respected dance groups in the nation. ...

Bikers Heaven owners Herman Johnson and Diann Letson created a unique approach for families to transport their deceased loved ones for a funeral. The deceased are carried by a 2010 Harley Davidson Street glide Trike and a hearse that was handmade in Jackson. “We carry the deceased to the funeral home to the cemetery or the church to cemetery,” Johnson told the Michigan Citizen. “It’s a three-wheeler pulling ...

I must be a willing participant in God’s blessings for my life. ...

April 4 marked the 45th year since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Dr. King, 39 at the time, has now been gone from us longer than he was with us. A monument celebrates his life on the mall in Washington. He is remembered as the man with a dream at the March on Washington. ...

“Our nation is moving towards two societies, one Black, one white — separate and unequal.” 1967 Kerner Commission In 1963, more than a quarter-million people gathered in Washington, D.C. for the historic Great March for Jobs and Freedom. This was a watershed moment in American history, giving unprecedented voice to the hardships facing Blacks as they sought a fair shot at an elusive dream. In 2013, America ...

“The State of Equality and Justice in America” is a 20-part series of columns to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The contributors include: U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., LCCRUL 50th Anniversary Grand Marshal; Mr. Charles Ogletree, professor, Harvard University Law School/director; and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., president/CEO, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, ...