This Week on One Detroit:

Absentee or In-person: Michigan voters react to key issues, races in the midterm election

Absentee voting or in-person? That’s one of the key questions on many Michigan voters’ minds heading into the 2022 midterm election season. Others include the right to reproductive freedoms, including an individual’s right to make decisions on pregnancy and abortion, and who may lead Michigan as the next governor of the state. While some voters are leaning into party lines, other voters are still undecided.

One Detroit has teamed up with the Detroit Free Press political team for an in-depth look at what voters are thinking ahead of the Nov. 8 midterms. Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau Chief Paul Egan and One Detroit senior producer Bill Kubota talk with voters from across Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties about who they’ll cast their ballots for and where they land on the key issues.

This story coincides with One Detroit 1-hour election special episode with the Detroit Free Press. Watch “Beyond the Ballot Box: A One Detroit Election Special with the Detroit Free Press” live at 7-8 p.m. ET on Detroit Public TV and One Detroit’s Facebook page.

BridgeDetroit’s Bryce Huffman discusses Detroit’s BLM settlement, flood recovery efforts and 3D-printed homes

A lot happened in October in Detroit. First, the City settled federal lawsuits brought against the police department that alleged police used excessive force on demonstrators marching against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 202o.

Then, the City called for residents’ input in a $57.6 million plan to help flood recovery efforts and minimize future incidents. Plus, the Detroit nonprofit Citizen Robotics started building the City’s first 3D-printed home in its Southwest Detroit warehouse.

Checking in on all the action, One Detroit producer Will Glover sits down with BridgeDetroit reporter Bryce Huffman to talk about the latest news. They discuss the $1 million settlement the anti-police brutality organization Detroit Will Breathe received on behalf of plaintiffs, how the city plans to spend the $57.6 million earmarked for flood recovery, and how the 3D-printed home is bringing innovation into the Islandview neighborhood.

COVID recovery, chronic absenteeism, and a $700 million building campaign: DPSCD Supt. Dr. Nikolai Vitti discusses district’s future

In the decades before Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti was hired, Detroit had one of the most challenged school districts in America. In his first three years, Vitti was able to make major improvements to turn the district around, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sidelining much of the progress being made. 

Now in his sixth school year, following a three-year contract extension through June 30, 2025, how does Vitti plan to steer the district back on course and into a prosperous future? One Detroit contributor Stephen Henderson sits down with Dr. Nikolai Vitti for a wide-ranging conversation. 

Coming to viewers live from the School at Marygrove, Vitti talks with Henderson about COVID-19’s impact on chronic absenteeism and student achievement, how the district will spend an unprecedented $700 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds on building infrastructure, and what the future holds for the district’s students and staff. 

Artist Mario Moore’s ‘Midnight and Canaan’ exhibit explores forgotten stories of the Underground Railroad

Detroit artist Mario Moore has a new exhibit, “Midnight and Canaan,” which explores the forgotten stories and figures involved in Detroit’s Underground Railroad. The exhibit was inspired by the story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, a young enslaved couple who escaped enslavement in Kentucky through the Underground Railroad in Detroit and later Canada.

As a symbol of Black agency, Moore says his exhibit shines a light on some of the Underground Railroad’s historically prominent figures, like George DeBaptiste and William Lambert, who rarely received recognition for their contributions to freeing African Americans from enslavement. The exhibit is on display at the David Klein Gallery through November 5, 2022.

One Detroit Arts & Culture host Satori Shakoor sits down with Moore in his exhibit space to talk about the subjects he’s depicting, past and present, and how they help connect stories of Detroit’s Underground Railroad to today. Plus, they talk about the contributions African Americans made to Detroit in the 19th century, and how they continue to contribute to the City’s history now.

 

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