This Week on One Detroit:

Peace & Prosperity Youth Action Movement promotes youth leadership at ARISE Detroit’s Neighborhoods Day

Recognizing the pivotal role that celebrating youth plays in fostering a generation of positive and productive future leaders, communities like Detroit are coming together to honor the potential and achievements of young individuals. From grassroots initiatives to city-wide events, like ARISE Detroit’s Neighborhoods Day, the spotlight on youth accomplishments not only instills confidence and empowerment but also paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.

The Church of the Messiah in Islandview hosted an event during this year’s 17th annual ARISE Detroit! Neighborhoods Day on Aug. 5 to promote peace and highlight the diligent work of the youth in Detroit. One Detroit contributor Daijah Moss talked with youth leaders from the Peace & Prosperity Youth Action Movement.

Moss talks with Church of the Messiah Pastor Barry Randolph, One Love Global Detroit Director of Operations Ragine Head, and other community activists about their vision and strategies for positive youth development, community unity, peace within the city of Detroit, and youth activism.

Feeding the Need: Focus: HOPE seniors food program now reaches more Michigan homes

The nationally recognized civil and human rights organization Focus: HOPE is expanding its Food for Seniors program in order to assist more seniors who are experiencing food insecurity. The Food for Seniors program provides free boxes of food to eligible senior citizens 60 years and older in Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland and Macomb counties. 

Program expansions include the addition of 43 new sites across Southeastern Michigan where eligible seniors can register to pick up monthly food boxes or have them delivered to their homes. The nonprofit is also offering special pop-up food distributions in partnership with Wayne County through September 2023, where anyone facing food insecurity can receive a free food box, without registration, while supplies last. 

Focus: HOPE’s Food Program Director Frank Kubik joins One Detroit contributor and American Black Journal host Stephen Henderson to talk about how seniors can register for monthly food boxes. Kubik also addresses the national issue of seniors needing food assistance, especially in the midst of rising costs. Plus, he gives the history of Focus: HOPE’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program and the impact of the pandemic on the needs of seniors. 

Controversy surrounding Detroit’s ShotSpotter expansion raises transparency concerns among residents

The expansion of the ShotSpotter system in Detroit has ignited a wave of controversy as citizens demand answers about the technology’s impact on their community and question the lack of transparency from both the Detroit Police Department and the California-based company, Sound Thinking. 

Back in 2021, the Detroit Police Department entered a pilot program with Sound Thinking to implement the ShotSpotter system, aimed at assisting law enforcement in swiftly responding to incidents involving gunshots. The technology uses a network of acoustic sensors strategically placed throughout neighborhoods to detect and triangulate the source of gunfire, allowing officers to be dispatched more accurately. 

However, as the system’s use expanded, so did concerns among Detroit residents. Many argue that the system’s effectiveness remains uncertain, with limited evidence to demonstrate its impact on reducing gun violence. The lack of publicly available data displaying the system’s success has fueled skepticism and calls for greater transparency. 

The Detroit City Council’s recent decision to expand the use of ShotSpotter has only amplified these concerns. As the system is set to be deployed in more neighborhoods, citizens are demanding clarity on its potential implications for privacy, surveillance, and community-police relations. 

BridgeDetroit’s Malachi Barrett, who has reported on this story previously, talked with producer Will Glover for a conversation about a call from Detroiters for more transparency from Sound Thinking and the Detroit Police Department, the Detroit Police Department’s shift on ShotSpotter’s impact, and how the technology’s expansion will affect residents around the city.

One Detroit Weekend: August 18, 2023

Looking for some summer fun in Detroit? Travel back to medieval times at the Michigan Renaissance Festival or immerse yourself in Middle Eastern culture at the St. Rafka Summer Festival. You can also indulge in a one-of-a-kind Michigan ice cream flavor at the Howell Melon Festival. Plus, enjoy a variety of music performances happening in and around the city. Check out everything you can do around town during the August 18th weekend and beyond on “One Detroit Weekend” with contributors Cecelia Sharpe and Peter Whorf of 90.9 WRCJ. 

List of upcoming events: 

  • Listen to the folk-rock Americana sounds of Annie Bacon & Her Oshen at the Blind Pig Friday, Aug. 18 with Quiet Hollers and the Faye Burns Duo. Doors open at 8 p.m. for this 18+ show.  
  • Immerse yourself in Middle Eastern and American culture at the St. Rafka Church’s summer festival on Aug. 18-20. The festival will feature, Middle Eastern foods, henna tattoos, carnival games, a bounce house and more.  
  • Try a one-of-a-kind cantaloupe hybrid melon claimed to be found only in the Howell, Michigan area at the Howell Melon Festival, running Aug. 18-20. Don’t forget to sample some melon-flavored ice cream too! 
  • Grab your finest medieval garb and head over to the Michigan Renaissance Festival for seven magical weekends full of renaissance festivities. The festival runs through Oct. 1 and kicks off with a “Pirates & Pups “ theme on Aug. 19. 
  • Join Grammy and Brit-award winning artist Joss Stone for a soulful performance at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park Sunday, Aug. 20. Stone will perform with Stephen Wilson Jr.  
  • Pay tribute to the great rock band Queen at the One Night of Queen tour coming to Music Hall Center in Detroit on Saturday, Aug. 19, performed by Gary Mullen & The Works.  
  • Check out indie-rock band Local Natives with Annika Bennett for their tour supporting their fourth studio album “VIOLET STREET” at the Majestic Theater on Aug. 20.  
  • Join The Birmingham Society of Women Painters (BSWP) and De La Vie Studio for the art exhibition “Her Story,” which showcases women painters and their lives with both artwork and text. The exhibit is open through Sept. 13 at the Janice Charach Gallery.

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