With a new year comes a natural pause in people’s lives. It’s as good a time as ever to reflect on the challenges and successes of the past year, and to look ahead for what’s to come in the future. Over the past year the One Detroit team has explored, investigated and heard the challenges, success and what ifs from our Southeast Michigan community, and has amplified those stories. Let’s take a look back at some of the top stories our team produced in 2021.

Metro Detroit’s Top Stories from 2021:

Marvel Author Saladin Ahmed Discusses New Spider-Man series, Independent Work and More 

On the heels of penning his latest Marvel comic book series, ‘The Spine-Tingling Spider-Man,’ Eisner Award winning comic book author Saladin Ahmed met up with One Detroit Editor Chris Jordan at Vault of Midnight Comics for a wide ranging discussion about his upcoming new Spider-Man series, writing other Marvel comics, his independent work and more.

The Detroit-based comic book author shared more about writing Marvel’s “Ms. Marvel,” “Black Bolt,” and “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” comic series, as well as his own original series “Abbott,” a supernatural mystery that takes place in 1970s-era Detroit. Jordan and Ahmed also talked at length about Ahmed’s recently launched independent comic website, Copper Bottle, his philosophy behind writing stories representative of the audiences reading his work, and how being based in metro Detroit has influenced his writing.

In the Wake of an Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol

Jan. 6 stands as a now historic day for the country, as supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol building during an insurrection that injured approximately 140 people. The former president’s second impeachment trial was underway, and rhetoric denouncing the results of the 2020 election spurred his supporters into action. One Detroit’s Will Glover talked with experts in social media research and right wing extremist groups, as well as a former senior national security director to get a better understanding of what was on the minds of insurrectionists as they laid siege to the Capitol.

Exploring the Future of EV with Ford’s Electric F-150 

Take a look back to when Ford unveiled their first ever electric vehicle, the electric F-150 pickup truck. It was a move that made big strides toward reducing the company’s carbon emissions and appealing to a future-minded customer base. GM followed suit with a pledge to make all light vehicles in their lineup electric by 2035. With a push at the national level to invest more than $174 billion in electric vehicle infrastructure, many companies have started to join the ride, but not without new challenges.

One Detroit’s Will Glover learned more about the upfront costs, range anxiety and battery life challenges this new industry faces as he explored what a future with EVs could look like.

Cinecyde: On Detroit’s Punk Scene

They’re the Detroit band that just keeps rocking. Coming together first back in 1976, Cinecyde could have been Detroit’s first punk band. Now, 45 years later they’re still making music with the newly released “Vegetable Or Thing” album that was nominated for a Detroit Music Award. With no plans of slowing down, One Detroit’s Chris Jordan sat down to chat with the band members about the early days of Detroit’s punk scene and how it felt to still make music more than four decades later. Plus, viewers get a sneak preview into one of the music videos the band was working on for the album.

How Expensive is Being Broke? 

How expensive is being broke? As COVID-19 has put social safety net programs to the test and exacerbated a long-standing wealth gap, more Americans are struggling to support themselves financially. One Detroit’s Will Glover talked with Circles USA, an organization working to lift people out of poverty, as well as those experiencing the added costs of low wages themselves to learn how better pay can push some farther away from getting the financial assistance they need.

University of Michigan Choir Performs “Considering Matthew Shepard”

One Detroit’s Zosette Guir sat down with University of Michigan Chamber Choir Conductor Eugene Rogers to discuss the choir’s recent performance of the oratorio “Considering Matthew Shepard.” Matthew Shepard was a 19-year-old gay college student attending the University of Wyoming who was brutally murdered. The choir’s performance displays a musical response to Shepard’s death, the hate crime, and his legacy. The production was filmed in partnership with the university’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance as well as the university’s Museum of Art.

The Legacy of a Detroit Wall’s Racist Past 

A simple cinder block wall, built 80 years ago, still stands at Detroit’s northern border just off Eight Mile Road, west of Wyoming Avenue. It’s been called the Wailing Wall, the Eight Mile Wall and the Birwood Wall because it went up along Birwood Street, a lasting symbol of racism during the war years when Detroit became America’s Arsenal of Democracy.

After One Detroit’s partner BridgeDetroit, along with NBC News, did some extensive new reporting on the legacy of the wall, talking to people that lived in that neighborhood, One Detroit’s Bill Kubota gets the inside scoop from reporters and author Gerald Van Dusen about the wall and what it means to Detroiters eight decades later.

 

 

 

 

 

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