Jenny Brown, CEO of Dutton Farm, with her sister, Rebecca ‘Becca’ Smither.

Addressing disability complaints a top priority for Civil Rights Department

DISABILITY COMPLAINTS: Disability discrimination complaints to the Department of Civil Rights now outpace complaints based on race. The department wants to ramp up its enforcement of legal protections and increase public education and awareness. The governor wants the Legislature to provide more money to do so. We talk to the executive director of the department, its head of special projects, and an advocate in Rochester. By Jack Timothy Harrison. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum is remembering and re-educating society on Black history in America

 On Jan.30, Dr. Khalid el-Hakim brought the Black History 101 Mobile Museum to the East Lansing Public Library, highlighting and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. The event showcased authentic documents and artifacts ranging from the time of the slave trade in the U.S, civil rights movements from around the world and all the way to the modern era of Hip-Hop and its influence on culture and society.

This is what households with different incomes pay for water bills under Detroit’s Lifeline Plan.

Detroiters offered more gallons of water under discount program

DISCOUNTED WATER: To help prevent water shut-offs for nonpayment, low-income Detroit households are now entitled to more free water each month. We talk to the Wayne Metropolitan Action Agency, Water & Sewerage Department and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. Senators, including ones from Metro Detroit, Bay City, Ann Arbor and Flint, are sponsoring a bill to recognize water as a basic human right. By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya. FOR DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, MIDLAND AND ALL POINTS.

All white clergy apologizes ‘to the African American community for slavery and its aftermath’ at Lansing event

“As white Christians, we repent of our complicity in the belief in white supremacy: the belief that people of European descent are superior in intelligence, skills, imagination, and perseverance.” This statement was made in unison by an all-white group of Lansing clergy to fellow clergy of color. In his welcome speech and opening prayer, Reachout Christian Center’s Pastor David Foreman introduced a gathering of an all-white clergy who were present to “apologize for the sins of slavery and its aftermath,” as well as a presentation on a reparations model pledged by majority white houses of worship in Lansing. Hosted by the Justice League of Greater Lansing, the Jan. 28 event was held to “repair the breach caused by centuries of slavery, inequality of wealth accumulation, and the failure to live into God’s Plan of equality for all of humanity,” said a public flyer from the JLGLM released to attendees of the ceremony. 

The group was founded in June 2021 by JLGLM’s vice president Willye Bryan. According to the organization’s website, the Justice League is a faith-based organization that makes “the connection between faith and racial justice in the form of reparations.”

Prince Solace began the service and introduced each member of the organization who spoke to the audience.

A Friends of Grand Rapids Parks member prepares to plant a tree.

Greenspace starts with grassroots

RIVERWALK: The Detroit RiverWalk and a tree-planting project in Grand Rapids are examples of efforts to improve outdoor access for residents of Michigan cities. Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy explain. By Jake Christie. FOR WKTV, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, GREENVILLE AND ALL POINTS.

A park in Flint offers recreational opportunity for urban residents

State looks for ways to improve outdoor equity

OUTDOOR EQUITY: For years, lack of outdoor equity has been something the DNR has been trying to find solutions for. There are projects in Detroit and Flint tackling the problem, as well as other programs such as free fishing weekends and Becoming an Outdoors Woman. By Camryn Evans. FOR PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.

State budget proposal aims to fill kids’ hunger gap

SCHOOL MEALS: The Whitmer administration wants to use state funds to close the hunger gap created when the federal government ended its pandemic-era program that paid for free breakfast and lunch for all schoolchildren regardless of household income. We talk to the food services director of the Jenison & Hudsonville Schools, who also heads the School Nutrition Association of Michigan, XXX and YYY. By Sophia Brandt. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV, DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Can airlines fix their antiquated accessibility procedures?

WHEELCHAIRS ON PLANES: Airline travel has its hassles, but the experience can be harrowing for wheelchair users. Possible ways to allow passengers to travel using their own chairs are getting a renewed look. We talk to a Lansing disability advocate who travels by plane, a University of Michigan transportation researcher and the International Air Transport Association. By Samuel Blatchford. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.