Black Michiganders have been shaping our state since day one. The impact of Black history extends into every aspect of culture: art, music, science, medicine, sports, and more.
Here, you can find some of the stories of African-Americans that may have been left out of your history book.
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Walter F. Edwards of Wayne State University grew up speaking Guyanese Creole, which shaped his approach to linguistics. He shares how Afro-Caribbean languages have spread to African American Vernacular English and what this looks like for Black Detroiters. -
"What up doe?" If you’ve heard the term before, you probably know it as a greeting or maybe even a question. But for many Black Detroiters, the phrase is a piece of home. Today, we'll talk about the history of "what up doe" and what it means to its originators. -
150 years ago, Cass County was home to a vibrant and prosperous community of Black settlers. Their legacy lives on in Michigan. -
City of Detroit historian Jamon Jordan takes Morning Edition to the site where abolitionists Frederick Douglass and John Brown met to discuss the fight against slavery. -
Malcolm X was a son of Lansing, where he spent some of his most formative years before becoming the iconic activist we know today. So why aren't his quotes and legacy taught much in Michigan schools, or celebrated during Black History Month? -
Members of the state Senate want to put a statue of former Coleman Young at the U.S. Capitol. We talked to a reporter about the push to honor the former Detroit mayor. Then, an exploration of the Michigan life and legacy of civil rights icon Malcom X. -
The house is small, run down, boarded up, surrounded by tall grass. A blue tarp covers the roof. The wood exterior is weathered gray from the elements,… -
This story is part of a Michigan Radio series for Black History Month on Black Michiganders who made contributions to science and medicine.Albert Wheeler… -
Afrourbanism, Detroit's Black history and futureA bustling area of the country’s most chocolate city razed to make way for Highway I-375. An idyllic… -
Dr. Remus Robinson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1904. He first came to Detroit as a teen before getting his medical degree from the University of…
