education

Michigan's SUN Bucks program is providing temporary food assistance to families during summer months when school meals are unavailable, offering $40 per child monthly from June through August via EBT cards with automatic enrollment for those already in programs like SNAP. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Congress are proposing stricter work requirements for SNAP recipients and shifting costs to states, which Michigan officials warn would devastate vulnerable families and local economies. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services emphasizes that federal food benefits are necessities, not luxuries, and cutting them would force families into impossible choices between buying groceries or paying bills. While SUN Bucks provides temporary relief, it highlights the fragility of the food assistance system and the disproportionate impact that potential cuts would have on Black families, rural communities, and the working poor.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Pistons will present "Big Sean & Friends" on June 29, a groundbreaking concert that combines classical orchestration with hip-hop, headlined by Detroit native Big Sean. The event will feature performances by several Detroit artists including Skilla Baby, Tee Grizzley, Illa J, Nasaan, and Queen Naija, with a special orchestral tribute to legendary producer J Dilla. This collaboration represents the latest development in the ongoing partnership between the DSO and Pistons that began in 2018, with proceeds benefiting multiple foundations including the Detroit Pistons Foundation, the Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan, and the Sean Anderson Foundation. Tickets for this genre-blending showcase at Orchestra Hall start at $75 and go on sale May 29.

The Michigan Black Business Alliance (MBBA) is challenging Detroit mayoral and city council candidates to present comprehensive agendas supporting Black-owned businesses, which employ over half of Detroit's workforce. Under President and CEO Charity Dean's leadership, MBBA has directed $12 million in funding to Black-owned businesses and helped create or retain nearly 5,000 jobs since its founding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a survey of over 200 Black-owned businesses, MBBA has developed a 2025 platform that advocates for policy changes addressing structural inequities in capital access, regulatory frameworks, and procurement practices. The organization plans to host public forums and release candidate report cards to ensure Detroit's elected officials prioritize Black entrepreneurship as central to the city's economy. # Who is affected * Black-owned businesses in Detroit * Detroit's workforce (more than half of which is employed by small businesses) * Black entrepreneurs seeking to build generational wealth * Detroit residents relying on the economic contribution of Black businesses * Detroit's commercial corridors along Dexter, Grand River, and Seven Mile # What action is being taken * MBBA is challenging all Detroit mayoral and city council candidates to release comprehensive agendas supporting Black-owned businesses * MBBA is conducting policy advocacy and maintaining statewide partnerships to increase access to capital and decision-making power * The organization is hosting public forums and developing candidate report cards to evaluate plans for supporting Black businesses * MBBA is pushing financial institutions to publish data on who receives loans and funding # Why it matters * Black businesses were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic * Current regulatory frameworks often treat small Black-owned businesses the same as multinational corporations, creating undue burdens * Despite Detroit being over 80% Black, Black business participation in city contracts remains disproportionately low * Entrepreneurship is one of the few tools available to build generational wealth in the Black community, yet Black entrepreneurs face significant structural disadvantages * Many COVID-era funding programs were one-time initiatives that are now ending, threatening progress made # What's next * MBBA will spend the rest of the year hosting a series of public forums * The organization will release a report card evaluating candidates' plans * MBBA will continue advocating for the Small Business Concierge proposal currently under consideration by City Council * The organization will push for financial institutions to publish data on Black business funding

Governor Gretchen Whitmer warns that Republican-proposed Medicaid cuts would severely impact healthcare access for millions of Michigan residents. She emphasizes that Medicaid supports 2.6 million Michiganders, including nursing home residents, children, people with disabilities, and expectant mothers, while also sustaining rural hospitals and school services. The proposed cuts would potentially eliminate coverage for over 500,000 Michigan residents and reduce funding by hundreds of billions of dollars nationwide. Governor Whitmer highlights her career-long commitment to healthcare access, including her work on Healthy Michigan and recent executive directive to study the impacts of potential Medicaid cuts.

The Honorable Ulysses Whittaker Boykin, a pioneering African American judge who passed away on May 10, 2025, at age 79, left behind a profound legacy in Michigan's legal community. Born in Detroit in 1945, Judge Boykin's distinguished career included co-founding the Harvard Black Law Students Association, becoming the first African American attorney at Dickinson Wright, serving two decades on the Wayne County Circuit Court after his 1999 appointment, and dedicating himself to mentorship and community service. Throughout his career, he held numerous leadership positions in legal associations while receiving recognition including the 2016 Champion of Justice Award, all while maintaining an unwavering commitment to opening doors for others and strengthening institutions through his involvement with various boards, commissions, and his church community.

InsideOut Literary Arts, celebrating 30 years of inspiring Detroit youth through creative expression, has partnered with City Walls Detroit to unveil a vibrant new mural on Detroit's Avenue of Fashion. The artwork, created by Detroit artist Oshun Williams with assistance from Ijania Cortez and Joe Cazeno III, is located near Livernois and 7 Mile Road on Yoshi Hibachi Grille Livernois. Founded in 1995 by Terry Blackhawk, InsideOut has served over 70,000 Detroit youth through various programs including their Writer-in-Residence Program and Citywide Poets, becoming a national model for literary arts education. The mural symbolizes InsideOut's achievements and is part of a yearlong anniversary campaign that includes poetry showcases, community workshops, and a digital archive of youth work.

The Motown Museum has unveiled the Esther Gordy Edwards Centre for Excellence, a 38,000-square-foot facility honoring the museum's founder and expanding its cultural mission. More than 150 guests, including Motown alumni and community leaders, attended the opening event which coincides with the museum's 40th anniversary celebrations. The new center features a first floor dedicated to Hitsville NEXT youth development programs where young creatives can collaborate and develop their talents, while the second floor houses offices for museum staff and archival research spaces. Led by Robin Terry, Edwards' granddaughter and the museum's Chairwoman and CEO, this expansion represents a significant milestone in the museum's ongoing evolution, with a larger campus expansion planned for 2026.

The Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan is offering ten $2,500 Reparations Scholarships for the second year, now expanded to include both graduating high school seniors and nontraditional students in Ingham, Eaton, and Clinton counties. Applicants must be descendants of enslaved African Americans (defined as individuals with three generations born in the US), begin studies at an accredited institution in fall 2025, and submit a 500-word essay about how the racial wealth gap has affected their family by May 9, 2025. The scholarships are funded primarily by reparations payments from faith-based institutions acknowledging their historical complicity in slavery, with Prince Solace, president of the Justice League, emphasizing that these scholarships represent economic justice rather than charity. The Justice League, formed in 2021, aims to address the racial wealth gap through various initiatives including education, home ownership, and entrepreneurship support.

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is hosting the 88th Annual Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) Student Art Exhibition from April 18 through May 25, displaying 232 student artworks from 38 DPSCD schools both on-site and online. This exhibition represents the longest-standing collaboration between the DIA and an educational institution, showcasing K-12 student creations across diverse media including paintings, drawings, prints, ceramics, photography, jewelry, and video. DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons emphasized the exhibition's role in demonstrating their commitment to arts education, while DPSCD Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti highlighted the prestigious opportunity it provides for student artists and the district's commitment to enhancing education. Admission to the DIA is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.

Michigan’s public school children face potential disruptions in their access to free meals due to federal proposals. Currently, schools qualify for universal free meals if 25% of their students participate in federal aid programs like SNAP or TANF. However, congressional Republicans aim to raise this threshold to 60%, which could disqualify hundreds of schools, particularly in Black, brown, and rural communities. This change could impact the physical and mental health of over half a million students. Michigan currently spends $200 million annually to maintain universal meal programs, but federal cuts could strain these efforts.

Hiram E. Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media and Publisher of the Michigan Chronicle, was honored with the renaming of his childhood Boys & Girls Club of Highland Park in his honor following a $2 million renovation. The Hiram E. Jackson Club is the first Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan to be named after an African American, marking a significant milestone in the organization's history. Jackson, who joined the club at age 6 in 1971, has maintained a five-decade relationship with the organization, progressing from member to coat checker to volunteer, board member, and eventually becoming the first Black chairman of the BGCSM board where he helped select the current president and CEO. The newly renovated facility includes state-of-the-art amenities like the Big Sean Studio, Innovation Lab, and Mental Health & Leadership Room, and is projected to generate $5 million in return on investment to families.

Flint City School District is facing significant financial strain after the U.S. Department of Education abruptly moved up the deadline for federal reimbursement requests tied to pandemic relief by one year, retroactively enforcing it without public warning. This decision places nearly $42 million meant for Michigan schools in jeopardy, with Flint potentially losing $1.4 million of its expected $15.6 million from the American Rescue Plan. Statewide, 27 school districts had similar contracts, with twelve expecting approximately $40 million in reimbursements under the American Rescue Plan and fifteen more anticipating $1.9 million from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. The cuts threaten infrastructure projects and essential programs serving vulnerable students, particularly in communities already burdened by environmental and systemic injustice like Flint, Benton Harbor, and Pontiac.