I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
[Commentary] Recently I was reminded why genuine conversation on race between people of different backgrounds is so often avoided: It’s really awkward. After all, it’s hard to talk to someone who doesn’t know anything about any culture other than the suburban white one, and trying to bridge that communication gap can make you feel uneasy. [...]
[COMMENTARY] When I moved to Detroit, one of the first things I noticed was the number of churches I saw. I couldn’t turn a corner without seeing a cross at the top or on the side of large traditional church buildings and smaller storefront churches. I started wondering: Why all the churches? Recently, I got [...]
African-American infants in Michigan are three times more likely to die before their first birthday than Caucasians, according to a study released Tuesday by the Kids Count in Michigan project and the Michigan League for Human Services. The study, “Right Start in Michigan – 2008: Targeting Disparity in Infant Mortality,” focuses on the 10 counties [...]
[COMMENTARY] Before Sunday night, the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund dinner organizers never got so many people of different backgrounds from all over the country, if not the world, to pay attention to what they had to say. Of course this has everything to do with Barack Obama and the fact that we are close [...]
[Ed. note: Forman, a recent graduate of Oakland University, is our newest Michigan Messenger Fellow.] [COMMENTARY] Cultural identity is vital to how people communicate and, in many ways, how they view the world. So if you’re from a multicultural background, the sooner you can define which culture you step to, the sooner you can start [...]
[COMMENTARY] Since the dust-up began about race and Barack Obama, I’ve thought a lot about the movie “Bulworth.” Warren Beatty plays a jaded politician who sheds the scales over his eyes and begins to truly understand the challenge of race in America. His character Bulworth says: But we got Americans with families that can’t even [...]
[COMMENTARY] Recently, in liberal, enlightened Ann Arbor, at a home accessory store, I was in the checkout line behind an older black couple. The cashier asked the man for ID as he paid with a credit card. She took my credit card without question. I noticed this small difference, but didn’t ask the clerk why [...]
For much of the Democratic primary season, Sen. Barack Obama has strategically avoided race by attempting to transcend it. In his ambitious speech responding to criticism of his affiliation with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., Obama took the issue head on and placed it at the center of political conversation. The candidate of unity laid [...]
[COMMENTARY] In all the controversy over Barack Obama’s minister, Jeremiah Wright, one fact seems to have gotten lost: No matter how crazy Wright’s views are on some subjects — and some of those views really are crazy — he doesn’t hold even a fraction of the political influence and power held by a number of [...]
Video of Senator Obama’s speech today on the subject of race. Read the full text of the speech at this link.
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