Diversity

Superintendent Alena Zachery-Ross says there will be some great things happening next year in Ypsilanti Community Schools. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has this report.

It won’t be official until January, but Alysha Dyer was sworn in Tuesday night as the next Sheriff of Washtenaw County. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

There are a great number of organizations working in Washtenaw County and southeast Michigan to combat unequal power dynamics and systemic racism. These social sector organizations have become increasingly important amid rising inflation and a divided political climate. Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW) has always put these issues at the fore. Now it is working to build collective power in the social sector to more effectively create the visions and strategies to better provide needed services and to remove the barriers to change. NEW president and CEO Yodit Mesfin-Johnson and Vice President of Strategy Will Jones III joined WEMU's David Fair for a look at how to build that infrastructure.

This past October marked the 30th anniversary of the Eastern Michigan University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center. The staff has been celebrating by reflecting on the center's impact on the EMU campus and greater Ypsilanti community. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale discussed the center's history and future with EMU history and philosophy professor, Dr. Kate Mehuron.

Enrollment in the Ypsilanti Community School District has increased by nearly 500 students over last school year. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

On October 1st of 2023, The United Way of Washtenaw County ceased being an entity unto its own. It merged with, and was rolled into, the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. At the time, leadership said it would not only maintain staff and services in Washtenaw County but expand them. WEMU's David Fair discussed where the merger stands one year later with chapter president and CEO, Dr. Darienne Hudson.

Expect large crowds on the streets of downtown this weekend for Ann Arbor Pride 2024. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has the details.

The Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development wants to help women and minority-owned general contractors get more business. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has this report.

The celebration will run from 11am-3pm Sunday on the Southeast side of Gallup Park. As WEMU's Taylor Bowie reports, it will feature educational programming on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Understanding individually how we process the world around us is the best way to get to the underlying factors contributing to inequity in our lives. On Friday, May 17th, the United Way for Southeastern Michigan will launch the 21-Day Equity Challenge, and it's open to everyone in the community. WEMU's David Fair spoke with the UWSEM's senior director for diversity, equity and inclusion, Andre Ebron, about the program and its impacts.