racial equity

Washtenaw County is exploring ways to reduce or even eliminate justice system fines and fees. To do that, the county recently joined the national organization Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice. WEMU's Josh Hakala explains.

The Democratic race for the 5th District County Commission seat includes three candidates who feel they know the best way to serve their constituents. WEMU’s Cathy Shafran has a preview.

There are three candidates seeking to serve as the Mayor of Ypsilanti in a runoff to be decided in August. All three have experience as elected officials, and all agree they have a good working relationship and similar goals and aspirations for the city. That leads some to beg the question: Why run against one another? WEMU’s Josh Hakala went in search of the answer.

We are days away from the national and local celebration of Juneteenth. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. 157 years later, racial issues and matter of inequity and inequality remain at the fore of our social discourse. WEMU's David Fair is joined by the founder of Survivors Speak, Trische' Duckworth, to talk about Juneteenth as a platform to advance the dialogue and look at Ypsilanti's annual Juneteenth celebration while also marking the one-year anniversary of the painting of Ypsilanti's Black Lives Matter Boulevard.

A "Community Baby Shower" continues through the end of May in Washtenaw County. We know there is a local and national shortage of baby formula, but there are a number new moms in our community that need a more than that. That's the idea behind the month-long event: to raise needed supplies to be distributed to give mother and child a hand-up as they begin their journey together. WEMU's David Fair was joined by the Vice President of Development of the United Way of Washtenaw County, Susan Smith, to discuss how serious the needs are and what we can collectively do to help in our community.

WEMU's Lisa Barry and On the Ground Ypsi project manager Sarah Rigg talk with Keesa Johnson from the Washtenaw County Black Farmers Fund about efforts to…

Learning remotely and through a difficult pandemic academic year has left some children in the area a bit behind. Black Men Read (BMR) was formed to…

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer touched on numerous topics in her third State of the State address, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, repairing…

2020 reinforced that there is still a lot of work to do to achieve racial equality and justice in America. Numerous acts of police brutality and a…

Eli Savit officially takes over as Washtenaw County's new prosecutor in January 2021 but has already been meeting with community groups and planning major…