Inequality, violence inspire this weekend’s march up Woodward

Inequality, violence inspire this weekend’s march up Woodward

Perhaps no city in the country better illustrates the debilitating fallout of racial inequality than Detroit. While whites prospered during the heyday of the auto industry, black people were confined to dilapidated neighborhoods, substandard schools and low-paying jobs. More than a half century later, life hasn’t gotten much better for many black Detroiters. To shed […]

Detroiters refuse to relocate for oil giant

Living in the shadow of the Marathon Oil Refinery in southwest Detroit, Mary McKenzie feels scared and unwanted. She sits on the front porch with her grandson, watching demolition trucks tear down her neighborhood of 43 years. Across the street, three more houses are about to become casualties of a plan by the oil company to […]

Free Press loses Pulitzer-winning reporter to Fox 2

Free Press loses Pulitzer-winning reporter to Fox 2

It’s hard to imagine the Detroit Free Press without M.L. Elrick. Charismatic, dogged and earnest, Elrick is a relentless watchdog driven by an intolerance for corruption. He and reporting partner Jim Schaefer took down the Kwame Kilpatrick administration with a series of stories that showed the then-mayor committed perjury and carried on a torrid affair […]

Detroit, Hamtramck consider sharing fire services

Detroit, Hamtramck consider sharing fire services

Hamtramck and Detroit are exploring a relationship to share fire services at a time when both communities are cutting public safety to fill budget gaps. “The financial realities force us to think outside the box,” Hamtramck City Manager Nervus Nazarko told Detroit City Council this morning. “We would support anything that would make financial sense […]