A Dearborn park will be the home of a new visual art project depicting the children of Gaza. The City of Dearborn, Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, and ACCESS present this “Wall of Tears” artwork to the community.

Artist Phil Buehler created the 100 foot long, 7.5 ft tall outdoor mural that includes the names, ages and stories of over 18,000 children who were killed in Gaza since October 2023. An opening night event will be held for the exhibition on Thursday, June 11 at the Dearborn PEACE Park East from 5-7 p.m. 

The Wall of Tears has previously been displayed in cities around the world, including New York and San Francisco. New murals will also be built in Mexico City, Dallas and Portland. 

Another installation called “Gaza City” will be displayed at the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Saturday, June 13 at 2 p.m. That installation will also be presented by Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

The event will feature a screening of “The Voice of Hind Rajab ” and speakers including Huwaida Arraf, a civil rights lawyer who recently joined the Freedom Flotilla. This installation is a collaboration between Phil Buehler and Palestinian photojournalist Shroug Alaiya. 

Additional headlines for Monday, June 8, 2026  

State lawmakers vote to reinstate reading requirement

The Michigan House voted last week to revive the requirement that kids learn to read within one grade level by third grade or risk repeating a year in school. 

Republican supporters argue its necessary to address the state’s lagging reading scores. Many educators counter that holding kids back a grade does nothing to improve their reading.

Democratic Representative John Fitzgerald says teachers need more resources to improve literacy. “We want to give educators and those around kids the tools that they need to give students the best opportunity for success, and just telling kids you have to read at third grade reading is not going to do it. It’s the resources and we want the result of that policy.”  

State lawmakers repealed Michigan’s third-grade reading law a couple of years ago when Democrats controlled the Legislature. 

-Reporting by Colin Jackson 

Huron Valley inmate dies

The state corrections department says an inmate at the Huron Valley women’s prison died Saturday morning. The Detroit Free Press reports that Ashley Hoath fell ill and was taken to an emergency room, where her condition worsened, and life-saving measures failed. Hoath was serving time for killing her boyfriend in 2017. 

She’s the third Huron Valley inmate to die in less than a month. The state is investigating the other two deaths.  

-Reporting Pat Batcheller 

Hamtramck Town Hall

The City of Hamtramck is hosting a town hall meeting today. The meeting is to help residents understand their water bill structure. City representatives will discuss changes that are taking place. Arabic and Bangla translators will be available.

The town hall is scheduled for June 8 at 7 p.m. People can also watch the meeting at the City of Hamtramck YouTube page.

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.