A new 10-week program is pairing Detroit Black older adults with Wayne State University students to improve social connection and digital literacy.

Dr. Rodlescia Sneed is the program director for the Intergenerational Wisdom Exchange (WiSE). She’s an assistant professor in Wayne State’s Institute of Gerontology and Department of Psychology.

She said social connections are important for health and well-being, but many people depend on technology to maintain that social connection.

“It was our goal to increase social connection and reduce loneliness among older adults, while also improving their technology skills so that we could make improvements that impact their health and well-being,” she said.

Sneed said the program focuses on developing one-on-one connections to make it easier for older adults to learn digital literacy.

“One thing that’s really important when you’re trying to learn something is that you feel comfortable with the person teaching you. Many older adults express that they’re not comfortable speaking up when they don’t understand technology, especially when they’re trying to learn it in a group format,” she said. 

The first half of the program is focusing on sharing life stories of Detroiters. The second half is learning digital literacy.

Oral histories a focus of WiSE

The program is open to Black older adults who live in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb County. Sneed said adults are paired with students who live nearby to reduce transportation barriers and increase accessibility. 

She said undergraduate and graduate students from psychology, social work, engineering, and other disciplines participate in WiSE.

The adults will share their personal stories with the students, who will write them down and give copies to the adults.

“We’re talking about a community that may not traditionally have a lot of written history, and so particularly, I think there is value in families being able to have written histories that they’re be able that they’re able to share across generations, and we’re providing that,” she said.

Racial and technological divide

Sneed said there are large racial divides when it comes to accessing technology and using it. The program aims to reduce those gaps.

“We see divides both in access to technology and comfort with use of technology. We’re trying to close that racial gap. That’s why we specifically selected Black older adults,” she said.

She said students will have an opportunity to learn about the history of Detroit from Detroiters.

“Students really benefit from being able to talk to older adults, hear their wisdom..it really is helpful to them when they’re trying to make plans for their futures going forward. It’s a really good opportunity for students and older adults to make connection and also to learn new skills,” she shares.

The program ends around Thanksgiving this year. The program will repeat next semest

It’s one of the most well-known and beloved sets of hand-painted signs in Eastern Market. 

With a new development of the building at 1401 Gratiot Avenue set to start this fall, however, a major question lingers:

Who will save the bees?

The cartoon bees on the former Busy Bee Hardware building are all that’s left of a century-old business that closed its doors in 2017. They were painted by Martin Hirchak as “MPH Signs,” although it’s unclear how long they’ve been there.

Today, despite being weathered and fading away, they’re still greeting folks heading to Eastern Market at one of the main entry points at Gratiot and Russell.

They’re also under threat. 

Changing habitat

Earlier this summer, Crain’s Detroit Business reported the former Busy Bee Hardware property is undergoing a $12.5 million redevelopment that’ll turn the main gateway into Eastern Market into 17 apartments and more than 6,000 square feet of retail space. It’s being spearheaded by developer Roger Basmajian. Construction is expected to start this fall.

Even in their current condition (and maybe because of their current state), the bee murals feel and look like the character of the market even as it evolves.

Old-school businesses have closed. Developers like Basmajian and others have moved in. The Eastern Market Corporation itself rides the line between embracing new development and maintaining the foundational meat and produce businesses that act as a backbone to one of the largest outdoor public markets in the country.

American folk art like these hand-painted signs are one of Detroit’s defining hallmarks. It’s been well documented in photographer David Clements’ excellent book “Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art” from 2004. More recently, photographer Andrew Anderson built an online database of signs painted by Ron Miller (a.k.a. Ron Signs), known for his signature chrome-style hand-painted signs on myriad Detroit businesses.

You could make the argument that signs like these around the city and the Busy Bee Hardware bees themselves were in part the inspiration for Murals in the Market, the longtime mural festival in Eastern Market that brought large-scale murals into the neighborhood between 2015 and 2025. Detroit artist Kobie Solomon even painted a giant beehive on the back of the Busy Bee Hardware building as part of the mural festival, honoring the original bees.

In the same Crain’s article, developer Basmajian told the paper that he was going “restore the building back to its original glory,” adding that “all the artists that put murals on the building, once we do the tuck-pointing, we are going to ask them to come back and touch them up, if we can locate them.”

In a rendering featured in Crain’s, however, the murals — including the busy bees — are nowhere to be found.

Is that an oversight by the architectural firm helping to redevelop the property, or is it simply developer smooth-talk to promise on preserving this piece of Eastern Market’s character and failing to deliver?

As Eastern Market grows and changes, it’s inevitable that things will change. No one is against seeing the market expand and flourish in new ways.

There’s great artistic character to Martin Hirchak’s bees at 1401 Gratiot. It’s small tangible pieces of art like these and countless other hand-painted signs and murals around the neighborhood, however, that help make something a landmark and add to the cultural memory of thousands of patrons flocking to Eastern Market over the years.

Art like that is also what ends up attracting developers to a neighborhood like this to begin with.

Here’s hoping a new development can honor the character of Eastern Market when construction is scheduled to wrap up in 2028.

 This article was originally published in Midbrow. 

The food rescue nonprofit Forgotten Harvest is working to harvest 1 million pounds of food by the end of the year.

Mike Yancho, the farm manager at Forgotten Harvest Farms, has been working at the farm for 13 years. He says farm staff till and prep the fields, but most of the planting is done by volunteers.

“There’s not a lot in the vegetable world that can be harvested by a machine, and so we do a lot of hand harvesting,” he explains. 

Last year 3,100 volunteers came out to the farm. Yancho says volunteers plant, weed and harvest plants. 

Lori Setera, assistant farm manager at Forgotten Harvest Farms, says several crates have already been filled.

“We’ve already loaded the trailer once and sent it back in with seven crates of cabbage. Those crates run anywhere from about 750 to 950 pounds,” she says. 

The farm’s funding comes from grants and donations. Setera says the space is donated by a previous board member.

“She leases it to us for $1 a year… the farm property itself is about 1,500 acres. But we only farm 100 of that, and then they lease out to other farmers in the area,” she explains. 

The farm supplements healthy foods people need or request, like hot peppers, which are popular. 

“I think about 20 different crops, and our main, our total harvest goal this year is about a million pounds. So that’s taking everything, you know, the cabbage, the corn, the broccoli, everything, and adding it up and getting to a million pounds,” she says. 

Soon they will plant carrots and spinach in a greenhouse to harvest later in the winter months.

Volunteer harvest

Abu Bangurah came out with his company, Midland Credit Management to help out. 

“Trying to save some cabbages from some pesky raccoons, one cabbage at a time,” he laughs. 

This year the cabbage has a disease. Volunteers strip away the outer affected layers.

Deborah Mahomes is also with Midland Credit Management. She comes out every year with her children and grandchildren.

“Last year we planted broccoli, and then we always planted zucchini, zucchini, lots of zucchini. We’ve done that several times. It’s just every year is something different,” she explains.

Mark Eskola is a senior trainer with ITC Holdings Corp., which manages high-voltage power lines in Southeast Michigan. He’s putting a cabbage in one of the large bins.

“I’ve never done this before, so it’s awesome to be working with all these other volunteers today, and it’s been a lot of fun,” he shares. 

Eskola says it was an opportunity to give back.

“This is all about helping people who are hungry and need food, so that’s why we’re here today, just to help people out,” he says. 

Steady progress

Yancho says the farm grows produce with plastic mulch , using drip irrigation tapes. “It’s a super efficient way to water the crops,” Yancho says.

Setera says the food grown in the field goes to the Forgotten Harvest warehouse, where it’s later dispersed.

“Mostly our stuff here goes farmers market style, just how you see it here in these crates. A lot of our brick-and-mortar pantry partners don’t have the equipment or the space to store these giant crates, so most of our things go to the mobile pantries,” she says.

Yancho says the food is the highest quality.

Volunteers were harvesting the food on a Thursday afternoon, but Yancho says the food could get to people in days. 

“Well, one thing that we know about the food that comes from the farm is it’s the freshest of the fresh. The cabbage that’s being picked today will leave here tomorrow, and it could be on somebody’s plate as early as Saturday,” he explains. 

Setera says volunteers harvested over 10,000 pounds of cabbage that Thursday.

“It’s really important for us, for everybody, to know what the weight is of what they harvest because one pound equals a meal,” she says. 

And for families in need, that could make all the difference.

Zaman International is a nonprofit humanitarian organization based in Inkster, which works to uplift marginalized women and children to break the cycles of poverty.

This year the organization is celebrating its 30^th anniversary.

Founder and CEO of Zaman Najah Bazzy says the nonprofit is growing in capacity, leadership and training. “You can never catch up on breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty if you don’t have an intervention with the mother,” she says.

Zaman will have a new executive director Mariam Jalloul, who begins next month. Bazzy says she will help move the nonprofit into policy work. 

There are also efforts to establish a Zaman Leadership Institute. 

“If we could teach the Zaman way without Zaman popping up Zamans around the world, we could teach the methodology growing leaders in the nonprofit sector, and they can come from anywhere in the world,” she explains.

The nonprofit serves hundreds of families each year with thousands of volunteers and partners. 

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is hosting its 63rd convention in Detroit during Labor Day weekend.  

It’s one of the largest annual gatherings of American Muslims in the U.S.  

Azhar Azeez is the CEO of ISNA. He says the last time the convention took place in Detroit was 2014. 

“We have a very strong base in Detroit. Many of our supporters and members are from Detroit and from the state of Michigan, and this is this has been a long-pending request to bring the convention back to this great city,” he says.

This year’s convention will feature topics of patience, perseverance, and God consciousness. 

“We have invited more than 150 speakers who will not only address spiritual and theological topics, but they will also address contemporary challenges that the American Muslim community is facing, whether it is Islamophobia, whether it is anti-Muslim hate rhetoric, whether it is issues related to religious freedom,” he says.

The keynote speaker is the former 13th president of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi. 

Other speakers include Michigan Democratic senator nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. 

Offerings include a Detroit Food Truck Fest, a mini auto show, and a showcase of 20 Michigan nonprofits.  

The Convention will take place Sept. 4-7 at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit.  

Visit isna.net for the program lineup and registration.

More than one hundred people gathered Saturday for an unveiling of the Imam A. El-Amin Way, honoring the late Imam Abdullah Bey El-Amin of the Muslim Center on Woodrow Wilson Street.

At the ceremony, Imam Tauheed A. Rashad of Masjid Wali Muhammad shared that El-Amin’s legacy was building community. 

“This is a special day not only because we are placing the name of Imam Abdullah Beyelahmin on the street, but because we are placing his name permanently, brothers and sisters, into the public memory of the city of Detroit,” he says. 

The late imam was known for his interfaith work helping Muslims bury their loved ones with dignity.

His daughter Zarinah El-Amin says she’s blown away by the reception. 

“I would have never even imagined that my father would have a street named after him in a big city like Detroit, but for his community members, right, that came together and saw fit that he had this honor, they did this,” she shares.

She says the intersection is significant due to its historical space in Detroit’s Muslim community.

“This intersection right here has a lot of history, a lot of hard work, blood, sweat, tears that went into creating something that families could come to enjoy, practice their faith, but also do good work in the community,” she says.

Zarinah shares that her father served in many capacities but, “he was a lot of things to a lot of people. But to me, he was just my father,” she says, one who attended her recitals, advocated for her education, and got things done.

“I’m thankful as the daughter that that was the example I had. Somebody who lived really for do for yourself, not whining, but you see something, get up and make it happen,” she explains.

Work for the city

Abdullah El-Amin served as the Neighborhood City Hall Manager between 1994-2001 under Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. 

Detroit City Councilman Coleman Young Junior says El-Amin’s work outlasted him. 

“If you were homeless, he would help you get a house. If you were drug addicted, he’d help you get treatment. If you were jobless, he’d help you get a job. And let me say this too: when the government couldn’t provide, the Muslim community did,” he told the crowd.

The honorary street name is at the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Davison Street.  

The event was put together by the neighborhood revitalization group Dream of Detroit and other community members.

Detroit Police and the Detroit Fire Department are hosting Public Safety Fun Day at Palmer Park tomorrow, Aug. 15. The free community event is an effort to strengthen relationships between first responders and residents.

The event was originally set for July but was postponed because of unsafe air from Canadian wildfires.

Activities include hands-only CPR training, a meet-and-greet with Detroit police officers, safety education, voter registration and more.

For more information, go to DetroitMI.gov.

Detroit employees receive first checks under new livable wage

The City of Detroit celebrated city employees receiving their first “livable wage” checks in a video on its YouTube channel.

In the spring of 2026, Mayor Mary Sheffield signed an executive order mandating that city employees be paid no less than $21.45 per hour, or $44,616 annually.

All full-time, budgeted positions in departments under the executive branch of city government are included in the new livable wage, as well as employees of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. That includes more than 1,100 people.

In the YouTube video, Sheffield marked the achievement:

“Economic growth is not measured only in the buildings that we construct. We also must invest in the people who make this city work every single day.”

The increase amounts to an average annual salary increase of $6,400.

Lions fall to Bengals in preseason matchup

The NFL season is here. Well, the preseason, at least. The Lions had their first test yesterday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Lions lost 16-14, but standout Ahmed Hassanein showed up with a sack on starting quarterback Joe Burrow. He says he envisioned the moment before the game.

“I truly, truly prayed about it and I manifested it. And I said, ‘I’m going to sack him,’ before the game. And Coach Campbell said the same thing. I just kept telling my wife, ‘I’m going to sack Joe Burrow, I’m going to get him.’ I just kept talking to God about it, and it truly just happened.”

The Lions’ next preseason game is Aug. 22 against the Washington Commanders at Ford Field.

Tigers look to climb AL Central standings

The Tigers have managed to claw their way into second place in the American League Central and hope to continue their climb against the Chicago White Sox this weekend.

First pitch for tonight’s game is at 6:40 p.m. at Comerica Park.

Detroit City FC hosts Loudoun United

Detroit City FC faces Loudoun United FC tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Keyworth Stadium.

J. Cole brings Fall-Off Tour to Detroit

And this Sunday, the Ville comes to the Motor City as J. Cole is slated to perform at Little Caesars Arena.

The Detroit stop is part of J. Cole’s Fall-Off Tour, supporting what he has said will be his final album.

The show starts at 9:30 p.m.

According to Booketic, 55% of Gen Z say they read for fun at least once a week. John King, owner of John K. King Used and Rare Books in Detroit, has more quantifying evidence. 

“Sales have increased for the first six months of this year by 6% so people are buying books. Records were coming back, cassettes I heard were coming back, but books were always there,” says King. He says they’re gaining popularity again because younger people are drawn to media they can hold in their hands, and not have to charge. 

King says he began collecting used books in 1965 out of the back of a 1954 Packard. Once he found a reliable building to settle into, his collection grew into what is now the biggest used bookstore in Michigan.

Throughout the years, he has found some unique objects.

Janelle Spann, an employee at John King’s made sure to emphasize that their rare book section was for serious collectors. But when she is in the main building, she sees all kinds of customers. 

“There’s a ton of young people that come every Saturday and on their days off. So really, I guess your social media is the one who spreads it,” Spann says.

Owning what you pay for

Oliver English was in the history section with a book on Mesoamerican mythology. They think it’s important to be able to keep the books they buy in an era of endless subscriptions. “As more things go online, it’s definitely more important to be able to hold something, and especially right now, ownership of things, especially online, is moving more towards a rental model. And the thing about physical books is, once you buy it once, you own it.”

The younger employees at John King share the same opinion. Julian Kane, who was on the floor helping customers, points to another looming threat to the way reading used to be. 

“I think there is a certain panic in the like in Generation Z or whatever they call it of the AI blowup or any kind of technology that threatens us. I know some people are really excited about it too and see it as a thing that helps them. “

Getting kids invested in reading

Kane’s coworker Shantenay Doss finds young adult novels interesting to read because they’re written for her age group. She says that even younger kids are coming back since their parents have tried to improve their education. 

“We have a a literary problem. I think that’s the word I’m using using correctly. But yeah, not a lot of kids are reading anymore, and I don’t even think they’re teaching it well in schools either anymore. So I think now people are coming back and realizing like we got to get to reading again. “

Both Doss and Kane have been surrounded by books their entire lives. Doss says she spent most of her childhood in the library, while Kane found a greater appreciation for physical books as he got older. They both sought out John King’s because of their love for books and found the perfect environment. 

“This is kind of a time capsule of a store, and the physical media here has so much charm,” says Kane. “There’s a smell that’s like old books, and it smells like your grandma’s basement or something. “

But people wouldn’t be talking about a decrease in reading if it wasn’t becoming a real issue. English says an open mind could be the key to taking a chance on a book. 

“Well, there’s so many of them. Statistically, there’s going to be one you like. You and also, you have to have an open mind. If you go in saying ‘I don’t like books,’ then you’re not going to find one. But if you go in saying I’ll look at the titles, even if the cover looks pretty, just pick it up, and maybe you’ll like it.”

Open minds, open books

King is prepared for open minds. He says he makes sure to keep the books he knows people want in stock, so they can find the next thing they might fall in love with.

“The rarity basically is not that important. We’re more interested in filling the needs of the people, and most of the people want Tolkien, they want Philip K. Dick, they want Jane Austen. So those are are golden books for us because… they’re 100% sellers. “

Even if customers don’t buy a book, Julian Kane says the experience of going to John King’s is a memorable one—even if it’s a bit overwhelming at first. “It’s it’s one of those stores you go into and you’re like ‘what is going on, like how do I find anything?’ But you get absorbed into the novelty of it. The first time you come in you’re like, ‘okay wow I could really spend hours here the next time I come back.'” 

In King’s words finding the right book is like a lottery—you don’t win every day, but now and then you’ll find something thrilling.

Documentary photographer Syed Yaqeen is the founder of the American Muslim Experience documentary project. He created the project to preserve the stories of American Muslims through visual storytelling and conversations. 

“It’s just everyday lives of folks going through their struggles, kids going to school, people going to their work, and all of that is what the one thing that connects. And they happen to be Muslims,” he says.

Yaqeen began American Muslim Experience as a passion project around 2017. The multimedia platform became a nonprofit in December 2025.

Coming to Michigan

This week, the Pennsylvania-based photographer is visiting Hamtramck, Detroit, and Dearborn to gather pictures of people. 

“Michigan is so interesting because you can go in a half-mile drive radius and have every different ethnic background Muslims and their specific areas where there are specific people from parts of the world, but also in between you have the local and long term Black Muslim community, which are such a historic community, ” he shares.

Yaqeen says he was inspired to begin this project after noticing that American Muslims are portrayed negatively in the public eye. 

“When you think of a Muslim in America or a Muslim, who that person can be, and you might not imagine the person you’re seeing right now as what you think a Muslim is,” he says.

A diverse religious community 

He says American Muslims are among the most diverse Muslim communities in the world. 

Yaqeen, who has two sons, says he also wanted to create positive representation of everyday Muslims for his kids, and others.

“It’s definitely a learning process for myself, and I want to share that with the rest of the community, with everyone,” he says.

Yaqeen says the American Muslim Experience project is a way for Americans to learn about Muslims, but also for Muslims to see themselves in the public. 

“Even inside the Muslim community, it’s such a needed visual representation,” he says.

Yaqeen previously worked on the Muslims for American Progress by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), which featured Muslims from all walks of life. He says he got a taste of what this work could look like long-term.

“A lot of this misunderstanding comes from a point of where whoever has that negative idea so often, if not almost always, has never actually met someone who’s Muslim or don’t know anyone who is Muslim,” he explains.

“They just have this stereotypical idea in their head, and they go with it. So all of this work, I think ISPU’s work, and what I’m trying to do, comes back to that point that… get to know the folks.”

Contemporary archive in the making

American Muslim Experience is now a nonprofit. Yaqeen says the work will expand to include educational programming and community conversations.

“We’re hoping for it to be a place where a lot of different storytelling and… community events and all that stuff is housed in one place, so it’s easy to access,” he says. 

Yaqeen says this work is important for years to come.

“Not just a Muslim community, because you hear such negative talks most of the time. But then, when you’re on the ground with the people, you realize there is so much going on. They’re doing amazing work. They’re building community,” he elaborates.

He says American Muslims have played an important role in the country.

“We’re very much part of the history of this country, but also we plan to be part of this country going forward. So to you know have that documented, recorded, and preserved going forward, I think will be very important,” he says.

Yaqeen is collecting photographs and interviews this week. You can find him on Instagram @americanmuslimexperience to schedule a session.