Churches are so prevalent in the Motor City because they were an essential part of Detroit’s growth.

They have served as resource hubs in communities like Detroit for a long time. Black churches are places where Black residents gather for religious, social, and political reasons and their leaders are at times seen as the leaders in the community. But there’s growing research that suggests church is not as essential as it once was and that younger generations aren’t attending services like they once did. 

Three experts on the subject joined The Metro on Monday to discuss the history of Black churches in communities like Detroit, their impact on Black communities, and the reasons younger generations are moving away.

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Dr. Jason Shelton, professor of Sociology and director of the Center for African American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, spoke about the diversity of traditions within African American protestantism and the tendency for white academic institutions to flatten this diversity.

“I knew as a kid from California that when I went to Church of God in Christ worship services, or if I went to an AME Church, or if I went to a Baptist church as a kid, I could sit in those churches, and I knew that they were very different,” Shelton said. “But as I got older and I became a professor, you realize, wait a minute, they lump us all together in one tradition.”

Rev. Lawrence W. Rodgers, senior pastor at Second Baptist Church of Detroit, spoke about Second Baptist’s history as a stop on the Underground Railroad and place of housing for Black migrant workers. He also connected the decline in church attendance to a decline in collectivist thinking.

“When there is a wedding, people will show up. When there’s a crisis, folks will show up,” Rodgers said. “In the individualistic culture, that makes sense. It’s not about me being there for we. It’s about you being there for me.”

Dr. Deborah Smith Pollard, host of “Sunday Morning Inspiration” on Mix 92.3 and professor emeritus of English Literature at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, discussed the importance of gospel music and Detroit’s impact on the genre through artists like The Clark Sisters, Aretha Franklin, and Commissioned.

“When you see a book about contemporary gospel music, 90% of it is about Detroit gospel,” Pollard said.

In the second hour of The Metro, we asked listeners:

“What role does church or religion play in your life? Why did you join? What was the reason?”

Caller Billy from Lathrup Village discussed the impact of the end of the Civil Rights movement on church attendance among young people.

“What I saw right at the end of the Civil Rights Movement, even though it didn’t really end, was we saw a lot of Black churches opting out of civil rights marches forming and collecting a check from the federal government where they could not participate in any civil rights or any movements,” Billy said. “And you can almost draw a direct line to young people being disinterested in the church because they felt that.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on Dec. 9, 2024:

• Dr. Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 as a way to unite the Black community following the Watts Rebellion. Yolanda Jack, manager of community engagement for The Charles H. Wright Museum, joined the show to talk about the holiday and the museum’s upcoming week-long celebration.
• Throughout Israel’s military campaign in Gaza this past year, much of the region’s vital infrastructure has been destroyed — with more than half of Gaza’s hospitals completely out of service due to Israeli bombardments. Dr. Adam Fahs, member of the local group Doctors Against Genocide, joined the show to discuss his time in Gaza as a doctor and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
• The nonprofit COTS Detroit is gearing up for its annual “Santa Shop” toy drive for families experiencing homelessness during the holidays. COTS Chief Development Officer Aisha Morrell Ferguson joined The Metro to talk about the upcoming event.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Maternal mortality is high in the U.S. compared with other wealthy countries, and particularly high in Michigan.

Detroit had the highest preterm birth rate of any U.S. city in 2023 at over 15%, according to a new report from the advocacy organization March of Dimes. There are also glaring racial differences in the maternal mortality rate nationally. The number of Black or American Indian women who die as a result of giving birth is over 50 per 100,000 people, while the rates for white, Hispanic, and Asian women are all below 20 per 100,000 people. Several health care and childcare professionals joined The Metro to discuss the risks facing expectant mothers and what can be done to alleviate them.

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Dr. Kara Patek, Clinical Assistant Professor in the WSU School of Medicine and a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist, said that data has shown that racial trends in maternal mortality persist even when comorbidities and existing risk factors are accounted for. 

“That data has really forced medical educators, as well as physicians already in practice, to really look at what are we doing differently between these patient groups,” Patek said. “There’s been a lot of efforts to address that concept of implicit bias.”

Khadijah Bansfield, home-birth midwife and the owner of the Heart and Soul Midwifery, discussed why mothers may choose to give birth at home rather than at a hospital.

“A lot of times that when moms come to me, it’s because they have had a family member who’s had a home birth, or a family member who’s had a traumatic hospital birth, and it’s kind of like, they want to have a more positive birth experience on their own terms,” Banfield said.

Miriam Shumulinskiy, the clinical director at motherhood development center Honey For Moms, explained how new motherhood can affect a person’s mental well-being.

“Motherhood completely changes the way a person sees themself and the world around them,” Shumulinskiy said. “It’s like a part of your body is now disconnected and walking around in the world that we can no longer protect in the way that we would want.”

Carolyn Dayton, director of Wayne State University’s Social Work Early Childhood Support Clinic, stressed the importance of incorporating mental health care for new parents into pediatric care, as new parents are at risk of several postpartum mood disorders.

“Moms, given a shortage of time or a shortage of insurance, will take their baby for care and sort of forgo their own medical care after birth,” Dayton said. “So OB-GYN clinics would be ideal, but moms aren’t always necessarily going back for their six week checkup, so pediatrics is the ideal place to be really screening and delivering services to families with new babies.”

The Metro hosts Tia Graham and Robyn Vincent asked listeners:

“Do you trust the hospital and health care system to deliver your baby? Or does your distrust of the medical system make you not want to have kids altogether?”

Caller Jamila shared her experience having a home birth attended by a midwife:

“With my son, it had to be about 11 or so at night when I was having my contractions,” she said. “We called her, she lives about an hour from me. By the time she got to my house, it was maybe midnight, and she was here, she was coaching my husband and I, and she let everything be as comfortable as possible.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Nov. 25, 2024:

• Pingree Detroit is a worker-owned company that reclaims discarded leather from the automotive industry and fashions it into wearable leather, home goods, footwear and accessories. Founder and CEO Jarret Schlaff and VP of Footwear Operations Nathaniel Crawford joined the show to talk about all that goes into the business.
• Last week, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud joined the show to talk about the ICC’s ruling and how Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon are affecting Arab American residents in Dearborn.
• General Motors and Bedrock on Monday announced a $1.6 billion redevelopment plan for the Renaissance Center that calls for demolition of two of the iconic building’s towers. Stephen Henderson sat down with urban consultant Harriet Sapperstein earlier this year to discuss what would become of the RenCen after GM left the site.
• Producer Sam Corey spoke with Jeff Patrick, president and CEO of HardRock HDD, an underground utilities company that’s frequently contracted by Detroit, about the process of removing lead lines in the city.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

“How do you interact with your homeless neighbors? And whose responsibility is it to address housing and homelessness?”

• Healthy Roots Dolls is a Detroit-based business that creates dolls with kinky, coily and curly hair for Black children of color. Healthy Roots Dolls CEO Yelista Jean-Charles joined the show to discuss the company’s mission.
• Overdose deaths in Michigan decreased more than 6% from 2022 to 2023. To learn more about the decline, producer Sam Corey spoke with Steve Norris, director of overdose prevention and recovery support for the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced last week that he will not seek reelection in 2025, ending a 12-year run that saw Detroit exit bankruptcy and begin the climb back to stability.

Anika Goss, CEO of Detroit Future City, joins Created Equal along with journalists John Gallagher and Darren Nichols to discuss what has happened over the last decade of Duggan’s leadership and what awaits the city’s next leader. 

Subscribe to Created Equal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Goss discussed how Detroit’s rate of Black homeownership has increased to its highest level since the housing crisis and the percentage of vacant land in the city has decreased over Duggan’s mayorship. However, she says there are still large income gaps within Detroit’s middle class, rates of educational attainment continue to decrease, and the city is facing the loss of the Black middle class to the suburbs.   

Gallagher pointed out that although Duggan’s leadership has correlated with an improvement in the city’s economy, there were many local grassroots efforts in place to promote economic recovery prior to Duggan’s first term. Gallagher also discussed how the economic improvements were often focused on Detroit’s downtown and Midtown areas rather than Detroit’s neighborhoods.

Nichols discussed how last year’s NFL Draft in Detroit was a culmination of the good press and excitement Duggan had built around the city. Nichols suggested that some of Duggan’s success could be attributed to his skills as a campaigner who spoke directly to city residents and presented himself as a fresh voice for change. He believes that the next mayor will have to similarly humble themselves and address the whole city. 

Nichols also said he believes housing and poverty rates will be the most pressing issues for the city’s next leader to address.  

“We can build affordable housing, but do those people have the finances to be able to do that? Do they have the credit to be able to do that? We have to keep in mind our realism as to what Detroit’s poverty rate means for affordable housing,” he said. 

Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation. 

Guests: 

• Anika Goss is the CEO at Detroit Future City.
• John Gallagher is a journalist, senior business columnist for the Detroit Free Press, and author of the book, “Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City.”
• Darren Nichols is a journalist and contributing columnist at the Detroit Free Press 

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.