Jalen Rose is probably best known for what he’s done on the basketball court. He was one of the leaders of the University of Michigan’s Fab Five basketball team in the ’90s, and then went on to play for various teams in the NBA before becoming a broadcaster. 

But in addition to his many accolades in sports, Rose has been an advocate for educational equity — giving back to the city he grew up and started his career in. In 2011, he started the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy charter school in Detroit, which is now expanding to Royal Oak Township. 

Rose is also hosting an event in Detroit this week as a part of the “State of the People POWER Tour” — a national grassroots campaign to center Black voices and advance the Black community through service and strategic action. He joined The Metro to share more about the tour and his life in Detroit.

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We’re just over a week away from Movement, Detroit’s annual electronic music festival. The event draws techno lovers from across the globe for three days of music, dancing, and for many people — heavy partying. 

While Movement discourages and prohibits illegal or illicit drugs at the event, research from the National Institute of Health shows that electronic music festivals are typically “high-risk scenes for drug use.”

Passenger Recovery is a Hamtramck organization offering recovery and mental health support and sober programming for musicians and/or other individuals in the local music scene.

Bryan Wolf, director of programming at Passenger, joined The Metro on Wednesday to share some resources and outreach efforts planned for Movement weekend. 

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A mistrial was declared earlier this month in the murder trial for Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr. He faced one count of second-degree murder for shooting and killing 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop in Grand Rapids in April 2022.

When Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, attempted to flee during the traffic stop, Schurr chased and tackled him to the ground, engaging in a physical struggle before fatally shooting Lyoya in the back of the head, according to the case.

The trial began about a month ago, and after nearly four days of deliberations, the jury failed to reach a consensus. For many, the incident brings to light concerning national statistics that show Black people are twice as likely as white people to be shot and killed by police. 

Detroit Free Press politics reporter Arpan Lobo has been following the case closely. He joined The Metro to break it all down and share his reaction to the mistrial.

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Over the last few decades, there has been a growing gender gap in college enrollment and graduation rates — with boys and men falling behind.

According to the American Institute for Boys and Men, there were 2.4 million more women than men in undergraduate programs on U.S. campuses last year. Additionally, more women have college degrees today than men of the same age, the Pew Research Center reports.

That’s important, because the more education a person gets the lower their chances are of living in poverty. So if getting a college degree is still the recommended path to success, why aren’t men doing it? While college enrollment among men has declined in recent years, targeted programs and outreach efforts have emerged to reverse that trend.

Antonio Rivers is a 19-year-old industrial mechanic from Southfield. After graduating from high school in 2023, he enrolled in a vocational training program instead of college. 

Rivers joined The Metro on Monday to talk about his decision to forgo a traditional four-year degree to become an industrial mechanic.

We also revisited a previous conversation with Curtis Lewis — founder of the Black Male Educators Alliance — about the organization’s efforts to encourage more Black men to become teachers and why drawing more Black men into the classroom is vital.

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For the first time in over a decade, Mayor Mike Duggan will not be on the ballot for Detroit mayor.

The longtime Democrat announced in December that he’ll instead be campaigning (as an independent) for Michigan governor — opening up a competitive field of candidates vying to fill his shoes.

That includes former Detroit police Chief James Craig, Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, former nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins and attorney Todd Perkins. 

As mayor, Duggan prioritized ridding the city of blight, revitalizing parks and recreation centers, and decreasing crime with the help of initiatives like community violence intervention programs.

Today on The Metro, BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett breaks down the Detroit mayoral race and the candidates’ priorities for the city. We also revisit a recent conversation with Detroit Future City CEO Anika Goss about what she believes the city’s new leadership should be prioritize.

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Americans are struggling to find affordable places to live. With the cost of living, gas and groceries going up, Detroit it is no exception. According to a report from the Detroit Justice Center, Detroit is behind in supplying affordable homes to residents.

Still, this is an issue city leaders have tried to address. For the better part of a decade, officials have invested millions of dollars into affordable housing projects. But the city is still unable to keep up with demand. Those efforts have only multiplied in recent years.

Julia Cardi, an investigative reporter for The Detroit News, has been covering affordable housing in Detroit. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to talk about the city’s past investments and the work that’s happening now to bring more affordable housing to the city.

Also, MiSide Community Impact Network President Sean De Four joined the show to talk about Campbell Street Apartments — Southwest Detroit’s new $18 million affordable housing development — ahead of the project’s ribbon cutting.

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Housing policies are not just for the current time they’re created in. They produce laws and rules around housing that affects future generations, even if they weren’t intended to. 

Detroit’s Black homeowners have faced systemic barriers due to predatory governance, which generates public revenue through discriminatory policies.

That’s one of the themes of the new book, “Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America.” The book explores restrictive housing policies such as racial covenants, redlining and property tax over-assessments. 

Professor Bernadette Atuahene, the author of “Plundered,” works at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, focusing on land stolen from people in the African Diaspora. Her research highlights the urgent need for housing reforms to address racial inequities in property ownership.

She joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss her years spent in Detroit trying to understand the way housing policies have prevented or overturned homeownership for many Black folks in the region. 

Professor Atuahene will be speaking at a rally on Friday, May 16 at 3:15 p.m. at the Detroit Public Library’s Main Branch, 5201 Woodward Ave, Detroit, Michigan.

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Detroit’s musical legacy has left an undeniable mark on the industry. The city gave the world Motown and icons like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin — artists who reshaped modern music. And we can’t forget Detroit’s role in the rise of techno, born from the basements of Belleville and stretched across the globe.

But no one flipped the game quite like producer and artist James Dewitt Yancey — best known as J Dilla.

Dilla wasn’t just a producer, he was a visionary whose beat-making style redefined hip-hop and R&B. With his MPC3000, he crafted soulful, off-kilter rhythms that broke the rules — and built new ones. 

His touch can be felt in the music of Common, The Roots, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest, and Detroit’s own Slum Village, the group he helped form. Tracks like “The Light” by Common and “Runnin’” by The Pharcyde showcase his genius. And even now, nearly two decades after his passing, artists and producers still study his sound.

J Dilla died from lupus in 2006 at just 32 years old. Still, his sound lives on. From Detroit to Tokyo, Dilla’s music continues to inspire. 

Feb. 7 — Yancey’s birthday — was recently designated “Dilla Day” by the city of Detroit. The city also renamed a street in his honor at the corner of Nevada and Charest. And this Thursday, Pershing High School — his alma mater — is hosting an event to celebrate his life and raise awareness about lupus.

Dilla is survived by his two daughters, Ja’Mya Yancey and Ty-Monae Whitlow.

Joylette Hunter, Ja’Mya’s mother and public relations developer for the James Dewitt Yancey Estate, and hip-hop educator Quan Neloms joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss the event and reflect on Dilla’s legacy.

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More stories from The Metro on Wednesday, April 16:

• Labor professor says Trump tariffs’ impact on autoworkers ‘will be very painful’ to watch
• Former US Attorney Barb McQuade on Trump’s defiance of court orders
• Nonprofit aims to conserve bird habitats in metro Detroit

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