Two groundbreaking leaders of Detroit’s arts and culture scene will be honored at the GhostLight Arts Initiative’s inaugural GhostLight Gala, taking place this Sunday at the Garden Theater.

Honoree Njia Kai is a celebrated cultural curator, producer and community visionary. Through her company NKSK Events + Production, the lifelong Detroiter has curated some of Detroit’s most iconic cultural celebrations— from the Charles H. Wright Museum’s African World Festival to the Downtown Detroit Tree Lighting.

Dr. George Shirley, who will also be honored on Sunday, is a man of many firsts.

He was the first Black man to teach music at a Detroit High School; the first Black tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City; and the first Black member of the U.S. Army chorus in Washington D.C. He also received the National Medal of Arts from former President Barack Obama in 2015 for his work mentoring countless Black musicians.

Kai and Shirley both joined The Metro ahead of the gala to discuss their commitment and contributions to Detroit’s art scene.

Proceeds from the event will help support GhostLight programming, including its Obsidian Theatre Festival — which provides a platform for emerging Black voices in theater and film.

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Detroit has produced some of the world’s greatest boxers, largely thanks to Kronk Gym.  

Kronk was established in 1971 by trainer Emanuel Steward in a gym on Detroit’s southwest side. Boxer Hilmer Kenty was Kronk’s first professional champion, winning the WBA title. Gold-medalist Steve McCrory and world boxing champion Lenox Lewis also trained there.

The original gym closed in 2006 and was long vacant by 2017 when the building was destroyed by fire. Steward later rented a space in Westland to house the gym.

Now, the historic gym is making its return to Detroit, at the Brewster Wheeler Recreation Center.

We spoke to Kronk Chief Operating Officer John Lepak and former professional boxer Tarick Salmaci ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. about about the move and the gym’s legacy in the sport.

Kronk Boxing Gym will reopen in the Brewster recreation center by the end of the summer. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

–Associated Press writer Corey Williams contributed to this report.

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It’s been more than 50 years since the first Pride march took place in New York City in 1970, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots.

Known as the Stonewall Uprising, a police raid on the New York City gay bar the Stonewall Inn led to a six-day clash between police and the LGBTQ+ community.

Pride celebrations look very different in the U.S. today, says Alejandra Márquez, assistant professor of Spanish and gender and sexuality researcher at Michigan State University. 

She says the commercialization of Pride Month in the ’90s helped to expand LGBTQ visibility and representation in those communities, but it has also caught the attention of corporations and others seeking to monetize the movement. 

Marquez joined The Metro to discuss LGBTQ+ representation in the U.S. and Latin America and how Pride celebrations have changed over the years.

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Many arts organizations across the state of Michigan are struggling to balance their budgets after the Trump administration’s recent blows to federal grant funding.

That includes the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, which recently canceled its 30th season due to “a perfect storm of events,” including disappearing grants, donors pulling back and lower-than-expected ticket sales, according to the festival’s website.

Janice L. Blixt , producing artistic director for the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, joined The Metro to discuss the organization’s future and how they’re navigating uncertain times.

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D.L. Holmes was the athletic director, track and cross-country coach at Wayne State University from 1917 to 1958. In a time when segregation in sports was the norm, Holmes coached athletes of all races, a radical act. He coached three Olympians, one gold medalist and 11 All-Americans.

Holmes, a beloved mentor known for nurturing hidden talent, was instrumental in nine national championship wins and four world record holders.

In his new book, “Coach of Champions,” Troy author Keith D. Wunderlich tells the story of Coach Holmes through team member interviews and “historically informed narratives.” Wunderlich is Holmes’ grandson and a former sprinter.

He joined The Metro to talk about the book and Holmes’ legacy in Detroit and beyond.

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The Detroit Institute of Arts is a world-renowned museum. But, but how many pieces in its collection are made by a Detroiter? Tiff Massey’s “Baby Bling” will soon be acquired by the DIA. Salvador Salort-Pons, the museum’s Director, told the Metro that the DIA is acquiring “Baby Bling” from Massey and adding it to the museum’s permanent collection. 

“We are acquiring “Baby Bling,” and I’m very excited about this, and this will be on view in, I hope […] our contemporary wing, and I hope it will be part of the reinstallation,” says Salvador Salor-Pons.

Lots of people traveled and spent their weekends at the DIA over the past year. Tiff Massey’s “7 Mile + Livernois”  wasn’t just an exhibit, it was an event for the culture. The exhibit represented Black Detroit in some of its rawest forms.

In 2015, the DIA responded to some critics who thought the DIA and other art institutions could do better to serve Detroit and Metro Detroit. In response, it created a Talent and Diversity subcommittee and later in 2020, created its inclusion, diversity and access or IDEA strategy. 

Recent exhibitions like Massey’s “7 Mile + Livernois” suggest the strategy to make the DIA a more inclusive and representative space is working.

Museum Director Salvador Salort-Pons and exhibition curator Katie Pfol joined The Metro to discuss how the exhibition’s success marks a turning point for the Museum.

Salvador shared that the museum’s year-long showcase of the tiff Massey exhibit was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Detroit Institute of Arts plans to reinstall its contemporary African American galleries to a more prominent location in the museum in October. The new location will be adjacent to the renowned Diego Rivera court.

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