In August, Eva Goodman was placed in handcuffs and a jail uniform for sleeping in a courtroom during a field trip. Goodman, 15, was visiting with a group organized by the nonprofit the Greening of Detroit. During the visit, Judge Kenneth King of the 36th District court scolded the teen for her “attitude” and behavior.

Goodman’s mother told the Free Press after the incident that their family did not have permanent housing and got in late the night before. Judge King was temporarily removed from the court docket, and his classes at Wayne State University were reassigned due to his suspension.

Since the incident, the Created Equal team has been examining through conversations how society responds to people who live in poverty.

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Dr. Rema-Vassar, a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Wayne State University, spent 20 years working in education and studies race, gender and class implications in schools. She says King’s response to the incident in court was inappropriate.

“My adviser at UCLA used to say, ‘all behavior is functional.’ There’s a reason for all behavior. So if the baby is sleeping in the court, the human response is to figure out why,” Vassar said. “Teachers get to come in and say, ‘I haven’t had my coffee. Don’t bother me for five minutes,’ right? A judge can say, ‘I have to take a recess, I need to compose myself and come back.’ Why aren’t children allowed to do that? Why can’t children say, ‘hey, I’m tired.'”

Vassar joined the show on Tuesday to talk more about how a student’s behavior in school can be a reflection of their circumstances at home.

Guest: 

• Dr. Rema-Vassar is a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

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

A new project is combining sounds and storytelling – rooted in Detroit’s parks and neighborhoods. 

The Joyce Foundation, in collaboration with the Detroit Parks Coalition, gave Detroit saxophonist Marcus Elliot a grant to curate Sounds from the Park. It’s a project meant to use music to tell stories about Detroit’s parks and neighborhoods.  

Elliot — who is also an instructor of jazz saxophone at Wayne State University and the director of the Creative Arts Orchestra at the University of Michigan — joined The Metro on Tuesday to tell us more about his new initiative. We were also joined by Ian Solomon, community engagement manager from the Detroit Parks Coalition.

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Elliot has been tasked with creating musical works that connect to physical spaces in the city. The goal is to have music composed with intentionality about the park, and then allow people to experience the music from within the park.   

Solomon says arts and culture plays an important role in thriving parks and communities.

“The Detroit Parks Coalition, we’re a diverse group of park leaders, community stewards, and we’re working towards supporting healthy, equitable and vibrant parks in the city. And so we understand the role of not only programming, but arts and culture in achieving that mission,” Solomon said. “And so having this money to have Marcus not only visit these parks, but engage with them deeply, and kind of get this creative snapshot of the parks where they are now, and then offer it to people so they can come to these parks and there’s this accessible, beautiful music.”

While many Detroit parks share common characteristics, Elliot says he seeks to find and highlight what makes each park unique through the music. 

“There’s five different parks that I’m going to be kind of focusing on. And the themes that I’m going to be celebrating are really things that we see in all parks, but that certain parks may highlight a little bit more than others,” Elliot said. “So, you know, ideas of like joy, or community, or beauty. These are all elements that all of our parks have. But as I get to know these parks, I’m going to see just kind of which one of those elements speak more to me in those places.”

Use the media player above to hear to the full interview with Elliot and Solomon.

More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 6, 2024:

• Is now a good time to buy or lease an electric vehicle? Deputy Editor of Technology and Innovation for Automotive News Hannah Lutz joined the show to discuss the pros, cons, and the electric vehicle market.  
• Also on the show, we spoke with Region 1 Director for the United Auto Workers LaShawn English. The UAW endorsed Kamala Harris and we’ll discuss what the union hopes is on her agenda if she’s elected in November.

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

If James Baldwin were alive today, he would have been celebrating his 100th birthday. To honor his legacy, Detroit artist Sabrina Nelson created an intimate, multi-sensory experience of the acclaimed figure.

If you’re not familiar with James Baldwin’s work, he was an American author and civil rights activist. As early as the 1950s, Baldwin’s writing posed fundamental questions about masculinity, sexuality, race and class. They were questions that influenced the civil rights and Gay liberation movements for decades to come.

Nelson is opening her traveling exhibit “Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin” at the Charles H. Wright Museum on Friday.

Nelson, as well as longtime creative allies and co-curators Ashara Ekundayo and Omo Misha, joined The Metro to talk more about Baldwin and the exhibit.

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Ekundayo described what people can discover about James Baldwin after seeing “Frontline Project.”

“Sabrina has brought to us this multifaceted, multi-sensory invitation…people will find that they can see his humanity,” Ekundayo said. “What comes out the most is…his laughter, his rage, his sensitivities, his quietness, who he is as a lover, and as a fighter, and someone who was just a deep thinker. And I think that we forget that sometimes when we…elevate or deify public figures, we forget that they’re just regular people.”

While the exhibition will showcase Baldwin’s life and humanity, it also will honor the activism he achieved through his work and as a gay, Black man in the 20th century.

“I think all artists have a responsibility to the times that they’re living in. And we certainly saw that with James Baldwin — he understood his assignment and leaned way into it,” Misha explained. “And it doesn’t mean that he always liked it. But he started that journey as an activist, as a young pastor, as a child — and he never abandoned that. And he really saw that as his role in society.”

In fact, Misha recounted and paraphrased a statement from Baldwin when she said, “But if I do my job right today, I will be here for you in the future.”

Nelson and her partners named the exhibition “Frontline Prophets: James Baldwin” because it highlights Baldwin as a prophet and activist who spread the truth.

“James Baldwin said, ‘if I love you, I get to tell you the truth,’” Nelson stated.

“Frontline Prophets: James Baldwin” opens Friday at 5:30 p.m. at The Wright in Midtown Detroit. The exhibit will run through Feb. 28, 2025. Details can be found at thewright.org.

More headlines from The Metro for August 2, 2024:

• Hate it or love it, many have heard of the Woodward Dream Cruise. But now there’s a new tradition being started by lovers of electric cars. The “Clean Cruise” will bring together industry experts, EV owners, environmentalists and members of the public to explore all things EV in downtown Ferndale. To discuss Saturday’s event, Amy Rogghe, a physician’s assistant by trade, and the executive director of the Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance, joined The Metro.
• Today, many public schools remain segregated. One reason for that segregation is Detroit’s segregated neighborhoods. But there are efforts underway to preserve Detroit communities as they grow. One example is Corktown. That area has seen massive economic growth alongside a federal grant that the city received to ensure low-income families can keep their roots planted there — and thrive. Sarah Lenhoff researches educational equity at Wayne State University and she’s been studying this project. Lenhoff joined The Metro to discuss preserving Corktown’s community.
• Every week, The Metro is joined by the Detroit Documenters. On Tuesday, Detroit City Council approved phase one of a plan to build solar panels on vacant land. To discuss this plan and other things that happened during the marathon session, Detroit Documenters’ Nachum Eichenhorn and Noah Kincade, who attended the city council meeting joined The Metro.

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

Many older adults want to stay in their homes as they age. But aging in place requires careful consideration and planning by the individual and/or their family.

Making this decision can be difficult for families as they navigate the logistics and challenges that come with an older loved one aging in place and ensuring both financial stability and the person’s safety and well-being.

Today on Created Equal, Wayne State University gerontology professor Amanda Leggett joined the show to discuss what it takes to be ready – from a number of perspectives – for the difficulties that come with aging and aging in place.

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Guest:

Amanda Leggett is an assistant professor in the Institute of Gerontology and Department of Psychology at Wayne State University and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Her research program focuses on the dementia caregiver stress process and mental health in late-life. 

Leggett spoke about the importance of being able to handle the basic activities of daily life, such as managing finances and basic mobility, and how some symptoms of aging can make it difficult for some older adults to manage those tasks independently. 

“When individuals start to need more assistance in managing these activities, that’s kind of when we start to think about, ‘is this something that the family can help with, or an in-home care aid might be able to help with? Or do we want to start thinking about that transition to a long-term care facility? And I think a big piece of this also really just boils down to safety, we want to make sure that if someone is independent in their home that they are safe,” said Leggett.

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