Ibram X. Kendi has a new children’s book out called “Malcolm Lives.” In the book, he’s introducing the life and antiracist work of Malcolm X to young people. 

The book continues Kendi’s antiracist work and scholarship. He is the New York Times bestselling author of “Stamped from the Beginning,” and “How to Be an Antiracist.” 

The summer of 2020 was a unique time in America. Many were staying at home, trying to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Trump administration’s popularity was waning. And, there was a surge of interest in the ways that racism was hurting people’s health, their politics and their minds. 

But five years later, Americans are a lot less concerned with the ways that racism impacts themselves and others. The Trump administration is now back in power. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts are in retreat. The “Black Lives Matter”-painted street in Washington D.C. has been removed. 

Kendi joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the new book and how the Trump administration’s efforts are making life harder for Black people in America. He joined us ahead of a rally in Detroit, with Author Bernadette Atuahene, to stop tax foreclosures of Detroit homes under $50,000 in value.

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Movement is right around the corner, and many in Detroit and beyond are getting ready to hit the dance floor together and celebrate.

But dance is much more than just movement — it’s a mode of self-expression and a bridge to human connection, or as author Emma Warren calls it, a “technology of togetherness.”

In her recent book, “Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dance Floor,” Warren reflects on how different styles of music like Detroit techno can influence movements, promote connection and create cultural change.

Today on The Metro, we revisit a conversation Warren had with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper last year about the book and why dance is so important to humans.

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It’s no secret that the city of Detroit has a rich music history. But when most people think of the city’s most famous labels, Motown is usually the first — or only— one that comes to mind. 

But there are many other lesser known labels that contributed to the city’s thriving music scene and deserve more recognition. 

Fortune Records is definitely among them, and yet somehow the influential mom and pop label has largely faded into obscurity.

Detroit author and music historian Michael Hurtt aims to change that with his book “Mind Over Matter,” which he co-wrote with his longtime friend Billy Miller.

The book offers a comprehensive history of Fortune and the many “myths and mysteries” associated with the label.

Hurtt spoke with WDET’s Jenny Sherman and Natalie Albrecht about the label for the latest episode of CuriosiD, and he joined The Metro on Thursday to share more.

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At the beginning of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s new memoir, armed protesters surround her house.

It’s December 2020, one month after the presidential election that Joe Biden won. He was not the preferred candidate of the armed mob shouting outside Benson’s home. 

The protestors yelled “treason” and “lock her up.”

In the moment, Michigan’s top election official tried to play it cool, all while her 4-year-old son sat unknowingly in front of the television watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Benson was indeed scared that night. But as she points out in her book, “The Purposeful Warrior,” “standing up to bullies” is nothing new for her. 

She did it investigating white supremacists in the American South, while she was dean of Wayne State’s law school, and during her tenure as Michigan’s Secretary of State amid President Donald Trump’s lies of a stolen election.

Benson joined The Metro this week to discuss her new book and why she is running to be Michigan’s next governor.

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In 1938, two young Jewish kids decided they wanted to tell a story of an invincible man, who could move faster than bullets and was a hero to all. 

Superman took flight that year, first appearing in America Action Comics #1. Kal-El, Clark Kent or Superman was representation needed during the rise of fascism in Germany. 

The superhero was created to defeat The Third Reich and Nazi’s plot to take over the world. In American culture, comic books have been a way for readers of all ages to see themselves, in one way or another, as superhuman. 

From the friendly neighborhood Spiderman to the Green Hornet — which was a Detroit Radio program before appearing in comics — these stories told the hardships, joys and sorrows of life through the lens of these fantastical characters.

William Wallwinkel is the lead curator of “Heroes vs. Villains: Detroit’s Comic Book Story,” opening at Detroit Historical Museum on Saturday, May 3, which is also Free Comic Book Day. He joined The Metro along with Vault of Midnight owner Curtis Sullivan to talk about comic book culture here in Detroit and southeast Michigan. 

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Arab Detroit is constantly in flux. In the last 10 years, new communities of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Yemen have settled here. And each new community brings with them different perspectives of what it means to make it in America — to be American. 

The backdrop is that many have fled political crises that the U.S. has initiated or intensified. 

But when they arrive in the U.S., some Arabs in metro Detroit learn that speaking up about these conflicts can be a thorny matter. Still, the last 10 years have ushered in a new wave of political representation and engagement led by Arab lawmakers and residents.

The new book, “Beyond Refuge in Arab Detroit,“ explores how life is changing for Arab Americans in Detroit and what it means to thrive here during a time of intense political turmoil — both here in the U.S. and also in many of the countries Arabs have fled.

It weaves together writings from multiple contributors who delve into politics, environmental justice and sexual stigma and violence — all through the lens of Arabs in metro Detroit.

Sally Howell is one of the editors of the book, and a professor of history and Arab American studies at University of Michigan-Dearborn. She joined The Metro on one of the last days of Arab American Heritage Month to discuss the book.

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