Authentically Detroit

It's an election year for the city of Detroit. This year Detroiters will elect a Mayor, City Council members, City Clerk, and vote on a revision to the City Charter. Orlando and Donna continues the series with a district 4 wide candidate forum in partnership with Eastside Community Network and the LEAP Coalition Steering Committee.  All of the candidates were present: Ane Bomani, M.L. Elrick,...

Over the weekend, the nonprofit think tank, Detroit Future City (DFC) and their Center for Equity, Research, and Engagement released their "State of Economic Equity in Detroit" report. The report is a follow up to the framework they released last October and it uncovers the uneven economic growth that Detroit has experienced especially when you disaggregate the data by race. Donna and Or...

This week Donna and Orlando sit down with the amazing Alia Harvey Quinn! Alia is a poet, activist, artist and the executive director of Force Detroit . Alia's work carries the tension of the desire to keep neighborhoods safe but also implementing restorative justice practices in policing. This episode unpacks Detroit Police Chief James Craig retirement announcement that will take effect June...

The latest revision draft of the Detroit City Charter has been making headlines across the city the last few days. Governor Whitmer rejected the draft citing legality issues incongruent to state laws.  What does the Governor's rejection mean? What happens next? We discuss with Charter Commissioner, Denzel McCampbell and Detroit radio and television personality, Steve Hood.  Support the show F...

It's an election year for the city of Detroit. This year Detroiters will elect a Mayor, City Council members, City Clerk, and vote on a revision to the City Charter. Orlando and Donna hope to talk with candidates running for various offices as apart of the new Candidate Series. Toson Knight joined them to talk about his run for City Council in District 4.   Support the show Follow us on Insta...

Recorded directly after the Chauvin verdict. Donna and Orlando are joined by Pastor Brian Ellison of Church of the New Covenant Baptist Detroit. He happens to be the brother of the Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison who successfully prosecuted Derek Chauvin. Both are Native Detroiters.  They weigh in on the war of words happening between Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Detroit Police Chief,...

Donna and Orlando welcome Deputy Director for Prosperity and Equity and Inclusion Officer for the state of Michigan's Labor and Economic Opportunity Department. Kim also serves on Governor Whitmer's Poverty Task Force. The Michigan Poverty Task Force recently released their report with 35 recommendations to increase the household income of all Michiganders and to restore the safety net i...

Resident leaders Michelle Jackson and Delores Orr join Donna and Orlando to talk about their work with the Lower Eastside Action Plan (LEAP) Coalition.  Michelle Jackson serves as the LEAP Coalition co-chair and is the founder and executive director of Sustainable Community Farms, she is the member of the Chandler Park Neighborhood Association, and she is also the the climate equity organizer at E...

Detroit and the state of Michigan has the highest increase in COVID-19 cases in the country right now. The vaccine push is full affect. So why are the case numbers so high? Have you repeated misinformation about the vaccine? Dr. Maritza McIntyre of StrideBio and Dr. Paul Thomas of PlumHealth DPC join Donna and Orlando to discuss.  Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . 

A discussion on the Black business landscape in Metro Detroit with Charity Dean, President/CEO of the newly formed Metro Detroit Black Business Alliance and Kimberly Harry, part-owner of Harry's Barbershop on Detroit's Eastside.   Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . 

Mayor Duggan gave his 2021 State of City Address on Tuesday from the Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) new Mack Assembly Plant on the Eastside.  Community Adovcate Simone Lightfoot and BridgeDetroit Senior Reporter Louis Aguilar join Donna and Orlando to debrief the speech. Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . 

It's an election year for the city of Detroit. This year Detroiters will elect a Mayor, City Council members, City Clerk, and vote on a revision to the City Charter. Orlando and Donna hope to talk with candidates running for various offices as apart of the new Candidate Series. Latisha Johnson joined them to talk about her run for City Council in District 4.   Support the show Follow us on In...

All February long, Donna and Orlando are taking the time to honor Black History with Detroit roots. This episode they dove deep in the labor movement in Detroit and how union negotiated for the overall well-being of the community above and beyond their employment contracts. Jerry King, UAW member and President of AFL-CIO Consistency Group founded by Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph  and Savana...

All February long, Donna and Orlando are taking the time to honor Black History with Detroit roots. They welcomed Allen Rawls, Trustee Board Member of the Motown Museum and Jawan M. Jackson, Tony & Grammy Award nominee and star of the Broadway smash "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations" to talk all things Motown.  Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Face...

Donna sits down with Detroit Department of Elections Official, Daniel Baxter. Daniel is also the Founder & CEO of the Dr. Ossian Sweet Foundation.  Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . 

Hosts Donna Givens Davidson and Orlando Bailey take over facilitation duties for the Lower Eastside Action Plan's (LEAP) Community Meeting. They welcomed Detroit City Council President Pro-Tem, Mary Sheffield and Charter Commissioner, Denzel McCampbell to discuss the adoption of the Detroiters Bill of Rights into the city charter and what comes next.  Support the show Follow us on Instagram ,...

Black History Month is right around the corner and Orlando welcomed food champions Jerry Hebron and Ederique Goudia to discuss A Taste of the Diaspora. It's an initiative that will celebrate Africa's contribution to the American cuisine by showcasing the diverse foods of the African Diaspora. The project will provide monetary support to Black restaurants and farmers hit hard by the COVID...

Ahead of the Presidential Inauguration, hosts, Donna Givens Davidson and Orlando Bailey sit down with U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib who represents Michigan's 13th Congressional District.  The Congresswoman discusses the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, safety in D.C., and housing stability in Detroit.  Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . 

This episode, Donna and Orlando respond to the insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6th. Former investigative reporter, now candidate for District 4 City Council, M.L. Elrick joins to answer on the record, the critiques that Donna and Orlando gave in the Afrofuturism episode.   Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . 

Happy New Year! The first episode of 2021 is here. This week, Donna and Orlando welcomed organizer, activist, artist, entertainer, and Afrofuturist, Bryce Detroit.  Bryce shared some of what he's been working on including the "Hood Closed to Gentrifiers" campaign and how Afrofuturism can be the cornerstone for radical imagination in Detroit's neighborhoods.  Be sure to like, co...

To round out 2020, Donna and Orlando invited their friends in local philanthropy to talk about the big moments of the year in Detroit and the nation. The crew also looked ahead to 2021 and talked about plans they've been cooking up. Donna and Orlando are joined by: Kevin Ryan, Program Officer on the Cities and States Team with the Ford Foundation. Meredith Freeman, Director of Alignment and I...

Donna and Orlando discuss State Rep. Cynthia Johnson and the death threats she has been receiving since a hearing at the state capitol with Rudy Giuliani. Vaccinations conversation is underway and Detroiters are torn on whether they'll take it for many reasons. Detroit mayor, Mike Duggan announced an extension on the water shutoff moratorium the day before he announces his bid for re-election...

A special thankfulness episode recorded right before the Thanksgiving Holiday. No news. No politics. Just food and joy.  Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . 

Donna and Orlando welcome Khalilah Burt Gaston, CEO of Glide Path Strategies and Yusef Shakur to talk about the intersectionality of Black men and women in the election, the role of Black people in partisan politics and the narrative framing of the relationship Black men have with Donald Trump.  This episode was a tough one to finish because during the recording, news broke that the Wayne Board of...

Donna and Orlando talk all things election with friend to the show, Kat Stafford, race and ethnicity reporter for the Associated Press and Camille Johnson, consultant, creative and vanguard for Black Twitter. Camille is also Donna's oldest daughter.  Support the show Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter .