Race and Justice Journalism Fellow

Martina Guzmán, Race and Justice Journalism Fellow, Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights

How a Mexican radio station became a Covid lifeline in Southwest Detroit - Bridge DetroitLa Explosiva, a tiny Mexican radio station on the AM dial, has become a hub of information for Southwest Detroit’s immigrant community on COVID-19 and the vaccine.

"For two decades, the Mexican diaspora has listened to ranchera cumbia and banda music, and received local news and community information on La Explosiva 1480-AM. Although there are major broadcast networks, such as Univision and Telemundo, listening to the radio is still one of the main ways that immigrants get information."

Read the full story for Bridge Detroit by our Race and Justice Journalism Fellow Martina Guzmán.

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Michigan Radio's Stateside interviewed Martina Guzmán on her story. Listen to the interview.

The Pandemic Is Forcing Cities to Rethink WaterFor years, Detroit and Johannesburg have withheld water from Black residents who can’t pay.

"As for Akiva, her days revolved around a miserable quest for water, and the fear of not having it. When she was able to procure water, there was the problem of prioritization: Would her family drink it, bathe with it, or cook with it?

This calculus is very familiar to other Black women across the world."

Read more in this in-depth story for Slate.com.

Latino contractors seek bigger piece of southwest Detroit’s building boom

Detroit women filling a niche in the grocery supply chain - Bridge DetroitHow Latinas in Southwest Detroit turned their part-time hustle of delivering groceries in their community into a full-time job.

How Detroit is getting out the vote — one neighborhood at a time - Bridge DetroitHow block clubs and community centers in Detroit's neighborhoods use everything at their disposal to mobilize voters and get them to the polls on Election Day.

Profiles in the fight for environmental justice: Michelle MartinezMichele Martinez understood that for things to change, it had to be at a policy level, and it had to be led by the indigenous community and people of color.

Muralist Katie Yamasaki Explores Issues of Race and Justice in Her WorkKatie Yamasaki has created more than 80 murals around the world, often working with women on themes of incarceration and families. But Detroit is special.

On Easter weekend, Detroit churches mourn the COVID-19 dead from afar

Food in the time of Corona: Rocky’s Road Brew is feeding a decolonized diet movement one vegan taco at a timeCreating a safe space in Southwest Detroit where queer, Latinx and other PoC communities can gather around music, the arts, and food that sets out to decolonize unhealthful diets has been at the fo…

Coronavirus forces Michigan soup kitchens to feed hungry from a distance

Coronavirus makes even finding water to help the needy a struggle in Detroit

Losing the News

What is happening to local news and what's the impact on the communities they cover?

Read this in-depth PEN America report Losing the News: The Decimation of Local News and the Search for Solutions, which lays out the devastating impact of the shrinking and consolidation of local news outlets. It includes a special focus and analysis on Detroit written by our Race and Justice Journalism Fellow Martina Guzmán.

"In Detroit, the local news crisis has exacerbated systemic inequality in media coverage and representation. Across the city, the population of which is more than 80 percent black, communities of color feel that pressing issues—from rampant development to water shutoffs—are not being covered critically or in-depth. In response, a new generation of minority-run, digital-native, and nonprofit outlets have emerged."