A nonprofit that supports Black-led businesses is gearing up for its annual weeklong bike ride to  Mackinaw City to raise awareness for its cause. Black Leaders Detroit’s annual Ride for Equity, which kicks off May 21 this year, will raise money for African American entrepreneurs in Detroit and spread awareness about the importance of equitable funding practices. 

For people who have been incarcerated, the road to reintegration into society can be long and challenging, especially when it comes to finding employment. Many employers remain reluctant to hire individuals with criminal records, which can create a significant barrier for those trying to rebuild their lives after serving time. This reluctance can create a vicious cycle, leading to recidivism and further incarceration.  

A livestream conversation about preparing future workers for the impact of autonomous technology on the workplace Technology has changed almost every product, both the way they are made and function. In the next 10-20 years, the concept of manual labor will be heavily impacted by autonomous technology and robotics themes.

Millennials make up the largest share of the U.S. workforce — the generation is expected to make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025 — and the future of work in Michigan will depend upon keeping young professionals here. So, how can business leaders and key stakeholders convince millennials to plant their roots in Michigan? 

Gen Xers have quietly become the next generation of workforce leaders, rising to C-suite level positions, as they take on new roles and talk about hiring for positions that don’t exist yet. At the same time Gen Xers are juggling the heightened responsibilities at work, they’re navigating more responsibilities at home as they take care of kids and aging parents. 

The real estate development industry is dealing with a representation crisis. According to a new study from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Grove Impact, minority developers — Black and Hispanic — make up less than 1% of the entire real estate industry. African Americans make up 0.4% of the industry, while Hispanic developers represent only 0.16% of the industry.  

Pingree Detroit, a design and manufacturing cooperative near the city’s Fitzgerald neighborhood, is making the city a better place one recycled good at a time, and they’re doing it all while giving employees stock in the business.

Biking: it’s more than just exercise. It’s equitable transportation, entertainment and a way for people to be introduced to Detroit and what the city has to offer.

As cities and downtowns continue to navigate post-pandemic recovery, downtown Detroit’s recovery has been night and day, literally. While nightlife activity has nearly fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, weekday activity has been slow to return to downtown Detroit, having an impact on business and the city’s overall economic recovery.

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How has the shift to remote and hybrid work impacted downtown Detroit’s vibrancy? Has the pandemic upended the notion that downtowns thrive on in-office workspaces and large company headquarters?

Millennials are expected to make up nearly three-fourths of the global workforce in the next two years, and many are moving away from now-unaffordable and overpopulated cities like New York City and San Francisco to cities down South including Austin, Dallas, and Miami.

In the past decade, the pulse of downtown Detroit has gone up and down like a rollercoaster. From a steep drop into bankruptcy a decade ago to swift twists and turns to return the city’s vibrancy, all for those efforts to be met with another huge drop— the COVID-19 pandemic. As Detroiters head into year three of the city’s post-pandemic recovery efforts, what plans are ahead? And what do the experts think?  

For nearly three years, many employees have been working remotely because of the pandemic. Now, whether employers are choosing to stay fully remote, implement a hybrid model or make a full return to the office, several businesses are starting to make decisions about their post-pandemic workplace environments and requirements. But what do the employees want?  

As Michigan ushers in a Democratic-controlled state government for the first time in 40 years, what could that mean for the state’s ongoing investments in Detroit? And what could Detroit’s resurgence mean for the rest of the region and state?

Ten years ago, in 2013, Detroit was facing arguably one of its hardest situations yet: bankruptcy. In the last decade, however, the city’s downtown has rebounded and revitalized itself, and in the grand scheme of things, for some city officials and key stakeholders, Detroit’s resurgence is just getting started. 

All across Michigan, a shortage of childcare availability and rising childcare costs have persisted, leaving some working women with few options other than to stay home and forego a job for parenthood. Nearly 1.1 million women left the workforce from February 2020 to January 2022, and a disproportionate number of women — 23% compared to 13% of men —  considered leaving their careers for motherhood.

​All across Michigan a shortage of childcare availability and rising childcare costs have persisted leaving some working women few other options than to stay home and forego a job for parenthood. According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics federal study, nearly 1.1 million women left the workforce from February 2020 to January 2022.

What does the future of teaching in Michigan look like for the state’s current educators, and how can Michigan make the profession more prosperous for educators and students to come?

It has been more than two years since George Floyd’s murder sparked huge commitments from businesses and organizations to expand their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace. Promises were made, but were they kept? American Black Journal takes a look at whether DEI efforts in the workplace have improved since calls for racial and social justice re-ignited across the nation.

Taking a look around Michigan’s major cities, design is everywhere. The creativity of designers can be seen throughout Michigan in the clothes we wear, the architecture of our cities and the cars we drive, but still, globally Detroit isn’t recognized for having a strong design industry. How can Michigan develop more design jobs across the state, and prepare young designers for future design jobs?

Placemaking — it’s the term often used to describe the process of increasing the quality of shared public spaces where business owners, workers and families can gather. When it comes to placemaking efforts, what has Michigan done and have those investments paid off today?

When it comes to fashion, not many people place Detroit among the cities where the design industry thrives. Detroiters may know it here, but one Detroit-based fashion brand, Deviate Fashion, started with the goal to put Detroit on the map as a fashion city around the world.

In the national and global race for strong professional talent, how can Michigan get a leg up on the competition? How does the Great Lakes state become a top 10 state where families and young professionals want to live, work, grow and play? Some of Michigan’s top business leaders gathered together to answer these questions about making Michigan more competitive and how exactly the state should do it at the Detroit Regional Chambers 2022 Mackinac Policy Conference.

For the past eight years, The LEE Group‘s President and CEO Mark S. Lee has put a focus on helping small businesses through the challenges of starting and sustaining a new venture. The past few years, however, COVID-19 has caused major disruptions to our economy and to the survival of small businesses. The LEE Group’s Small Business Workshop returns for its eighth year with a focus on business recovery and sustainability.  ere severely impacted and are not showing the profitability that they had.

From remote learning to mask mandates, teacher shortages and more, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to disrupt education for Michigan’s students and educators. Michigan’s teacher shortage specifically has been a widely debated topic across the state, but can it be characterized as a crisis yet? While some headlines and reports might say yes, other education experts don’t think our state’s education system is there yet.

They were some of America’s frontline workers, but then they called it quits. The nation’s labor shortage has impacted several industries, with workers leaving because of low wages, poor conditions or in pursuit of new opportunities, but one of the hardest-hit industries continues to be retail, especially grocery stores that have seen grocery store workers leave in droves.

New York Times best-selling author Alec Ross joined the Detroit Economic Club on Feb. 16 for a lively discussion centered around his latest book, “The RAGING 2020s: Companies, Countries and People — and the Fight for Our Future,” with DEC President and CEO Steve Grigorian. Alec Ross currently works as a distinguished visiting professor at l’Universitá di Bologna Business School. 

While 35% of Michigan’s children five years and under qualify for childcare subsidies, only 5% of families are tapping into the state’s financial resources. At the same time, nearly 44% of Michigan families live in childcare deserts — geographic hot spots where there’s a lack of licensed childcare providers.

One Detroit contributor and American Black Journal host Stephen Henderson checks in with marketing consultant Mark S. Lee, president of The Lee Group, MI LLC, on where diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are in the workplace. They explore the progress that’s been made in regards to DEI efforts and what’s still lacking nearly two years after the topic re-emerged into the mainstream, after George Floyd’s death.

When Jonathan Harris first previewed his painting “Critical Race Theory” at his TRIPTYCH: Stronger Together exhibit at the Irwin House Gallery this past November, it sat on a wall just outside the gallery’s main room, but despite its less-than-prominent placement, it sold easily. It was the first step toward a virality that swept over Harris’ painting and sparked a national conversation about critical race theory and the ways social and political issues are taught in America’s classrooms.

On Thursday, Jan. 13, the Detroit Economic Club hosted the 2022 Michigan Economic Outlook meeting to discuss the state’s trajectory and possible fiscal future. In a conversation moderated by Detroit News’ Senior Editor of Business and columnist Daniel Howes, Elaine Buckberg, Chief Economist of General Motors, and Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation share their insights on the analysis of our state’s economic strength and fortitude.

The Detroit Economic Center welcomed Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., President of Michigan State University, on Monday, December 6, at the MotorCity Casino Hotel as the 16th speaker in DEC history. In a fireside chat with WJR Radio’s Paul W. Smith, Dr. Stanley discussed “Leading The Way Forward: MSU Today and Tomorrow” and answered questions from the audience.

The Detroit Economic Club hosted Jerry Norcia, President & CEO of DTE Energy, on Thursday, November 18, at the MotorCity Casino Hotel. In a fireside chat with Sandy Pierce of The Huntington National Bank, Jerry discussed “Planning for Our Customers’ Evolving Energy Needs While Investing in Michigan’s Clean Energy Future” and answered questions from the audience.

The Detroit Economic Club hosted Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, on Friday, October 29, at the Westin Book Cadillac. In a fireside chat with DEC President and CEO Steve Grigorian, Ed discussed “The Future of Travel” and answered questions from the audience.

One Detroit team Christy McDonald, Stephen Hendersonand Nolan Finley provide their seasoned analysis of the week’s proceedings, which centered around such topics as the Future of Work, racial equality, community health and public education.

Detroit’s primary elections are coming up in just over a week. One Detroit contributors, Nolan Finley of The Detroit News and Stephen Henderson of American Black Journal, got together to talk about who’s on the ballot, the contention over proposed charter revisions, and the future of the mayoral seat.

Impact of women leaving the workforce According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there were 2.2 million fewer women in the workforce in October 2020 than in October 2019. The number of women participating in the workforce has dropped 57%, the lowest level since 1988. Christy talks with Univ. of Michigan Labor Economist Dr. Betsey Stevenson and Julie Kashen from The Century Foundation for more on the ascendancy of women in the workforce pre-pandemic and the setbacks they’re facing now.