Malcolm X would have turned 100 years old today. We revisit a series of conversations about why Americans so often overlook Malcolm X when it comes to Black History Month celebrations and formal education spaces. 

GUESTS:

• John Aerni-Flessner, associate professor for the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University
• Kidada Williams, associate professor of African American and American history at Wayne State University
• Herb Boyd, Detroit writer, journalist, and activist

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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When Rachel Blistein couldn't find hair products that worked for her curly texture, she took matters into her own hands. Mixing formulas in her kitchen, she launched Original Moxie. It’s a hair care company rooted in Ypsilanti, Michigan, focused on sustainability while celebrating diverse hair types.

In addition to the non-toxic and environmentally friendly ingredients, Blisten decided to ditch the plastic containers. That was right before the COVID pandemic. She described her research into sustainable alternatives as "falling down a rabbit hole."

“It was just really a personal desire to shift to a more sustainable solution. I wasn't thinking about increasing our profits,” Blisten said. “I was just hoping we'd break even, in the transition.”

Listen to the interview to hear more about the ups and downs of growing a values-driven beauty brand rooted in Michigan. 

You can learn more about Original Moxie here.

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If you have little kids under ten who tune to PBS on a regular basis – its likely you know about Wimee’s Words. The PBS children’s show that reaches 30 million homes around the country is originally from Grand Rapids. It features Wimee the Robot, an animated puppet, who teaches kids about science, technology, engineering, art and math.

GUESTS:

Michael Hyacinthe, creator, Wimee's Words

Wimee, robot star of Wimee's Words

Want to support shows like Wimee's Words and Stateside? Sign this petition at Protect My Public Media or you can donate to Michigan Public or your local PBS!

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Pope Leo XIV was born Robert Prevost in the southside of Chicago. He also attended high school at a catholic seminary in West Michigan. Here's what we know so far about Pope Leo's roots and his surprising election as the first American Pope.

GUEST:

Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press

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Five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of raping and brutally assaulting a white woman in 1989. The boys’ legal case gripped and divided the nation, and symbolized systemic injustices within the legal system for communities of color. All five men were exonerated over a decade later.

Detroit Opera brings the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera The Central Park Five to audiences on May 16 and 18. Award-winning director Nataki Garrett talked about bringing this powerful piece to the stage, and why it’s so relevant for audiences right now.

“I love that we're doing this opera in Detroit, which has a significant black population, because there are parts of this story that are a part of our collective consciousness, both through memory but also through experience,” Garrett told Stateside.

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Jeffrey Seller is one of the biggest Broadway producers. Beyond ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Rent,’ Seller’s work has grossed billions of dollars. The 60-year-old Tony award winner is nothing short of a living Broadway legend. But before the spotlight, Seller was another Michigan theatre kid – an outsider everywhere but school play rehearsals. Seller's new memoir, Theater Kid: a Broadway Memoir, explores the path that took him to Broadway.

GUEST:

Jeffrey Seller, Broadway producer and author of Theater Kid

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Ever feel the need to get away? 

Perhaps, to a galaxy far, far away?

Michiganders did just this past May the 4th. Every year for two weekends a warehouse in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood gets converted into a Star Wars universe. A small army of do-it-yourself artists, makers, and fun-seekers transform a half-block of space into, well, outerspace.

The detail is otherworldly – streetscapes closely resembling Tatooine (otherwise known as Luke Skywalker’s home planet), stucco storefronts, dust-covered tents, and cosplay Mandalorians decked with helmets, breastplates, and blaster pistols.

Space Dive takes place atTangent Gallery, generally around May 4. There are still tickets available for this weekend’s events.

Star Wars attire is mandatory, as declared by the Empire.

GUESTS: 

• John Dunivant, co founder of Space Dive
• Daniel Land, cofounder of Space Dive
• Eric Heerspink, Grand Rapids ceramist

Check out photos from the event here. 

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A mistrial was declared when a jury in Grand Rapids failed to reach consensus on the conviction or acquittal of Christopher Schurr, the police officer who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya. 

GUESTS:

Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Public

Michelle Jokisch Polo, Michigan Public

To listen to full episodes of Stateside, head over here.

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Ann Arbor Writer Michelle Yang came to the states as a child, after growing up in a Chinese family in South Korea. Her debut Memoir, Phoenix Girl: How a Fat Asian with Bipolar Found Love, is a warm, engrossing story of becoming unmoored, and finding connection and community, even as she’s fighting with fierce cultural pressures about her own body image and identity as a woman.

GUESTS:

Michelle Yang: author, Phoenix Girl: How a Fat Asian with Bipolar Found Love

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions and Audio Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.