The Metro

The Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metro Detroit hosted its 60th annual Cinco de Mayo Parade on Sunday.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s victory over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Mexico was the underdog in that fight. France would eventually win the war and establish a period of control over Mexico. The battle remains a symbol of the resistance and resilience of the Mexican people against colonial powers. 

But celebrations this year have been impacted by fears of immigration raids. Events in Chicago and Philadelphia were cancelled. Residents in Detroit raised similar concerns, but it didn’t stop the celebration. 

Maria Elana Rodriguez is the former president of the Mexicantown Community Development Corporation. She joined The Metro on Monday to talk about the history of Cinco de Mayo and how people are celebrating. 

We also revisited a conversation with Frank Solis, a local historian who’s preserving Tejano music in Detroit. His father, Martin Solis, helped make Tejano music popular in Detroit with his band Los Primos.  As a self-taught musician, Solis started playing the Bajo Sexto, a Mexican 12-string instrument from the guitar family, and developed his own unique musical style.

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At a recent Detroit City Council meeting, a number of people spoke during public comment period about Detroit’s Solar Neighborhood Initiative. 

People are making allegations that blight tickets are being used by the city to take property in the name of solar developments. 

While residents say they’re not opposed to renewable energy, some are questioning the city's process for constructing solar neighborhood arrays. 

The city’s Legal Department will provide an update at Tuesday’s city council meeting on the solar neighborhood initiative. 

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt sat down with Detroit Documenter Hannah O’Neal and Coordinator Noah Kincade to learn more about the development. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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Peter Putnam is a Detroit activist and former communist revolutionary whose new book aims to offer guidance for anyone struggling to find their purpose in today's tense political climate.

The book, "Talkin’ Bout a Revolution: Growing Our Souls in the Time of Trump," explores various ways for individuals to find happiness by living their values and become their best selves through revolutionary acts. The title plays on a phrase coined by late Detroit social activist Grace Lee Boggs, who Putnam knew personally and was largely inspired by in his life.

Putnam recently held a book talk at Detroit's James and Grace Lee Boggs Center. He joined The Metro to talk about the book and why he believes kindness and compassion are radical acts.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

—WDET's Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

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Bees' pollinating presence helps to ensure the vitality of our food systems. 

The work of bees isn’t just happening in fields of wildflowers or quiet suburban gardens. Bees in urban neighborhoods also have an important role to play.

The nonprofit Detroit Hives has turned vacant lots into thriving pollinator habitats and community green spaces. That work includes planting pollinator-friendly trees in neighborhoods that need canopy, beauty and biodiversity. One of the group's recent projects was at the Finney Community Arboretum and Botanical Garden, which they hope to transform into a thriving community space for pollinators and residents alike.

Detroit Hives Co-founders Tim Paule Jackson and Nicole Lindsey joined The Metro on Monday to discuss their work. 

–Segment produced by WDET’s Amanda Le Claire.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Public trust in the free press has been steadily declining for decades and President Donald Trump’s combative relationship with the news media has further eroded that trust. He frequently refers to the free press as “the enemy of the people” and “fake news.” 

Those words have had an impact. 

In 2020, American journalists faced a sharp rise in attacks, especially during the Black Lives Matter protests. 

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, “at least 400 press freedom violations were reported, including physical assaults, arrests, and damage to equipment.”  

The committee found that many of these incidents, including roughly 300 assaults, were attributed to law enforcement.

On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump continued his rhetoric against the press.

“To get to me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. I don’t mind that so much,” he told a crowd in Pennsylvania.

Now, after Trump’s first 100 days in office, the Committee to Protect Journalists is sounding a louder alarm. 

It says the beginning of Trump’s term has “been marked by a flurry of executive actions that have created a chilling effect and have the potential to curtail media freedoms. These measures threaten the availability of independent, fact-based news for vast swaths of America’s population.”

Trump has banned reporters from his press conferences. He is selective of which media outlets he speaks to, and he has filed multiple lawsuits accusing media companies of misconduct against him. 

The president is also taking aim at NPR and PBS.

NPR reported last month that the administration plans to request Congress cut funding from NPR and PBS — news and information that is not profit-based and relies on funding from listeners, sponsorships, and the government. WDET is an NPR affiliate station that also would feel strong impacts from these cuts.

NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik joined The Metro on Thursday to talk more about this.

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President Donald Trump was at Macomb Community College at the end of April to celebrate his first 100 days in office, drawing hundreds of protesters expressing their dissent and distaste for the administration.

Trump has done a lot of things in his short time back in office: He’s put tariffs on much of the world, slashed federal government jobs, cut education funding, and pressured colleges and businesses to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies. 

Through all of this, his poll numbers have taken a hit — dropping from 52% to 44% since he took office. But 44% is sizable, and a lot of people still love Trump. They want him to change how America stands in the world, American’s norms to change, and someone to come in and shake up the old order. 

Although Trump handily won Macomb County, not everyone is happy with the president. Katrina Manetta, co-chair of the new group Macomb Defenders Rising, joined The Metro to discuss how they're trying to combat the president's actions in southeast Michigan.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Three years ago, “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” sold out shows at the Detroit Opera House for the first time in over a decade.

Now, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer behind that success is back in Detroit. 

Anthony Davis returns this month to present “Central Park Five,” a gripping opera that tells the true story of the wrongful convictions of five Black and Latino teenagers in the assault of a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989. 

It’s a case that involved President Donald Trump, who at the time became an outspoken voice for convicting the teens. He spoke with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper about the politics of bringing an opera like this to the stage, and how it feels to be back in Detroit.

Performances will take place on May 10, 16 and 18 at the Detroit Opera House. Visit detroitopera.org for tickets and more information.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

In Canada, Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney won the federal election this week with his message to stand up to President Donald Trump and his policies.

But in three cities in Ontario, liberal incumbents who campaigned against Trump lost their seats. That includes Detroit’s neighbor, Windsor, where the CBC reports Conservatives swept the area for the first time in 95 years. 

Ahead of the election, WDET’s All Things Considered host and Senior News Editor Russ McNamara spent some time in Windsor talking to more than a dozen Canadians. He joined The Metro to share what he learned from those conversations. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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.

Vault of Midnight owner Curtis Sullivan joined The Metro on Thursday to talk about the comic book culture here in Detroit and southeast Michigan. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Last week, a federal judge sentenced the former Chief Financial Officer of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, William Smith, to 19 years in prison for embezzling $44 million from the nonprofit over 12 years. 

The Riverfront Conservancy is a pretty prominent organization, responsible for all the changes along Detroit’s Riverwalk. So how did one man manage to dodge accountability? 

Investigative reporter Violet Ikonomova has been covering the story for the Detroit Free Press. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to provide insight into the case. Journalist, author and long-time Detroit Free Press columnist John Gallagher also joined the conversation.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.