The Primary Is Decided. So … How Will Michigan Vote?

EAST LANSING, MI -- Ever since this presidential campaign started, most voters have consistently told pollsters they didn’t want another rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.           But...

What Detroit’s REAL Problem Is – and How to Fix It

       DETROIT – Two weeks ago, I said in this column that while Detroit is in far better shape than it was a decade ago, and is a rewarding place to visit,...

But What If He Dies Before the Election?

Political Questions You Were Afraid to Ask        DETROIT – Sometimes presidential campaigns are exciting from the start.  Remember the epic battle for the Democratic nomination between Hillary Clinton...

Detroit’s Comeback: How Much is it Real?

DETROIT – Thirty years ago, those who lived in Detroit’s suburbs often boasted that they hadn’t been in the city for years.  Ten years ago, the leader of the region’s most affluent county,...

How Do You Know What’s True?  It’s Up to You

       DETROIT – The Citizens’ Research Council of Michigan is, in my judgment, the state’s best and most respected public policy outfit. They have provided useful and totally non-partisan information on everything...

Will Michigan Finally Legalize Assisted Suicide?

        ROYAL OAK, MI – Thirty years ago, Jack Kevorkian, a retired pathologist, was waging a crusade for physician-assisted suicide for the suffering which made him internationally famous. At...

Michigan’s Redistricting Mess!

DETROIT – A little more than two years ago, the new Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission finished its work and presented the state with new congressional and legislative maps.          ...

Michigan’s Had Some Wacky Presidential Primaries

      DETROIT, MI – Remember President Henry Ford? How about Presidents Hiram Johnson, or Jerry Brown or Bernie Sanders? If you don’t, that’s not surprising. None of those men...

Making the Constitution Relevant, and Fun!

       BURTON, MI – Amy Bloom has always believed that educating people about democracy and getting them to take part in it was the most important work she could do. How serious...

Michigan’s GOP Collapses Into Chaos

       DETROIT – For many years, under a variety of leaders, the Michigan Republican Party was one of the best and most efficient political organizations in the country. Raising...

Politics, Government, and Michigan: Get Ready For a Hell of a Ride!

       LANSING, MI – Last year was, without a doubt, one of huge triumphs for Michigan Democrats, who took full control of state government for the first time since 1983.

Guy Stern: Portrait of a Truly American Hero

       DETROIT – Great men aren’t always physically impressive. Once, years ago, a short, cheerful older man with an almost perpetual toothy smile stopped by my Wayne State University office to say...

Reason vs Racism

Last year, I finished a book called Reason vs Racism, which is a look at how one newspaper family covered race and race relations in cities all across the country from 1900 to 2018, and also on how they integrated their own staffs.  They still own newspapers in Pittsburgh and Toledo and broadcast properties in other states. It is scheduled to be available soon.  Last week, however, the wife of the current CEO of that company, Block. Communications, Inc., posted something on Facebook saying she would never accept the results of the election, and most dismayingly, calling the Vice-President-elect a whore. While she has nothing to do with the management of the company, this is beyond horrible and there aren’t words strong enough to condemn it. Obviously, it casts a shadow over my book, which, while written in I hope is a compelling style, will be mainly of interest to historians and those who are interested in race and media in America. I want to say I stand by everything that I have written; that the Block family assisted me but never interfered in what I wrote, and that their record as a whole was largely enlightened and ahead of its time.  Those who know me personally also know that I strongly supported President-elect Biden, and very much admire Kamala Harris and was delighted that he chose her as his running mate. And I will be happy to let you know when the book is available, on Amazon and hopefully elsewhere, Follow me on my professional Facebook page, Lessenberryink.com. for more observations, essays and podcasts.