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Michigan Chronicle
Vol. 84 – No. 20 | January 20-26, 2021
Real Times Media Unveils All-New Multimedia Studio Inside Detroit Headquarters Named Studio 1452 to reflect the HQ’s address, the new studio will enable RTM to produce and distribute original digital content daily Real Times Media (RTM) unveiled its all-new multimedia broadcast studio named Studio 1452. The new facility features broadcast-production-quality cameras and livestream and podcast capabilities giving the company and its subsidiaries, most notably its co-located Michigan Chronicle nameplate, the tools to create a variety of high-end media projects in-house. Studio 1452 is on the ground level of the Real Times Media Headquarters building located at 1452 Randolph Street in the heart of the Paradise Valley Cultural and Entertainment District.
The opening of Studio 1452 is a part of RTM’s ongoing mission to create multimedia-rich, on-demand content tailor-made for its various audiences. The company’s ongoing digital capability expansion efforts continue to defy the misperception that small black-owned, local media organizations are declining in impact and lack the ability to create innovative solutions that not only address changing media consumption habits but advertisers’ need to engage consumers in dynamic ways. “To say we are excited about the launch of Studio 1452 is an understatement. At a time when many of our media contemporaries are struggling to maintain, we are proud to be pivoting our business and finding a way to thrive,” said Hiram E. Jackson, chief executive officer of Real Times Media and publisher of the Michigan Chronicle. “With the opening of Studio 1452, we have truly become a creative content platform able to generate programming that excites audiences and advertisers alike.” Studio 1452 features state-ofthe-art technology and a dynamic interior design courtesy of Detroit-based design firm Walls of Virtue. For the buildout, RTM forged a unique partnership with AVL Creative, a custom creative design company specializing in audio, video, lighting, and production solutions, which lent its expertise on overall system design, including equipment and final installation of the equipment.” “Of all the tough things that have come from 2020, there has certainly been a bright side in new
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Green-lighting Financial Mobility in the Motor City
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The Invisible Ones: Black Homelessness in Detroit During a Pandemic
By Sherri Kolade Allah Young, 69 of Detroit, slept in his own bed for the first time in over three years last fall. On October 9, Young stepped over his new apartment door threshold at 3364 Mack Ave. (near Gratiot in Detroit’s McDougall-Hunt neighborhood) and entered into his new life at Clay Apartments. The permanent supportive housing facility is a two-story, 42-unit housing complex for individuals who experienced homelessness. Young said that as a Black man who was homeless, drifting in and out of shelters, and living on the street or sleeping in vacant homes, life was rough. To add a pandemic on top of that, it was at times unbearable. He used to wonder why homeless people loitered around liquor stores; he found out afterward that they give shelter to the homeless along with drug houses. “I had property in Detroit; lost [the] house I had and went to shelters,” he said adding that he has been to nearly every shelter in the city of Detroit. Young, who had gainful employment for a number of years stopped working because he got involved in “negativity” he said. “One thing led to the next way,” he said, adding that the only way to come up out of it was going to shelter. “Part of the negativity was substance abuse. In situations like that, I would go cold turkey. … I got to a shelter during the process.” Young added that his father and brother were in the political realm and his
father, a state representative, advocated for mental health reform in the 1980s, which Young needed help with throughout his life. Young said that his time spent on the streets gave him an understanding that no other experience could and he is empathetic of those who are still out there. “When you are in a shelter you have to leave the shelter every day at 5 a.m. [and you can be back by the evening],” he said. “It is difficult to wake up in the morning and be put out of a facility and have no destination. That puts you in an environment of negativity. … [It is a] no-win situation for people out on the street.” Young said that he gives Clay Apartments, operated under the Neighborhood Service Organization, credit for the kind people who help make him feel at home. “I felt that my [homeless] journey had ended,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be here and a privilege to pay your rent; to keep your place clean, keep yourself clean and resolve to live well -- that has to be the end game.” Katrina McCree, chief community impact officer at NSO, said that homelessness is still very prevalent in the Detroit region and continues to “plague our community.” According to the Detroit Continuum of Care’s annual report on their State of Homelessness, overall homelessness in 2019 was 10,006 -- a decline from 2018 figures. “Despite overall homelessness being on the decline, there was an increase in
chronic homelessness and still a large number of unaccompanied youth homeless,” she told the Michigan Chronicle, adding that a majority of those experiencing homelessness are males. “The shift to a housing first model has made a big impact and I must say we are making an intentional and concerted effort to work together collectively across the state to end homelessness.” McCree added that those suffering from homelessness are typically victims of other issues including chronic health conditions, mental illness, drug addiction, violence and abuse. She said that approximately 60 percent of chronically homeless individuals in Detroit have underlying issues of mental illness and/or substance abuse. “Homeless individuals are four times more likely to present in the emergency department and five times more likely to be hospitalized than the general population,” she said. “Homelessness, poverty and physical and mental health conditions are complex issues with impacts that can be dangerously cyclical and require multi-faceted solutions. In addition. persons who are homeless have difficulty getting rest, maintaining their medications, eating a healthy diet and staying clean and warm, all of which negatively impact their overall health.” As many know, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the Black population. The pandemic has also shown the “deep inequities in access to healthcare and housing” she said.
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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Set to Take Office By Megan Kirk The country is broken. Riddled with political and social unrest, the fabric of America has begun to unravel showing breaks in a system that does not guarantee justice for all. Amid intense political scrutiny and high racial tension, two extremely different POTUS administrations must exchange power and set the tone for the next four years. As the nation prepares for the inauguration, President elect Joe Biden has already begun making history and welcoming a new wave of diversity to Pennsylvania Avenue. For the first time in history, a woman will sit in the second most powerful seat. Vice President elect Kamala Harris also makes history as the first Black female and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the position. Helping to secure the presidential win, Black communities in America are now
ready to see their ballots at work. Often a pivotal political demographic, the voices and votes of African Americans helped tip the scales in an historic election laced with unsubstantiated accusations of voter fraud. Now, how can the Biden/Harris administration protect the interests and address the concerns of Black America? Racial discrimination has
long since been a pain point in the advancement of Black and Brown communities. Steven Chisolm, Council Member for the City of Inkster, hopes President elect Biden will begin to tackle racism while in office. “One of the things he can do is what the president wouldn’t do during the debate; he can denounce white supremacy,” Chisolm says. “He
can get on tv, he can get on social media and denounce all of that stuff immediately and let them know where he is and where he stands on it, what his beliefs are and how we’re going to move forward through this.” An uprising of white privilege and supremacy led to an insurrection at the nation’s capitol in early January. With
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