Detroiters making Black history right now

We asked our readers at the beginning of Black History Month for Black Detroiters making history today as we reflect on the past.

• Thank you to everyone who responded. Here are three people readers highlighted to remember all year:

Lauren Hood: A member of the Detroit Reparations Task Force, Hood has been working to address racial equity for decades. She founded the Institute for AfroUrbanism in 2021 and is the chairperson of the city's planning commission, where she works with neighborhood organizations and developers. She's also the former chair of the Historic District Commission.

• Learn more about Hood in her interview with the U of M Detroit Center's Distinctly Detroit.

Linda Campbell: As director of the Detroit People's Platform, Campbell has been supporting our city's most vulnerable residents throughout the pandemic while keeping an eye on Detroit's future.

• Campbell is an active public voice, appearing at various community meetings to speak on behalf of affected residents — like the latest District Detroit community benefits meeting.

Ian Solomon: A writer and visual artist, Solomon began Amplify Outside as a way to help connect Black Michiganders with the outdoors.

• He's a source of information, leads groups on camping trips and has collaborated with local organizations to put on sound bath events at Belle Isle and across the city.
• Read more about Solomon's work here and here.

Editor's note: This story was corrected to note that Lauren Hood was the chairperson of the Historic District Commission, but is no longer in that role.