The statistics lay it bare: Detroit teens are two and a half times more likely than other teens in Michigan to become a teen parent. Each year, about 1,600 teens in Detroit become parents. 

When I started high school, there weren’t many young-adult fiction novels where I could see myself reflected in characters as a Black teenage girl that didn’t have to do with something tragic. 

There was Sharon G. Flake’s The Skin I’m In, which tackles colorism and bullying directed at a dark-skinned girl. Then there was Brenda Woods’ Emako Blue about a Black girl with a beautiful singing voice who dies violently before the book ends. 

A community meeting will be held Thursday night for residents in and around the Villages neighborhoods to discuss Strategic Neighborhood Fund-related improvements to the area.

The meeting is hosted by the City of Detroit’s Planning and Development department. Thursday’s meeting specifically hones in on streetscape improvement and retail attraction. Earlier this year, a new implementation plan was announced for the Islandview, West Village, East Village, Indian Village neighborhoods and nearby areas.

More than $5 million in investments will go toward an improved Butzel Playfield, a more attractive streetscape along Kercheval Avenue, additional affordable housing options, and more neighborhood rehabilitation in the Villages neighborhoods are coming in the near future, City of Detroit planning officials announced Thursday night.

A community meeting will be held in the Villages to discuss final recommendations from the City of Detroit’s Planning Department on Strategic Neighborhood Fund-related improvements to the area on Thursday night.

After a series of community meetings, the Planning Department will unveil its plans based on more than 1,500 comments and other feedback from residents.