- [Will] Coming up on "One Detroit," Mayor Mike Duggan discusses the state of the city.

We'll have a reaction from our contributors, Stephen Henderson, Nolan Finley, and Zoe Clark.

Plus, we have a new name.

And soon, we'll have a new home.

We'll give you the details on the changes surrounding Detroit PBS.

Also ahead, a Detroit teacher embarks on a mission to encourage children to read.

And we'll take you to a unique building in Detroit where you can experience outdoor adventures inside.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit."

- [Announcer] From Delta faucets to Behr paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support also provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Announcer] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

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(upbeat music) - [Will] Just ahead on "One Detroit", we're making news of our own.

We'll talk about the station's new Detroit Building and new name.

Plus, we'll show you how a Detroit teacher is getting more books in the hands of students.

And we'll take a look at a fun place that's truly Detroit, the Outdoor Adventure Center.

But first up, Detroit mayor Mike Duggan delivered his 11th State of the City address on Wednesday night.

He talked about the city's ongoing revitalization and the progress that will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people during the NFL draft.

"One Detroit" contributor Stephen Henderson of "American Black Journal," Nolan Finley of the Detroit News, and Zoe Clark from Michigan Public offered their thoughts on the mayor's speech.

(upbeat music) - Okay, Nolan, Stephen, what's the headline from the speech?

Nolan, start with you.

- The mayor billed it as a chance to introduce Detroit to the nation through this NFL draft that's coming up next week.

That this would be a chance to show the nation how far Detroit has come over these last years of his leadership.

I think it was also though a chance to introduce Mike Duggan and his new ambitions to a bigger audience, to a Michigan audience.

I think that speech was, just as the interview we did with him a couple of weeks ago was sort of the opening salvos of his run for Governor that he very clearly has planned.

- Stephen, I wanna get to that and just sort of the political machinations that go into a speech like this.

But what was the headline for you?

- Yeah, I think it was a pretty standard State of the City, county, nation kind of speech.

You take credit for the things you think you can take credit for, you promise a couple things to get people excited.

I think the draft gave them a really wonderful peg to start talking about the things that are different than they were 11 years ago.

If you would've imagined us hosting the draft 11 years ago, how different that would've been.

I think he's got a lot to be proud of.

I give him credit also for pointing out the things that we still need to work on, the things that are not finished.

He talked a lot about neighborhoods, about housing, about policing crime.

Those things aren't solved, but he's making some progress and talking about how he's gonna make more,.

Nothing terribly surprising here.

And I agree that it is kind of that opening salvo in his case to be made to the state that he ought to get a bigger job in two years.

- And so, I mean, he focused so much on neighborhoods, neighborhood revitalization.

Does that work though in terms of if he's trying to take this message statewide or nationwide?

- I do think it does, Zoe, because I mean, that's where the problems were, and that's where he can demonstrate his ability to come up with solutions and execute them.

I mean, Detroit was headed in a very bad direction for 60 years.

And now we've gone through this decade or so of stabilization, more or less, but still not growing the way it needs to grow.

And if it's gonna grow, that's gonna come from the neighborhoods, that's where you're gonna see the population, people, families come back.

You get the neighborhoods right and everything else sort of falls into place.

- Well, that's really what his critics, I mean, for years and years have said, that it's focused too much on downtown or pro business.

And leaving out the rest of the city.

- So I mean, he had some real direct answers for that during the speech.

I mean, he said, look, if you look at the overall investment outside of downtown Detroit totals about $4 billion.

That's not a little bit.

The problem is that we have probably $20 billion worth of problems in our neighborhoods.

And as somebody who's working in the neighborhood where I was born to try to turn things around and make them better, I can attest it is really hard work.

There are so many layered problems that have existed for such a long time that even the largest investment or gesture takes some time to make a difference, and things move slowly.

That's not an excuse.

He's the mayor of the city.

He's accountable for all of the things that happen.

But I think he did a good job explaining why things aren't fixed in the neighborhoods, but that they are better.

I also think that that's a huge part of his sell to the state, and even from a cynical standpoint, most people in the state still have a really negative view of Detroit, especially historically.

They have a really negative view of Detroiters historically as somehow having ruined the state's largest city.

Part of his sell cynically is, "Hey, look, I came in here and I straightened this out.

This was a mess and I fixed it.

And I do the same for Michigan."

So I don't think it's a bad thing for him to focus on the ways in which he's done that.

I'm not saying he's doing that cynically, but I do think there is a cynical sell to be made around that.

- And Zoe, part of his message, or the big part of his message to a broader electorate, to a broader audience, is his ability to put coalitions together, to bring people together from divergent places and different philosophies to work together to solve problems.

And I just came from moderating a session with John Rakolta who headed the Growing Michigan Commission, the Governor's Commission.

He very much talked about Michigan's inability to work together, to bring groups together, as being the major impediment to the state's growth.

And so I think Duggan seized an opportunity there to tout his ability to work across lines.

And I think that's gonna be his message to Michigan voters over the next couple years.

- So the fact that he announced that they're naming this rec center, this community center over on the west side after Helen Moore, who is one of the harshest critics of every public official in the city and has been for 30 or 40 years.

I've never seen her kind of hold hands with a public official and be like, "Hey, yeah, this is great.

Things are going in the right direction."

He got her to do that by naming that center after her.

I mean, that's a masterful stroke politically.

- We'll see what the next speech is from this mayor, whether they're about Detroit or the state as a whole in terms of a possible run for Governor as Nolan was talking about.

Thanks guys.

- We have exciting news about our station's participation in the city's growth.

We're moving our headquarters back to Detroit.

We'll be located on Piquette Avenue in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood.

In addition to housing our video production and broadcast facilities, the campus will host arts performances and serve as a community event space.

And along with the new building comes a new name.

We are now Detroit PBS.

I talked with president and CEO Rich Homberg and Chief Operating Officer and CFO Ollette Boyd about the changes in the station's commitment to the city.

(upbeat music) A new name, a new look, a new location.

Give us the rundown.

- You could say it's an evolution as well, a transformation, both, but it just became clear, if we're gonna get really great at this, we gotta be in the heart of the city.

We gotta be in the middle of the city.

We need a super accessible location that's very Detroit and state-of-the-art on the technology side in order to empower you folks, in order to give you all that you can be and all that you've developed, the team has carved a path that just said you need to be in Detroit.

- We looked at a lot of places.

We intended to bring the staff all together.

So we had to have space for radio, we had to have a space for production, we had to have a space for journalism, a space for children.

So as we would look place to place, we could check some boxes and not others.

And I got a call one day from a board member who said, "I have a client who has a building.

We think it might be the one you're looking for."

I was pretty far along the pathway of we might have to build custom because of all of these needs that we had.

And another call came in, "Ollette, go look at the building."

And then as I pulled up, I said, "This is it."

I just knew it.

I felt it was it.

- Is there anything in particular that you guys are looking forward to once this place is actually up and running?

Like is there like a specific feature?

Because we're gonna have a theater, we're gonna have all sorts of new offices.

Is there like one like, ooh, I can't wait to like walk in and see this every day?

- For me, I think it's gonna be this indoor outdoor performance space because the way it's designed, it can be used year round.

- I hope that the lobby feels like the front door of Detroit.

That would be the gold standard to me to walk in Detroit PBS, and here's our community and demonstrating to show, I think, the wonderful nature of our city.

- As we move from Detroit Public Television to Detroit PBS, talk a little bit about why we wanted to make this change and what that means.

- When you say PBS, what do you instantly think about?

You think about trust, you think about sort of investment, commitment.

You think about who's gonna bring you the real story, the deeper story, the sincere story.

You think about education and families.

You think about history, you think about arts and culture.

But what defines PBS in this city is Detroit.

This is Detroit PBS, this is Detroit's view of the world and how we bring the world to Detroit and connect Detroiters to each other.

- We are attempting to retain as much of this history of this building.

So it'll be a lot of open ceilings, a lot of brick walls.

- A new tagline, imagine the possibilities.

Tell me a little bit about the thought process of telling someone, it's Detroit PBS where we imagine the possibilities.

Just expand on that a little bit.

- Look at almost any important issue in this town.

Education, arts and culture, health, civics, civil discourse.

A venue that we're able to say, "Come here and join us and we'll bring this together together."

So imagine the possibilities.

Easily I could see Will saying, "If you come to our place, we can make it twice as big and twice as effective.

Let's go."

So imagine the possibilities.

What if we embraced this town like never before and we had a building and a facility and an approach and a staff of great folks who all deliver on that promise?

- [Will] A Detroit teacher is doing her part to spread the joy of reading by making sure children have access to a diverse selection of books.

Alyce Hartman came up with an idea on how to get more books in the hands of students at a time when school library resources are diminishing.

Bridge Detroit contributor Eleanore Catolico teamed up with "One Detroit" to tell the story of Birdie's Bookmobile.

(upbeat music) - Because we fit together like beats of a drum, like the chorus of notes and the chords that you strum.

- [Eleanore] Inside room 148, Alyce Hartman reads a book about a eclectic trio of musicians, a squirrel, a grizzly bear, and a chicken.

A group of second graders sit and listen.

In the end, the three talking animals form a band, and the students get a lesson on friendship and belonging.

- We make our own music.

We have nothing to prove.

We do our own thing and find our own crew.

- [Eleanore] Hartman is a STEM and drama teacher at Detroit Prep.

When she isn't teaching, she's on a mission to grow the next generation of readers as school librarians and school libraries have begun to disappear.

- There are a lack of books in the schools.

- [Eleanore] Hartman launched her popup literacy initiative Birdie's Bookmobile two years ago, and hopes to fill a resource gap.

She hits the road and delivers hundreds of books to schools, afterschool programs, and non-profit organizations across Detroit.

- The books that are distributed, the children get to keep.

They're taking them home, sharing them with their families.

- Since Birdie's Bookmobile was born.

Hartman said she's given away more than 16,000 books.

Today, she makes a trip to Voyager Academy, a K-12 charter school in southwest Detroit.

The school doesn't have a library.

Hartman spent the morning hauling books into the school and gave over 500 to Voyager.

Where does your passion come from to do this work?

- I was an early reader and an avid reader.

My mother was a kindergarten teacher, so I was always surrounded by books.

I had a large collection of books.

As a child, I loved reading, and those books really opened these avenues of creativity for me.

And so I would always imagine that I was a character.

I would add dialogue and just really pretend to be in the story.

And I want children here in the city to really enjoy reading as much as I did.

- [Eleanore] At Voyager, Hartman set up a book fair for the students.

There are books about Kamala Harris and Nelson Mandela, a book called "Soul Food Sunday" by Black Children's Author Winsome Bingham.

Graphic novels are popular among high school students.

Many of the books Hartman curates include Black and brown characters or books written by authors of color.

- I think I'm really drawn to getting these books into the hands of children so that they can then explore different career paths and learn more about what other cultures are doing and other characters.

And the stories might differ from the experiences that they've had.

- [Eleanore] Hartman serves schools and nonprofits across the city.

- They're looking for books that reflect the community and that's what we're providing.

- [Eleanore] Literacy experts say children of color are still overlooked in mainstream culture.

Diverse books can teach students to be compassionate toward people who are different from them and toward themselves.

When a student sees themselves reflected in a story, their confidence can blossom.

Just ask 13-year-old Kai Fee.

- As Black girls, we don't get very much attention.

- [Eleanore] Kai is an eighth grader at Voyager.

She picked up the young adult fantasy novel, "The Gilded Ones," written by Namina Forna, an author who grew up in Sierra Leone.

When she saw the cover, she said to herself, Black girl magic.

- I feel like this book will talk about some things that we have in common maybe because we're both two Black girls and she seems like she's a young girl like me.

So I feel like this could help me like believe more in myself.

- [Eleanore] High school senior Tyler McKinnon picked up two books wrestling with the themes of war.

Sometimes, McKinnon can't find books that entice him, so he appreciates the variety Birdie's Bookmobile provides.

- I feel like reading, even like news articles, it helped me like not be ignorant and like expand my knowledge because I like to educate myself.

- [Eleanore] In the afternoon, Hartman heads to 27th Letter Books in Southwest Detroit.

The bookstore carries historically underrepresented authors.

Erin Pineda, the bookstore's co-owner, helps Hartman shop.

She recommends a picture book about body positivity.

Pineda's dog Chai watches the fun.

- The work that like Alyce is doing is so, so critical in getting books into kids' hands so that they can develop a love for literature and for learning.

And letting them know that they deserve those things because they do, and that's really important.

- [Eleanore] The bookstore supports Hartman's mission by helping her save money on books.

- An ongoing program that we have here at 27th Letter Books is called Roundup For Reading.

And when folks come into our store and purchase something, they are given the option of rounding the purchase up to the nearest dollar.

And that difference helps fund a fund that allows us to give books to Birdie's Bookmobile.

So we are able to give them the books at cost and just keep that perpetual cycle of like books coming in and being able to go out into the hands of kids in Detroit.

- [Eleanore] Last year, a fire destroyed Hartman's old ride, a bus.

In the meantime, she's using a van, still spraying the joy of reading to the children of Detroit.

A joy she hopes will last a lifetime.

- I hope to grow lifelong readers and raise storytellers and have a generation of children who are interested in reading and really find joy in it, and who are able to just get lost to the book every now and then.

- Raise your hand if you liked that.

Did you like it?

I like it too.

- [Will] Now let's turn to a venue that's truly Detroit.

The Outdoor Adventure Center is located along the Detroit riverfront and offers fun activities like virtual kayaking, snowmobiling, and ATVing.

The center is run by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and it entertains and educates visitors by bringing the state's outdoor activities indoors.

"One Detroit" contributor Sarah Zientarski visited the center to learn more about the unique experiences it offers residents and visitors.

(upbeat music) (bright music) - The Outdoor Adventure Center.

Such a cool place.

Can you just tell us like what is the concept behind this center?

- Basically, we do bring the up north downtown, so everything that you can see in the beautiful up north, we try to bring it here and expose people to our natural resources throughout the state.

- Why is it important to bring that up north of Michigan to the city of Detroit?

- I think part of the reason is because we wanna make sure that everybody knows what we have to offer in this beautiful state.

And so for people who grew up in the city and don't travel much outside of the city, they can explore what we have to offer.

And we hope that they take the chance and go and visit our beautiful state parks throughout the state.

- And just what the state of Michigan has available.

Because I'm sure a lot of people come here and think, oh, I didn't know we had mines.

I didn't know that we had sand dunes.

How do you see people come here and their minds kind of open up to all the beauty that we have here in the state of Michigan?

- That's the great part about working here is that we see that inspiration and we see people ask more questions and ask where they can find more information.

Where can I get my fishing license?

Do you have any suggestions about good fishing spots?

So that is really exciting to see that people make that connection and then wanna know more about how to explore.

- [Sarah] When people come to the Outdoor Adventure Center, what can they expect as they walk through the doors?

- They can expect to feel like they're outside, which a lot of people before they know what we are, they're surprised that it's all inside.

But really when you're inside, you feel like you're outside.

- What are the hands-on exhibits that people can explore?

- It's actually more than just hands-on, it's full body exhibits.

So we have fishing, which actually is simulated to make it feel like you're catching a fish.

We have a snowmobile that you can ride, an ATV you can ride, bikes that you can ride, and then the tree of course that you can climb inside to the top of the tree and peek out and see all the branches.

And actually in the tree, there's birds and owls and bugs and all kinds of nature that you can explore inside the tree.

- How do you inspire people to go out to the state parks?

- That's actually one of our new exhibits this year.

We have an interactive state park map, which is conveniently located in our campground exhibit.

And so you can touch and see the entire map of Michigan and explore what those campgrounds have to offer and other state parks.

It's not just campgrounds.

And another thing that we do a lot of fun activities and educational promotions for the state parks.

Another thing that we do is we have a State Park Madness Competition, which is on Facebook, you can also vote in person, but we put the brackets on our window so that people can vote for their favorite state park.

And then at our DNR Parks and Recreation in service, we're going to present the trophy to the winners.

- How long has the Outdoor Adventure Center been around and how have you expanded through the years?

- We opened in July of 2015, and every year, we do add something new.

So we're always looking for ways to expand what we offer.

And I think that's really another exciting thing about working here is exploring, what can we add and working with the wonderful people and the rest of the DNR to see what ideas they have.

Like right now we're working with forestry to expand all of our forestry exhibits.

So it's really exciting.

- Now Detroit will be a destination April 25th through the 27th.

We're having the NFL draft here.

What do you wanna say to people that are coming in for the draft to tell them, get out there and explore these arts and cultural institutions and specifically come on over to the Outdoor Adventure Center?

- I think what I wanna say is we have a very unique building that is one of a kind in the country.

There's no other DNR that operates a building like this, so definitely come and and stop by and see what Michigan has to offer.

(bright music) (upbeat music) - [Will] That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit."

Thanks for watching.

Head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories we're working on, follow us on social media, and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

- [Announcer] This program is made possible in part by Timothy Bogert, Comprehensive Planning Strategies.

- [Announcer] From Delta faucets to Behr paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support also provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Announcer] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at dtefoundation.com.

- [Announcer] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(upbeat music)