- [Narrator] Just ahead on One Detroit, the murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked a movement by corporations to address racial injustice.

We'll look at the state of diversity in the workplace today.

Also, a $75 million renovation is underway on Detroit's west riverfront.

We'll show you how the site is being transformed into a unique public space.

Plus, we'll explore Detroit's rich history of punk rock music as a fan-favorite festival is back after a two year pandemic shutdown.

And a dance performance rooted in African culture.

It's all coming up next on One Detroit.

- [Voiceover #1] 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 for this program is provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV.

The Kresge Foundation.

- [Voiceover #2] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV among the state's largest foundations, committed to Michigan-focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

- [Voiceover #1] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

- [Narrator] Coming up on this week's One Detroit, a massive transformation is taking place on Detroit's west riverfront.

We'll show you what's planned for the new Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.

Plus, the Detroit All-Star Garage Rock Punk Revue is back to entertain fans with more than 20 bands taking the stage.

We'll take a look at this upcoming celebration of the city's diverse music scene.

Also ahead, a traditional African dance performed by members of the TeMaTe Institute for Black Dance and Culture.

But first up, it's been more than two years since businesses and organizations pledged to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion following the murder of George Floyd.

Many companies committed resources to address the gaps and to hire chief diversity officers.

But where do we stand today?

American Black journal host, Steven Henderson, got an update from Mark Lee of The Lee Group and Nikki Pardo of Global Alliance Solutions.

- [Mark] Let's just circle back two years ago if you can for a quick moment.

Obviously, after the George Floyd situation, we saw a huge increase in commitment statements and people were making that verbal commitment if you will, to hiring DEI professionals at that point in time.

As fast forward to today and it's very mixed results.

It's actually somewhat frustrating in terms of the progress today.

Let me just give you a specific data point here.

Recently, a survey was done by the Creative Investment Research of 271 US companies or corporations that made DEI pledges.

Now, financially, since that ratio injustice if you were a couple of years ago, since the summer of 2020, these corporations estimated to pledge some $67 billion, estimated to pledge $67 billion behind DEI.

Through the beginning of this year, only $652 million have actually been spent.

That's to 1%.

And that's part of the frustration that we're seeing, there was a lot of gung-ho excitement and commitment to it but when you put the dollars to the metal, so to speak, those dollars are not coming through.

- [Stephen] And Nikki, one of the things that's also happening is that people are finding themselves in these roles in corporations and finding that maybe they're not all that they're chalked up to be and they're leaving.

Talk about some of the frustrations that are associated with just the idea of introducing these positions and these ideas into a a corporate space that, let's be honest, is just not used to it.

- [Nikki] Yeah, that's a great question.

So, I belong to two large, national organizations, it's kind of an informal group of DEI practitioners.

And I also facilitate one myself and Mark has spoken twice and that he was hit and because he will give it to you.

He comes with that data and he gives it to you raw, leads with stats.

But, I'll tell you what's happening now is we saw the trend of the bandwagoning post May 25th, 2020 when the world stopped spinning on its axis for 10 minutes.

And so these businesses, these organizations across all industries, we're clamoring and with these chief diversity officers, CDO positions.

And so now we've revisited, here we are two years later.

And the feedback from my fellow practitioners in these groups are, they are very frustrated.

And I'm not gonna use an absolute and say all.

Some have made tremendous strides and really moved that needle.

But others are really frustrated and feel that they were set up to fail where they have no budgets so that means no professional development.

And everyone knows that this industry, I've been in it now collectively for 17 years, that is one of the fastest evolving industries.

so you have to keep up with trends.

So that means you have to get certifications or join organizations and with like-minded.

So yeah, that's where they are right now.

And in the beginning, I remember when I was having conversations with them, I'm like, "Why the dashes and the slashes?

", like it would be CDO/talent acquisition/account manager.

I remember just getting, not angry, but just I was questioning it.

Now, they're grateful for it because now that the whole wave has kind of calmed down, they're able to return back to their TA positions or their accounting positions or their marketing positions or whatever it was.

And I always said in the beginning, like I called it the tap on the shoulder, like if you were black if you were a woman, especially a middle aged woman, and expressed an interest, it's like, "Hey, you're our new CEO."

- [Stephen] One of the things that I think is really key to the success of people in these roles, of course, is the senior management environment at these corporations, right?

And in a lot of cases, you've still got senior management that doesn't reflect the general population.

There aren't enough women.

There aren't enough people of color.

Nikki, I wonder if you can talk about maybe the distinction between places that have done better with overall diversity and then introduce this idea of a DEI officer and places that still, I guess, are struggling with that concept or just not really embracing it.

It seems to me that the likelihood of success is at least, in part, dependent on how diverse the workplace that you're getting into is in its senior management.

- [Nikki] Yeah.

And there's so much research out there to support this.

McKinsey reports.

I mean, all of that.

But I just wanna say, I just wanna kind of dial back a little bit where I think things look different now if that makes sense.

And like, if you go on Indeed or LinkedIn or any of the platforms where the CDO positions that are embedded in the C-suite, they're kind of brought down a tier where they might not necessarily be in the C-suite or the S-suite or the V-suite, but that next tier, like a directorship.

But I always say, if you bring it down those tiers, make sure that they are a direct liaison to the S and V-suite.

So, yeah.

So it just is looking a little different.

I'll say that.

And also I'll say too, in the industry's slight defense.

Now, companies are trying to wrangle in this remote work.

So everything has shifted to that where now employees are, I'm sorry, employers and companies are like, okay, we're bringing everyone back and now they're losing people.

So it's just this whole, so I think it's shifted to that.

Again, I'm not defending.

I am defending, but I'm not defending the industry, and Mark, I don't know if you can.

- [Mark] Let me just chime in for a second 'cause all this is a direct result, lot of factors, very briefly.

And what we're seeing here in terms of inter, not that lack of connectivity from the senior management down in some cases, that employees are beginning to feel alienated.

And so even the words, DEI, to use the word diversity inside of an organization you have some employees who are are becoming offended by that word.

And because they could feel as though the organization has not necessarily embraced.

They may have verbally embraced it, but has not been socially embraced throughout the entire organization.

So, it becomes a challenge of how do you make the employees feel that it is important throughout the entire organization.

But what's happened the last 18 months or so is that some employees view as a divisive strategy and dividing people inside the organization.

And that's another challenge that needs to be dealt with as well.

- [Narrator] Construction is underway on Detroit's west riverfront to transform the site into a world class public space.

The new 22-acre Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park will feature a water garden, sport house, play garden and much more.

State and local officials were on hand for the recent groundbreaking.

One Detroit contributor AJ Walker has the story.

- [Man #1] Everybody ready?

- [Man #2] Yep.

- [Man #1] All right, here we go.

1, 2, 3.

(cheers and applause) - [AJ] It's another milestone for the city of Detroit and its beautiful river.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, formally known as West Riverfront Park, now has a new name and epic new plans for development.

- [William] When we say this park has something for everyone, it's because we actively worked to bring everyone to the table.

In particular, we worked across the city with kids to develop the vision for a four-acre play garden at Wilson Park.

- [AJ] The Delta Dental play garden at the park was made possible largely due to Delta Dental and their large donation of $5 million.

It will feature a 20-foot bear play structure that children can climb and other imaginative creatures.

Margaret Trimer, vice president of strategic partnerships for Delta Dental, says that investment is part of their commitment to make Detroit even better by investing in its children.

- [Margaret] We've birthed something amazing, and we need to take incredible care of that which we've birthed.

Our children first, our parks, our communities second.

- [AJ] Trimer also spoke about the importance of making parks spaces for everyone.

- [Margaret] If you don't believe the power of gathering diversity in a safe and comforting space, walk this community.

- [AJ] Mayor Mike Duggan shares that vision and is proud to see the Detroit river walk as a welcoming space for all people near and far.

- [Mike] Come down here on Saturday afternoon and see for yourself.

You will see people of all shapes, sizes, ages, backgrounds all coming together, smiling and enjoying themselves.

There's no doubt.

This has become one of the really great assets of the city.

You know, I grew up here as a child.

I never came down to the riverfront unless it was on Belle Isle because it was cement silos and abandoned factories.

And that's the amazing thing that's happened.

And Riverfront has been given back to the people of the city of Detroit.

And that's really a special thing.

- [AJ] These renderings help demonstrate just how special and spectacular the park will be.

Fred White moved to Detroit from Georgia more than 30 years ago.

Today, he watched the groundbreaking from a distance while he fished along the river wall.

White says he loves all of the changes so far to the Detroit Riverfront and is looking forward to the completion of this new edition.

- [Fred] They're doing a great job.

I went down on that end and I like what I saw.

- [AJ] James Chapman agrees.

- [James] It's fabulous.

- [AJ] What do you love about the riverfront and what they're doing?

- [James] I was raised on this river.

This is home.

- [AJ] It's taken a lot of people, organizations and companies like DTE and Delta Dental to make the Ralph C. Wilson Park the beautiful place it will become.

David Egner of the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, which helped make this possible, says it's been a long journey.

- [David] This riverfront goes back to the vision of General Motors and Kresge Foundation and others to activate the river.

Carl Levin, Senator Levin was critical to this, was ahead of it even before that time.

And all we did at the Wilson Foundation was jump on board after so much funding over the years.

And in 2018, we committed $15 million to funding Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.

- [AJ] Mary Wilson, wife of the late Ralph C. Wilson, is proud to see her husband's legacy and vision for Detroit carrying on.

- [Mary] What would Ralph say right now?

And he would say, thank you to so many people that have made this happen.

- [AJ] In total, Ralph C. Wilson Park will cost about $75 million.

For all of the people rolling up their sleeves and putting together the resources to make it all possible, the groundbreaking is symbolic of what can be done when people come together.

- [William] They spoke at events, hosted dinners at their homes, and went door to door and even traveled to parks throughout the country, to learn more about public spaces and we had some good times.

- [Garlin] This international jewel will be enjoyed by people from every corner of both peninsulas of the state of Michigan when they come here to have fun and to build memories because that's what this is all about.

We are happier.

We are better connected.

And again, I'll say it again.

We are healthier because we are investing in spaces and opportunities like this one.

- [Narrator] The Detroit All-Star Garage Rock Punk Revue began in 2016 as a celebration of the city's independent music scene.

After missing two years due to COVID, the festival's back featuring two days of performances by punk, indie, and garage rock bands.

One Detroit's Chris Jordan caught up with the show's organizer, Smitt E. Smitty, the host, iconic DJ Michael Halloran and musician Gary Reichel of Cinecyde to talk about the festival and Detroit's punk history.

(intro to "What I Like About You" by the Romantics) - [Chris] The Detroit All-Star Garage Rock Punk Revue, a celebration of the underground side of Detroit music.

After two years off due to COVID, the event is back and bigger than ever as a weekend festival at the Cadieux Cafe.

The event is organized by musician Smitt E. Smitty of Detroit's "Figures on a Beach" and will be hosted by radio icon and former WDET Radios in Motion host Michael Hallen.

- [Smitt] There is no music scene that even comes close to what the Detroit music scene is.

It's like, I've been around the world and visited every city.

Detroit, without any question, is the number one music scene on the planet.

Everybody else is fighting for second place.

I am so lucky and fortunate to have been raised in Detroit during that, late fifties all through the sixties, seventies, eighties, the Detroit scene was like off the charts.

- [Michael] Detroit was always on the map because of its music scene.

But the Detroit bands that were existing at the time were completely, radically different, I think, than what was happening in Cleveland with the Dead Boys in Chicago.

- [Gary] Detroit has kind of a brand on it, can be raw, hard, compelling rock and roll, over-the-top sometimes.

And that punk rock scene was surely all of that, but it was even more.

- [Michael] I was listening to an interview that Berry Gordy gave when he was talking about why Motown songs sounded the way they did.

And it's because when he was working in the factories, there was something about the stamping, the big machines that were doing all this work that had a rhythm that got stuck in his head which basically became that whole boxer beat four on the floor.

You know, pat, pat, pat, mmm, pat, mmm, pat, pat.

Richie, our drummer in the plugs, worked to gear an axle.

So, as the drummer and hearing, call, call, call, you have this rhythmic thing.

So when you form a band, you're going to have a thing that is in your life that basically drives your soul.

And with Richie, it was that factory type thing.

And I don't wanna say it's industrial but it was really just hard hitting.

- [Smitt] Industry, blue collar, hardworking, it's that kind of energy.

And, I don't know, it's just sort of the rock-and-roll ethic.

The MC5 and The Stooges, anywhere but Michigan and they're not happening.

- [Michael] And that's in essence why Radios in Motion was born.

A lot of these bands from back in the day, I tried to play on the radio as much as possible.

They were the people that were making Detroit cool and different.

It was a point of pride with me that Detroit had not stopped when Motown moved.

- [Chris] It is this underground music history that will be celebrated on August 19th and 20th on the outdoor stage at the Cadieux Cafe with a lineup band spanning four decades of Detroit punk rock and indie music.

- [Smitt] The first one was really was a celebration.

I didn't really have anything in mind other than getting a bunch of old school friends of mine from back in the punk days, late seventies, eighties and the moment we decided we were gonna do a second one it was kind of like, okay, well, we did the one where we had mostly the old guard.

Now I really want to go after some of the new and young bands that are happening in the Detroit music scene.

- [Michael] We kind of realize that thread that started in the early scene.

You got Mutants, Coldcock, RUR, Cinecyde, we're kind of like the beginning of a thread to me that we were able to attach ourselves on and then slowly move down.

And then other bands came along vertical pillows but that thread just keeps going.

Sometimes it gets super thin.

Sometimes it gets fattened up.

- [Gary] There's always somebody's stepping up and going, "Hey, I've got something to say too."

And I think Smitty and I know myself, we're the mind.

And it's like, yeah, let's hear what you have to say.

Yes, yes, yes.

More, more, more.

- [Smitt] There's a total, hold on to your seat, a total of 21 bands.

- [Gary] It is eclectic, I mean, you've got folky influence like Audra Kubat or you have on the other end The Amino Acids, which is kind of like this, this kind of compelling punk surf band.

You've got the 3D-Invisibles and then, flipping over, you've got Nikki Corvette.

- [Smitt] It's not an all-star show if it doesn't have Cinecyde.

And, of course, everyone knows Mary Cobra from the Detroit Cobras and with the passing of Rachel Nagy, it was kind of like, oh geez.

Mary, people love you.

They wanna see you perform, what are you doing?

And then she told me about her band Gigi and Gigi, they may have only done like one, maybe two performances.

So they're like brand new.

And so she said, "Okay, Smitty, if Gigi's gonna do it, I wanna see Sugar Tradition on this fill.

I wanna see Billy Swivs and his operatives on this fill.

I wanna see Warhorses, The Hourlies.

- [Gary] Smitty's in a couple of the bands.

He's got Little Boy Lost.

- [Smitt] Smitt E. Smitty and the Feztones, that leans more into my, like the art school guy starting a bit.

And I probably have more in common with like Sparks and The B-52's and Devo because there is definitely an art element.

- [Michael] If you look at all of these, this list of bands, I think one of the most important things about it is the School of Rock in Farmington.

To me, I wanna see the new generation, the Farmington Hill School of Rock band will produce one member.

We don't know who it is.

I don't know who it is.

Nobody knows who it is.

Who's gonna go on and revolutionize the way music is done.

And it's the new prince.

It's the new, St. Vincent, it's the new, whatever it is, because that's where it comes from, the youth of America.

- [Smitt] This is like, Detroit's finest.

Whether they've been around forever or just popped up within the last year or two, even if you don't know, 90%, even if you don't know 100% of the bands that are on the bill, it's going to blow you away.

I mean, this is like, oh, this came from Detroit.

You know, this isn't from LA.

This isn't from London.

This isn't from New York.

And it's like, no, this is all Detroit.

(rock music) - [Narrator] That will do it for this week's One Detroit.

Thanks for watching.

To close tonight's show, here's a performance by TeMaTe Institute for Black Dance and Culture.

From Detroit, performs live for Marygrove.

(African music) - [Voiceover #1] 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 for this program is provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV.

The Kresge foundation.

- [Voiceover #2] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV among the state's largest foundations, committed to Michigan focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

- [Voiceover #1] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.