Detroit, MI
Reaching Michigan Central Station was first step to a ‘good life’ for longtime Detroiter
As a teen living in the South, the future Bernice Laster chose Detroit to be her home. More than 70 years later, Laster is still happy with her choice and grateful for a special place in Corktown.
Michigan Central Station: Public tours begin at Detroit’s iconic train depot
Michigan Central Station: Public tours begin at Detroit’s iconic train depot
Detroit Free Press
The year was 1951. And in Macon, Georgia, an excited group of students were celebrating their graduation from Ballard-Hudson Senior High School, an institution designed by pioneering architect Ellamae Ellis League.
Among the proud graduates was an 18-year-old student who had traveled the country a bit as a child thanks to the train passes issued by Central of Georgia Railway — her father’s employer. This student had already designed her own life plan, which entailed leaving the South behind for a northern destination more than 800 miles away.
That student — known then by her maiden name, Bernice Farmer — is Bernice Laster today. And the chosen city up north that the daughter of Perry and Willie May Wembley Farmer set her sights on moving to, even prior to her high school graduation, was Detroit.
“I was born in the South, but I wanted to go to school and receive the training and skills that would allow me to be an entrepreneur, or pursue some other job that was not domestic work,” said the now 91-year-old Laster, who was encouraged to move to Detroit to attend Wayne (now Wayne State) University by her history teacher at Ballard-Hudson which back then had an all-Black student body due to forced segregation. “In the South, as a Black woman, even with training, you were not going to get opportunities because all of the store jobs and government jobs, and any kind of jobs, went to privileged white women. But my mother and grandmother instilled in me to want more in life, so I was glad to leave home for an opportunity to try to give myself a better life in Detroit.”
However, before Laster could begin executing her plan, she first needed to make her way from the Macon, Georgia, train terminal to an imposing location in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood that once housed a three-story depot with 10 gates for trains, connected to an 18-story tower with more than 500 offices.
“I remember walking through that station; buildings like that you didn’t see everywhere,” Laster regaled as she recalled her earliest thoughts about the Michigan Central Station, Detroit’s primary railway depot from 1913 to 1988, and a onetime gateway to Detroit for thousands of daily rail passengers from across the country. “I was excited when that train stopped in Detroit. But as Black people living during those times, we didn’t carry ourselves in public just any kind of way as we do now. Everywhere you went, you were always concerned about your safety.”
Laster’s statement reflects the views of someone whose early life experiences were shaped not only by a segregated society, but also by the violence that came with it. The violent treatment of Black people in the South often had a lasting impact on future generations, such as the infamous July 25, 1946, Moore’s Ford lynchings, described by some as “the last mass lynching in America,” which resulted in the killing of two Black married couples — George W. (a World War II veteran) and Mae Murray Dorsey, along with Roger and Dorothy Murray (in her seventh month of pregnancy) — by a white mob at Moore’s Ford Bridge in Walton County, Georgia, about 80 miles north of where Laster grew up.
“You talk about segregation, they knew how to segregate in those days. But despite segregation and all of our struggles connected to it, our mothers still found a way to raise families and educate their children,” said Laster, who spoke Sunday evening from her home in northwest Detroit. “Some of these women even built colleges; and they filled up your belly. My mother and grandmother always saw to it that we had plenty to eat and that was very important. Before we left home, we would have biscuits, grits, salt pork and eggs that they prepared in the morning. That’s how we started every day.”
As Laster tells it, the crammed shoebox containing mouth-watering fried chicken that she took with her on the train while heading north was just a small sampling of the physical, mental and spiritual nourishment she had received from her family, which Laster would need to successfully make a new home in Detroit. For example, when money was needed to continue her education after completing a semester at Wayne, Laster called on lessons she had learned in and around the kitchen back home to secure a job as a cook and a waitress at Bonner’s Kitchen on Davidson and Dequindre. And the money she made at the restaurant helped her pay for classes at Highland Park Community College, where she ultimately earned an associate’s degree. There would be more jobs for Laster, too, including a nurse’s assistant position at Henry Ford Hospital.
Then, in 1964, Laster accomplished something that she believed would have been impossible for her to do had she not boarded a train to Detroit after completing high school: She landed a “good, government job” with the U.S. Postal Service.
“It gave me the opportunity to work and make a living wage,” said Laster, who was hired as a distribution clerk at Detroit’s main post office at 1401 W. Fort St. “That was one of the greatest things that ever happened to us.”
The “us” that Laster was referring to in that instance was the life partnership she shared with the late Ernest Laster, her loving husband for 58 years, and the person who validated Bernice Laster’s decision to come to Detroit in the grandest way possible.
“I was blessed that the Lord sent me someone to love, and the Lord sent me a man who loved me,” Laster, who married Ernest three months before starting work at the post office, beamed. “When we were first getting to know each other, he asked me to ride out to Belle Isle, and who would refuse going out to Belle Isle? From that point on, he just worked everything to perfection.”
And with plenty of love in her life, Laster said it was not difficult for her to work 27 years at the post office, where she retired in 1981 as a mid-level supervisor. After completing her government work, Laster then was able to fully focus on providing service to her community, particularly youths, which she happily performed by teaching Sunday school and vacation Bible school at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church for 18 years.
In recent years, Laster has touched the lives of metro Detroit youths through outreach she has performed with Boys & Girls Bible Clubs and Child Evangelism Fellowship. It is work that Laster still continues today and does not plan to give up anytime soon — however, she confided that she is looking forward to taking a little break. And during that “break” she said she expects to return to a familiar site with a few close friends to take part in the reopening celebration at Michigan Central Station that is taking place through June 16.
“After moving to Detroit, it was always exciting to catch the train to visit family back home, and I’m excited about being invited to go down to the station for the reopening,” said Laster, whose knack for offering encouragement to others throughout her life extended to her husband, who she encouraged to go to law school, which he successfully completed. “The physical strength and energy that God gives you is amazing and I used it to have a good life in Detroit. But nothing we did here in Detroit was us — it was all the Lord.”
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott’s stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.
Detroit, MI
Fired Detroit TV anchor Taryn Asher files sex discrimination lawsuit against old station, claims new GM protected men
A fired Detroit TV news anchor blasted her former station, and their parent company, for letting her male colleagues’ bad behavior slide and then axing her when she complained about the unfair treatment, a new lawsuit claims.
Taryn Asher filed the federal sexual discrimination lawsuit on Wednesday against Fox Television Stations and her former workplace, WJBK TV, known as Fox 2 Detroit, in connection with her sudden termination in November.
The station went downhill after Fox 2 hired Paul McGonagle as their general manager — sparking a slew of female firings, while men, including Asher’s co-anchor Roop Raj, were offered more perks, the 26-page complaint obtained by The Post alleged.
“If Asher had not been female, she would not have been treated in the same discriminatory manner,” the filing, first reported by Deadline Detroit, said.
Raj was treated “more favorably” and offered “more guest interview segment opportunities on the evening news,” as well as scheduling adjustments, Asher claimed.
In one example, Asher alleged the station refused to let her adjust her schedule to host a show called “Let it Rip,” though Raj was given the leeway to host his show, “The Pulse.”
The suit also alleged that WJBK allowed him to “circumvent and undermine” Asher’s work responsibilities.
She later emailed McGonagle about the situation, writing, “I’m concerned about the lack of balance and equity, particularly compared to my co-anchor who holds the same responsibilities but has a more accommodating schedule.”
McGonagle met with Asher to tell her she would not be adjusting the schedule, and her new program would be put on hold, according to court papers.
An Emmy award-winning veteran broadcast journalist, Asher claimed that Raj had also been assigned all of the guest interviews they were supposed to split for Election Day, court documents said.
After complaining to management to no avail, Asher decided to speak with the co-anchor about her concerns that he was receiving “preferable treatment.”
The next day, Raj contacted human resources and “offensively labeled Asher as ‘jealous,’ and grossly mischaracterized Asher’s complaints of sex-based discrimination as Asher ‘[having] an issue with men vs. women,” court papers claim.
Shortly after, Asher was placed on leave “pending an investigation into alleged complaints of ‘egregious behavior’” with her Fox colleagues — and fired after a two-week probe for “outbursts” in the newsroom, the lawsuit said.
Asher denied having any such “outbursts” that warranted her to be fired, according to court papers.
Several male employees at the station had also exhibited “unprofessional behavior and misconduct” with lesser consequences, the filing alleged.
Among the examples, Raj was allegedly “merely suspended” for two weeks after being arrested for driving under the influence in 2012, and McGonagle was also allegedly promoted after a DUI arrest at a different Fox station.
Asher is seeking unspecified damages from Fox Television Stations and WJBK TV.
The action followed the longtime Detroit anchor’s complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that was subjected to “less favorable treatment” than male employees.
Neither Fox, McGonagle, nor Raj responded to The Post’s request for comment.
Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal throws vs Jahmai Jones in simulated game
Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal faces Jahmai Jones in a simulated game Monday, June 1, 2026, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Almost every Detroit Tigers hitter looks improved through three games in June, but Dillon Dinger continues to go above and beyond. He put the Tigers on his back for a sweep of one of MLB’s best teams.
The Tigers scored in each of the first four innings en route to a 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, June 3, in the finale of the three-game series at Tropicana Field, sweeping the series for a three-game winning streak.
It’s the first sweep for the Tigers since April 14-16.
Dingler hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning.
Facing the Rays, Dingler hit .462 (6-for-13) with three home runs and nine RBIs across 14 plate appearances. The 27-year-old drove in four runs apiece in Monday’s opener and Wednesday’s finale.
He is hitting .241 with 14 homers and an .830 OPS in 56 games.
The Tigers improved to 25-38, while the Rays, who entered Wednesday with the best record in the American League, dropped to 36-23. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Tigers are 10½ games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.
More importantly, the Tigers experienced a run-scoring breakthrough at Tropicana Field.
The offense scored 81 runs (with 18 home runs) through 28 games in May, only to score 25 runs (with 10 home runs) in the first three games in June.
On the mound
Right-hander Troy Melton struggled early on.
But he dominated throughout the middle and late innings.
The 25-year-old didn’t throw a first-pitch strike to the first eight batters he faced, and the Rays took advantage of his command issues by scoring one run apiece in a 19-pitch first inning and a 17-pitch second inning.
The result of those runs: The Rays tied the game, 1-1, on Yandy Díaz’s RBI single in the first and tied the game again, 2-2, on Cedric Mullins’ solo home run in the second.
Melton suddenly threw a first-pitch strike for the first time to Victor Mesa Jr., immediately following Mullins’s homer and Nick Fortes’ single.
He faced the minimum 21 batters after Fortes’ single, needing 14 pitches in the third inning, 10 in the fourth, eight in the fifth, six in the sixth and eight in the seventh and 12 in the eighth.
His only blemish during that stretch came on a leadoff walk to Jonathan Aranda in the third inning, losing a nine-pitch battle. He bounced back by erasing Aranda on the bases with a double play, then he struck out Richie Palacios.
Melton owns a 1.74 ERA in three starts since returning May 24 from the injured list after suffering right elbow inflammation in spring training.
At the plate
The story continues to be the offense.
It’s a small sample size, but the Tigers keep hitting in June.
The Tigers grabbed the lead in the first inning for the fourth game in a row, courtesy of Gleyber Torres’ leadoff double and Dingler’s RBI single.
Torres attacked a first-pitch cutter from right-hander Nick Martinez in his second game since returning from the injured list, recovering from a left oblique strain.
Martinez allowed six runs on nine hits and one walk with one strikeout across four innings, throwing 58 pitches. He hadn’t allowed more than two runs in his first 11 starts, entering Wednesday with a 1.62 ERA.
He now has a 2.29 ERA after his 12th start.
After taking a 1-0 lead, the Tigers made it 2-1 in the second on Jake Rogers’ home run and 3-2 in the third on Spencer Torkelson’s sacrifice fly.
The big swing occurred in the fourth inning.
Singles from Matt Vierling and Torres put two runners on for Dingler with two outs, and, with two strikes, he pulled Martinez’s middle-away cutter for a three-run home run.
It put the Tigers ahead, 6-2.
A sacrifice fly from Kerry Carpenter extended the Tigers’ lead to 7-2 in the ninth inning.
Next up: Comerica Park
The six-game road trip is in the books.
The Tigers have an off day Thursday – with another off day approaching on Monday – as they return home to Comerica Park for a three-game series against the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners, beginning Friday (6:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet).
The probable pitchers for the series: left-hander Framber Valdez on Friday, right-hander Keider Montero on Saturday and right-hander Jack Flaherty on Sunday.
For the Mariners, All-Star right-hander Bryan Woo is scheduled to start Friday’s opener.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Detroit’s QLINE streetcar system: Quick facts to know
Detroit’s QLINE streetcar system offers a 3.3-mile ride along Woodward Avenue, connecting key downtown and midtown destinations with a modern, battery-powered transit option.
More than a decade ago, a juror in a Detroit public corruption trial that ended with three men getting convicted in a $97 million bribery scheme exclaimed: “Hopefully this is the end of this nightmare … this is a whole new beginning.”
It didn’t quite go that way as the following years saw two city councilmen indictments, a dozen school principal bribery convictions, a towing scandal, as well as a toxic dirt and demolition fiasco.
And now there’s this.
In a new criminal filing in U.S. District Court, a former city official in charge of the Detroit People Mover shuttle is charged with taking $300,000 in bribes from a businessmen who reportedly billed the city for work that was never performed — all with the help of his connected associate.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, June 2 in U.S. District Court, the alleged scheme involves 55-year-old Michael Anderson, a former director with the Detroit Transportation Corporation, who allegedly helped Detroit businessman Terrence Parker bill the city for nearly $305,000 in information technology work that was never performed.
Moreover, court records show, Parker’s company has no experience with IT work, but rather performs restoration work on homes damaged by storms and natural disasters. Still, the FBI says, Parker managed to submit 22 phony invoices to the DTC for IT work, including fixing computer monitors — and got paid for all of it. That’s because Anderson was approving his phony invoices from the inside, the government says, and getting money in exchange for his help.
Anderson and Parker both are charged with conspiracy and federal program theft/bribery and face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted. They were released on bond following their initial appearances in U.S. District Court. Their court-appointed lawyer could not be reached for comment.
According to the complaint, Anderson, who was hired by the city in 2022, was in charge of overseeing People Mover operations until he was fired in April for conduct unrelated to the pending criminal case. Parker owns a business called Total Care Restoration (TCR), which performs restoration work on homes damaged by fire, water, windstorms, or other elements.
According to the government, Parker was billing the DTC for information technology services, even though his company has no experience in that field, nor has it ever submitted a bid proposal to the city for such work, or signed any contract with the DTC.
Still, the government alleges, between 2023-25, the DTC paid nearly $305,000 to TCR for 23 invoices it had submitted, 22 of those invoices charged for IT services.
“Anderson approved the invoices and Parker deposited the checks into TCR’s bank account. TCR did not submit any invoices or receive any payments before Anderson was hired as Procurement Director. Likewise, TCR did not submit any invoices or receive any payments after Anderson was fired as Procurement Director,” the complaint states.
According to the government, Anderson did actually procure and manage IT contracts with a number of companies while he worked for the DTC. But TCR was billing the city for work that those companies had been contracted to do.
“At least six TCR invoices listed work that was actually contracted to (another company),” an FBI agent wrote in his affidavit attached to the criminal complaint.
Also noteworthy, the FBI agent writes: “Most of TCR’s invoices contained a charge for debris removal. In my experience, debris removal is a common line item for restoration projects but not for IT work.”
According to the complaint, the FBI figured out that Parker was funneling money to Anderson by reviewing their bank records, and noticing that their deposits and withdrawals coincided. For example, on Aug. 16, 2024, Parker deposited a DTC check for $23,934 and withdrew $18,000 cash. That same day and over the next several days, Anderson made cash deposits into his account for $1,500, $1,300, $1,000, $700 and $1,850.
“There is probable cause to believe that Parker paid Anderson a portion of the money from the TCR invoices,” the FBI agent writes.
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
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