Michigan

A lynching in the family inspired Michigan's first Black woman elected justice to pursue the law

Published

1 year ago

December 20, 2024

A lynching in the family inspired Michigan's first Black woman elected justice to pursue the law

LANSING, Mich. – During Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden’s first campaign, a critic told her she wasn’t Michelle Obama or Kamala Harris, “but you feel emboldened to run for this office.”

She later named her first child Emerson, so it could be shortened to “Em Bolden.” The word has driven her ever since.

Bolden, now 36, won that race, for the statehouse in 2018, and in 2022 she was appointed as the youngest-ever justice, and first Black woman, on Michigan’s top court. Voters affirmed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s choice by electing Bolden to her seat in November.

“It’s been a long journey for me,” Bolden told The Associated Press, one that began generations ago when her great-grandfather was lynched and her family fled the South.

Michigan has a long legacy of electing women to its highest court. When Democratic-backed candidate Kimberly Ann Thomas joins Bolden on the bench in January, five of the seven justices will be women. It is the sixth time a female majority has made up the court, according to the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.

But only 41 Black women have ever served on a state supreme court, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, which tracks diversity in the judicial system.

Bolden’s election means that Black people in Michigan — about 14% of the population — still have representation. Across the state line in Ohio, where Justice Melody Stewart had been the first Black woman justice, her reelection loss makes for an all-white court.

In Kentucky, Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Goodwine became the first Black woman elected justice. Kentucky also will have its first female chief justice and, for the first time, a female majority.

It was an act of racial terror that sent Bolden on her path to the court. She didn’t know the details until she was nearly a college graduate in psychology and spent some time with her aging maternal great-grandmother, who shared family recipes and history, including what really happened to Jesse Lee Bond.

According to the Equal Justice Initiative, Bond was lynched in 1939 in Arlington, Tennessee, after asking a store owner for a receipt. Bond was fatally shot, castrated and dumped in the Loosahatchie River. Two men were swiftly acquitted in the murder.

Bolden said she is still trying to reconcile with the trauma this caused.

“I wanted families to see justice in a way my family had not seen justice,” she told the AP.

So she took action: earning her degree at Detroit Mercy Law School and working as a defense attorney before serving on the House Judiciary Committee, where she pursued criminal justice reform and domestic violence prevention.

“She believes in justice and believes in fairness for everybody,” said her mother, Cheryl Harris, with pride heavy in her voice. “And to see her in this position — it’s making me tear up right now.”

Goodwine, for her part, said she was inspired as a teenager by the work of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice. She started as a court stenographer and worked her way up through the four court levels of Kentucky, making history at almost every step along the way.

“It is absolutely essential that our younger generations are able to see someone who looks like them in every position, particularly a position of power,” Goodwine said.

Bolden broke another barrier knocking on doors as the first Michigan Supreme Court candidate to run while pregnant, according to Vote Mama Foundation, a group that tracks mothers running for office.

“There are so many people that don’t know that this is achievable,” Bolden said.

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a Michigan Democrat who served in Congress from 2015 through 2022, spent years working to see a Black woman like herself serve as a justice.

“I just sit back, you know, with such pride,” Lawrence said. “She’s a hard worker and she’s what the state needs.”

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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Michigan

Michigan backup QB Colin Hurley no longer on roster

Published

9 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Michigan backup QB Colin Hurley no longer on roster

Michigan backup quarterback Colin Hurley is no longer on the roster.

“Colin has departed the program,” Michigan football spokesman Dave Ablauf confirmed Tuesday.

Hurley, who has not yet played a game in college, transferred to the Wolverines from LSU. He participated in winter conditioning and spring practice, which is ongoing.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham had said Bryce Underwood, who started every game last season as a freshman, is the starting quarterback.

Whittingham also praised early enrolled freshman Tommy Carr when asked early in spring practice about who might be the backup.

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, a graduate transfer from Colorado State, is expected to arrive in Ann Arbor this summer. He has started 27 games.

achengelis@detroitnews.com

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Michigan

Scouting the Pioneers: Three Denver Threats Michigan Must Neutralize in Las Vegas

Published

21 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Scouting the Pioneers: Three Denver Threats Michigan Must Neutralize in Las Vegas

Michigan must shut down Pohlkamp’s offensive blue line presence, Lorenz’s momentum-building play, and Hicks’ rookie goaltending to advance.

Video Transcript

Give me, yeah, give me like 30 seconds to a minute.

obviously their overall record, Michigan, let’s see here.

They’re running right now at 22 and 4, I think.

They’re 10 and 2 at home.

They’re on a six-game win streak.

and in conference right now they’re 13 and 3.

So they did play Michigan State twice already.

they split the series.

I think, the first game it was in Ann Arbor or whatever.

They won the, against, in the opposite place, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And they split the series, so- Each home, each home team won a game, right?

That’s it, right.

Yeah, exactly.

and so I was looking this up earlier ’cause I was looking up probably the most interesting stat ear- when I first, you know, the season started, Michigan was oh, way in ahead with the most goals overall for Division I hockey.

and I looked up again and I refreshed that and they’re still 26 games played, 125 goals scored, 56 goals scored against them.

That’s- I mean, that’s- Whoa.

That’s, that’s amazing.

That’s Yeah.

The next, the next best team is Quinnipiac, and they’ve played two more games and they have 115 goals and 62 goals scored against them.

So- Wow I think, I think you got the top five teams are all in the Big 10 right now.

You got Michigan, Michigan State, Western Wisconsin, and I think Penn State was up there, but I know they just lost two games to Michigan State, and then Gavin McKenna might be going to prison, so.

Yeah, I saw that.

That’s kinda crazy.

Yeah.

Anyways, but the thing about it is some of the players like Michigan has right now, Will Horkoff, he has Let’s see.

He has the most goals.

He has 20 goals right now.

TJ Hughes, he’s right behind him with 13.

Michael Hage, another great player.

You’re gonna, guys You guys are obviously are, is familiar, so those are probably three of the names you’re gonna hear.

Jayden Perron, one of the best defensemen.

His name’s Dakota, so you’ll probably hear him too.

but the way they play- Gotta sneak that in, huh?

Yeah.

The, the way they play, their coach, Brandon Yarioto, he’s, he’s, he played at Michigan.

He’s a great coach.

They extended his contract.

Yeah.

So you just kinda see the success just getting more and more.

Their, their goaltender went down a few games ago, and he was phenomenal.

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Michigan

Michigan lawmakers consider bills to require licenses for tobacco retailers

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2026

Press Room

Michigan lawmakers consider bills to require licenses for tobacco retailers

LANSING, Mich. — Convenience stores, smoke shops and even drug stores across Michigan often offer a wall of tobacco products behind the counter. Michigan is one of only eight states where retailers aren’t required to obtain a license to sell the items, and now lawmakers want to change that.

A package of House bills making its way through committee would strengthen regulations, seeking to protect minors.

“We know how potentially dangerous tobacco usage is, and that we need to prevent teens from starting in the first place, helping them to avoid a lifelong health challenges that are caused by smoking and vaping,” Rep. Bradley Slagh (R-Zeeland) said.

The package, a version of which already passed the state Senate, would require retailers to obtain a license to sell tobacco or nicotine products.

It would also penalize those who sell to minors, from the cashier to the store’s owner.

“We license people that might give me a bad haircut, but we’re not going to license people selling tobacco, and increasingly more to our youth,” Jeff Griffith, of The Youth Connection, said.

The bills would further remove penalties for minors that obtain or attempt to buy tobacco products.

“There is no evidence demonstrating that these laws are effective in reducing youth initiation, use of or addiction to tobacco products,” Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit) said. “Research shows that African American and Hispanic youth were more likely to receive these citations. We do not want to increase interactions between young people of color and law enforcement.”

The 2023 Michigan Youth Tobacco survey found 29% of minors got their products through retailers.

Only 9% of respondents reported that retailers refused to sell cigarettes to them because of age, and only 5% said the same for vapes.

According to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data, within just the past five years, more than 3,100 enforcement actions have been taken against retailers for selling to minors.

Among them, five violations since 2022 at just one store, Deering’s Market in Traverse City. Last year, the FDA even sought a 30-day ban on tobacco sales at the store.

Under the bills, Deering’s would have been fined $10,000 and their license would have been revoked.

Two other stores, one in Ann Arbor and the other in Detroit, also received those orders.

“They continue to operate and profit in the State of Michigan, while, as it was pointed out, the kids pay the price for the laws that criminalize them,” Jodi Radke, regional director for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said. “Today, Michigan kids are counting on you to place accountability where it belongs.”

Critics note mistakes are made and welcome regulation, but call the effort as a cash grab, with its $500 license fee.

They also point out the bills fail to address the 64% of minors who got their tobacco elsewhere, citing the 2023 survey.

“Quite frankly, we have little faith that based on our past experience with regulation enforcement and all these investigations we’ve seen that this is going to solve the problem of mom and dad and aunt and uncle giving smokes to kids,” Mark Griffin, president of the Michigan Association of Convenience Stores, said.

Supporters acknowledge the bills won’t completely solve the issue, but believe it shows Michigan is serious on the matter.

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