As the new school year begins in Detroit Public Schools Community District and others across Michigan, students face familiar challenges — with the promise of fresh solutions.
Orlando Bailey
A lifelong Detroiter, Orlando P. Bailey learned how to practice community development in the neighborhood where he was born. Passionate about shifting the narrative of Black cities & neighborhoods, Bailey is an Emmy Award winning journalist, Director of Engagement for BridgeDetroit, co-host of the podcast Authentically Detroit, and host of Urban Consulate. He is also a regular on-air contributor to WDIV Local 4’s ‘Live in the D!’ and Detroit PBS. Previously, he served as Chief Development Officer for the Eastside Community Network.
A sought-after voice for public dialogues & media, Bailey has appeared on stages & screens for TED, The Aspen Institute, SXSW, Canadian Urban Institute, Wellbeing Cities Forum, the Kresge Foundation, and Detroit’s NPR station WDET. In 2019, Bailey traveled across Europe with The German Marshall Fund of the United States. In 2020, he was named a BMe Vanguard Fellow. In 2015, he was selected as an Emerging City Champion by Knight Foundation and 880 Cities in Toronto.
In 2010, Bailey was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Eastern Michigan University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.
Since then, Bailey has had the privilege to interview hundreds of visionaries & changemakers, including Academy Award winner Ruth E. Carter, Dr. Cornel West, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, Dr. Andre M. Perry, Governor Gretchen Whitmer & more.
Rooted in his faith and radical love for his community, Bailey is a passionate advocate for city residents as experts in their lived experience. He serves on numerous boards and he continues to reside on Detroit’s Eastside.
Posted inArts & Culture
East side artist brings Detroit culture to Neiman Marcus
BridgeDetroit Engagement Director Orlando Bailey caught up with Tony Whlgn to discuss his ‘Lead With Love’ mural for Neiman Marcus and his inspiration for the project.
Posted inPolice & Public Safety
Detroit police board chair assures ‘transparency’ amid investigations
Citizen complaint records seized, two staffers on administrative leave amid multiple investigations into Detroit’s Board of Police Commissioners and the Office of the Chief Investigator.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
A point of gratitude
BridgeDetroit’s Orlando Bailey reflects on our newsroom engagement in 2022 and plans to build continued community connection next year.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
What Detroiters want, from transparency to addressing climate change
BridgeDetroit releases its newest community priorities report, which finds public transparency and climate change — among other issues — high on the list of residents’ concerns.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
LISTEN: ‘There was water everywhere. How are we going to get out?’
Authentically Detroit hears from eastsiders and Jefferson Chalmers residents whose homes were flooded by last week’s rain. Residents are overwhelmed by the damage and resulting cleanup. They say they feel like they are on their own — again.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Freedom ain’t free: A look at Detroit’s proposed City Charter changes
Authentically Detroit talks with Charter Commissioner Denzel McCampbell and television host Steve Hood about the Charter Commission’s proposed changes that will be before voters in August.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Podcast: Detroit activist hopes to represent the far eastside
Detroit City Council candidate for District 4 says she wants to compensate Detroiters who were victims of over-taxation.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
PODCAST: ‘Unions advocate for workers and Detroit neighborhoods’
Authentically Detroit hosts Orlando Bailey and Donna Givens Davidson discuss how labor unions can advocate for both the organization’s membership and common good.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
PODCAST: Detroiters remember Motown and the original Supreme, Mary Wilson
Authentically Detroit hosts Orlando Bailey and Donna Givens Davidson discuss the legacy of Motown and recent passing of singer Mary Wilson with Allen Rawls and Broadway-star Jawan M. Jackson.