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Stephen Henderson

Stephen Henderson is an award-winning journalist, author, and broadcaster whose work is rooted in Detroit and shaped by a deep commitment to public-interest reporting and civic life. A native Detroiter, he is the founder of BridgeDetroit, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering the city through sustained engagement with residents and their primary concerns. Over nearly three decades, he has focused on the forces that shape cities and communities—urban policy, government accountability, education, race, and economic inequality—with an emphasis on how public decisions affect everyday lives.

His work bridges print, television and radio, and it brings together data, history, and lived experience, helping audiences understand not just what is happening, but why it matters and what comes next.

He is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary and has received more than two dozen national honors for his writing and editing, including recognition as Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. His career has spanned some of the country’s leading news organizations, including the Chicago Tribune, where he helped build one of the nation’s earliest digital news platforms; the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, where he covered the U.S. Supreme Court; and The Baltimore Sun, where his editorials contributed to clemency for a death row prisoner.

In Detroit, Henderson spent more than a decade at the Detroit Free Press, where he became the first African American to lead the editorial page and the paper’s first Black Pulitzer Prize winner. He is also the host of American Black Journal on Detroit Public Television and the founder of The Tuxedo Project, a literary arts and community initiative based in the home where he was born.

Henderson is the co-author of The Civility Book (Wayne State University Press, 2025), a reflection on disagreement, democratic culture, and the importance of sustaining civic dialogue. A frequent moderator, speaker, and convener, his work continues to focus on strengthening public conversation and helping communities navigate disagreement, change, and the challenges of democracy.

shdetroit@bridgedetroit.com

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