One Detroit – Ukrainian refugee students, Rev. Horace Sheffield III, DSO’s Classical Roots concert, One Detroit Weekend

This Week on One Detroit:

Fostering refugees: Ukrainian families find new home with metro Detroit Armenian community

It’s been one year since Russian military forces invaded Ukraine, and several Ukrainian families have flocked to the United States to seek refuge. The nonprofit social services agency Samaritas has logged more than 600 case files for Ukrainians who are resettling in metro Detroit, which has a large population of Ukrainian Americans on the city’s east side. As Ukrainian refugees settled into their new homes here, one educational community quickly opened its doors to receive and support them.  

Over the past year, more than 100 Ukrainian refugee students have arrived at the AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School, a K-12 school in Southfield that began in 1969 as an all-Armenian school and later transformed into a charter school open to all students. The school has also added three new ESL teachers to its roster to meet the needs of its new students.  

Despite the changes impacting the school and its new refugee students, the Armenian and Ukrainian communities have found a common bond with each other. One Detroit’s Bill Kubota sits down with students, teachers and administrators at the Manoogian School to learn about the common thread that connects these two communities throughout history and how some refugee students are responding to the war back home. 

Rev. Horace Sheffield III discusses his dad’s legacy, Black leadership for Black History Month

From an early age, Rev. Horace Sheffield III, executive director of Detroit Association of Black Organizations, knew he wanted to be a courageous African American leader like his father, Horace Sheffield, Jr. When Dr. Marther Luther King, Jr. hoisted a young Sheffield III up during an early civil rights march to pay tribute to a fallen African American, that’s when Sheffield III told his dad he wanted to be a leader.  

For Black History Month, Rev. Sheffield III sits down with One Detroit contributor Satori Shakoor to reflect on what it was like growing up with a front-row seat to the civil rights movement, and the influence early civil rights leaders like Dr. King, Harry Belafonte and others had on him. He tells stories of how they would gather in the basement of his family home when he was a child.   

Plus, Sheffield III speaks on the current state of diversity and equality in society and what can be done to make positive progress going forward.  

DSO’s ‘Classical Roots’ concert returns from three-year COVID hiatus to celebrate Black classical music

For the first time since before the pandemic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s “Classical Roots” concert celebrating the works of Black composers and musicians is back for the 2023 season. The performances, which will be held March 3-4, are led by the DSO’s newly appointed Assistant Conductor and Community Ambassador Na’Zir McFadden.  

One Detroit contributor Cecelia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJ FM met up with McFadden at Orchestra Hall for a conversation about the 2023 “Classical Roots” concert. Plus, Sharpe gets a lesson in conducting from McFadden.  

They talk about the role of the conductor in the orchestra, and McFadden gives a preview of what attendees can expect to hear at the concert and some of the special guest performances. Plus, McFadden shares the mission of the “Classical Roots” concert and the impact he hopes it will have on audiences. 

One Detroit Weekend: February 24, 2023 

Are you looking for some arts, culture, music and family-friendly fun to experience in Southeast Michigan this weekend? One Detroit contributor Cecelia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJ FM shares what Detroit and other metro cities have on tap for the Feb. 24 weekend and into next week on “One Detroit Weekend.” 

List of Upcoming Events:  

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra presents “Night on Bald Mountain & Gavrylyuk Plays Grieg” Feb. 23-25 at Orchestra Hall.  
The Urban Art Orchestra presents “An Evening of Legends” with The Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  
The Detroit Historical Society celebrates Black History Month from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Feb. 25 with “On the Shoulders of Giants,” a program focused on Black entrepreneurship.  
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Principal Trombonist Kenneth Thompkins will perform a “Structurally Sound” concert at the Detroit Institute of Arts at 2 p.m. Feb. 26.  
The Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra performs at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Aretha’s Jazz Café at Music Hall. 
The Carr Center announces a new series of intimate live music and conversation called “Vibe Sessions.” The series launches at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at The Carr Center Performance Studio at The Park Shelton. 
The Ark hosts its 36th annual storytelling festival featuring storytellers Bill Harley, Sheila Arnold, and Steve Daut at 8 p.m. Feb. 25.