- [Zosette] Coming up on "One Detroit."

The city's historic Chinatown neighborhood is getting a facelift, thanks to state funding.

Plus, we'll reflect on the presidency of Michigan's own Gerald Ford 50 years after he took office.

Also ahead, we'll tell you about the history behind Pewabic Pottery, a business that is truly Detroit, and we'll give you some ideas on how to spend this first weekend of August.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit."

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(mellow percussive music) - [Zosette] Just ahead on "One Detroit," the University of Michigan commemorates the 50th anniversary of President Gerald Ford taking office.

Plus, we'll take you to one of the oldest historic potteries in the nation, right here in Detroit.

And Dave Wagner and Peter Whorf from 90.9 WRCJ have a list of activities that you can enjoy this weekend.

But first up, Detroit's former Chinatown business district could become a destination spot once again.

New funding from the state will go toward improving the streetscape in the area along Peterboro Street near Cass Avenue.

The renovations, along with the current rehab of a landmark Chinatown building, could lead to more development dedicated to the city's Chinese American history.

(mellow percussive music resumes) In Detroit, Cass Avenue, just south of ML King, it's Chinatown.

What was, mostly gone, but this week, talk of just what could be.

- For those of us from Detroit, and I am from Detroit and remember House of Chung's, and the block, and the businesses.

We remember that this entire street at one time was filled.

We are thrilled to begin that process again today, bringing the culture and the significance back.

- One year ago today, we were in mourning of the demolition of 3143 Cass, the On Leong Chinese Merchants Association.

- [Zosette] The decrepit building, one of the last Chinatown structures owned by Olympia Development, demolished despite pleas to save it.

- A year later, this is such a refreshing change.

- I am thrilled to announce that we have secured $1 million in the state's fiscal year 2025 budget.

- [Zosette] State Senator Stephanie Chang, the first Asian American woman elected to the Michigan legislature, led the effort.

- To invest in streetscape improvements and the incorporation of Chinese American cultural elements into the aesthetic right here on Peterboro street.

- [Zosette] Chang, along with State Senators, Mary Cavanagh and Sarah Anthony, sought the funding.

- For 40 years, many of our communities were left out.

We did not have strong advocates, who were empowered to deliver and have moments like this.

- [Zosette] With Democrats in the majority in Lansing, according to Senator Anthony, projects like this could happen.

- And a part of that commitment was telling the stories, the diverse histories that make Michigan an amazing state.

- This is gonna be a catalyst.

Every action that affects a community starts with a catalyst, and I think this is really the catalyst and will cause people to flock to a newly invigorated Chinatown International District.

And really, it's an opportunity for us to vision what this neighborhood needs.

- The long closed Chung's restaurant at Cass and Peterboro, highlighted in the recent bestselling memoir by author Curtis Chin, now being rehabbed.

The owner said he's planning a Chinese restaurant and some others with Asian inspired cuisine.

As for the streetscape, Martin Soohoo, who said his family has been in the Detroit area for 100 years, he's concerned about some of the imagery that's proposed.

- The banners, and the ball, the paper lanterns, and the lion dance and all of that, for future sake, I couldn't give a god (bleep) about.

- Yeah, but it's also creating the environment that attracts appropriate business to come.

- Well, unfortunately, and stereotypically, yes.

I'm just puttin' it out there.

- It's very hard to, I think it's very hard to get away with the stereotypical image.

It's there.

- [Zosette] How to present the Detroit Chinese American experience authentically.

Senator Chang suggests the recent Chinatown's exhibit at the Detroit Historical Museum as a starting point.

- It's gonna take more time, more folks being engaged, so.

- And it's gonna take some of that money to generate more.

- Oh yeah.

- [Zosette] Chang said, "There've been some initial conversations "with Olympia Development, "hoping they'd be more engaged in this effort."

Midtown Detroit will oversee the streetscaping, planned to begin next year.

August 9th will mark the 50th anniversary of Gerald Ford becoming US President.

The Gerald R. Ford's School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan is named after the country's only president to hail from Michigan.

"One Detroit" Contributor Zoe Clark of Michigan Public sat down with Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Jenna Bednar, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, to talk about President Ford and the election process half a century later.

(mellow percussive music resumes) - Dean, tell me a little bit about Ford, the man.

- Well, in order to understand Ford, the man, it's helpful to go back 50 years, 1974, when Ford becomes President.

It was a very tumultuous time in the country.

In the previous 10 years, Ford had witnessed the assassinations, and we'd all witnessed historically the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, in that decade or so prior.

He was not elected to the presidency.

He was not elected to the vice presidency.

Gerald Ford, the Congressman, had become House Minority Leader, which was really one of his highest aspirations.

And then gets positioned to become Vice President after the departure of Spiro Agnew and then after President Nixon resigns.

So this is a leader, who was called into a moment of authority, called into a moment of leadership, that he did not anticipate.

And yet, he brought his core values to the assignment, humility, bipartisanship, honor, respect, honesty, and all of those different core values bound together by a commitment to serve.

- Speaking of the moment that we're in right now and the need for civility in what can feel like overwhelming and some dark times, I'm curious about how you think Ford might see this moment that we find ourselves in, both as a Republican but also as a leader.

- Well, I think Ford would look at this moment and say, "Tumultuous times are part of the long arc of history."

- Mm.

- And in the moment it can feel very anxiety producing and very worrying.

But when we look at the long arc of history, we know that we have had times of turbulence.

We know we've had times, unfortunately, of political violence in this country.

We've had times where the country has been at odds in terms of where do we go and who do we wanna be as a nation.

So how do we unify?

What are the areas of common ground?

What are the areas of common concern and how do we move forward on the basis of those?

- It's a combination of recognizing that we have a joint responsibility to work together to shape our country.

And so lifting up these democratic norms, like respecting those who see the world differently than you.

And the more that I've had the opportunity to learn about President Ford as part of my appointment here, the more I believe that this was something that he felt very strongly about.

That we have a civic responsibility, and that you do reach across and think about how you can find this common ground and then you build on that rather than emphasizing differences.

- One of the things I think we all hear is like, folks want more of that, right.

I don't think a lotta people, I hope not a lotta people wake up in the morning and go, "Who am I gonna be really angry at today?

"Who do I wanna just go yell at?"

Instead, we hear this greater calling to treat each other with civility and kindness and step up for public service, but there seems to be something standing in the way from that.

Do you have a sense of what that something is?

- I think it's a number of things.

I think it's anxiety and concern about people ensuring that they're leaving the world in a better place than when they found it for their children.

That their children and grandchildren have some sense of economic and social and political stability and a feeling of anxiety about whether those things will hold.

I think that we have to be honest, we are now in an ecosystem, an information ecosystem, with social media and all kinds of other tools that circulate information, disinformation, misinformation, that heighten those anxieties, right.

And our sense of the other side is out to get me and it's a zero sum game, and it's really about the next power play.

So the first step I think is us being conscious of that and conscious of those dynamics, and then thinking about what can each of us proactively do to counterbalance that?

How do we respond to our own anxieties and the ways in which we may act on them in ways that instill and inspire fear and hatred and anger and frustration?

How do we recognize it and deal with it more constructively, but also how do we demand better?

And reminding us of the importance of the social fabric, so much of politics people assume is in Washington DC, and Washington DC, only.

So their feeling around politics is really about how they feel about Washington at any given moment.

But in fact, we know that old adage, all politics is local.

So when we look at what's happening in our city councils, when we think about what's happening in our state legislatures, when we think about our governors, when we think about our mayors and other leaders, there are examples that I think people can get excited about of government at work, government working effectively, people working effectively across the aisle.

So we've gotta recognize that and lift up those positive examples of government functioning well.

- Professor, you're the Faculty Director of UMICH Votes.

You are doing a lot of work with students, talking with students of the Ford School, named after, of course, President Ford.

Tell me what you're hearing from these younger voters about what they want to see for the world today and into their future.

First, they believe so much in our country and in what its potential is.

And then the other thing I'm hearing, two more things I'm hearing.

One is anger is really, is this what you're offering us?

And then, just this confidence that we can do it better.

And this is a piece of what we're really working on here at the Ford School, but also across the university, recognizing that as tumultuous as this moment is, the arc of history is long.

And so it's kind of coming to terms with your own emotional self and developing a sense of belief that you can do something about it.

Belief that the best way to do something about it is really to listen to others, including those who are saying things that you don't necessarily agree with, right, and recognizing that this diversity of perspectives is absolutely necessary for democracy.

- I don't wanna talk about President Ford without talking about Betty Ford.

- Yeah.

- Such a force.

- [Celeste] Absolutely.

- [Zoe] Tell us about Elizabeth Ann Ford and the role that she really forged as First Lady.

- Betty Ford was a confidant and, and this is probably the most important part of her legacy, she was willing to be upfront about talking about issues that you did not talk about in those times, her breast cancer diagnosis, her struggle with substance use.

Huge legacy around being willing to tell the truth and to tell one's own story to help others.

- And I think Professor, particularly when I think about younger voters and this idea of authenticity, that's so much of what they're looking for.

What I hear when I speak with younger voters, right, this, look be truthful with us, we may not like it, but don't lie.

And in some ways, Betty Ford forged that.

- That's so perceptive because I think we tend to think that they, because they're inexperienced voters, we can offer a package and they'll buy it, and they don't buy it.

They have a perception that I think I was missing when I was their age, and so they can see through it.

And they really do long for authenticity.

They long for someone who will tell them what's tough, tell them what's gonna be difficult, as well as what's possible.

- As we wrap up, I'm curious to hear from both of you, Professor, I'll start with you.

What's a takeaway that you'd like folks, particularly heading into this election to be thinking about?

- This is, maybe we can go back to President Ford, his ability to think for himself.

That maybe as we go out to vote, we do the same thing, and we think about not just the top of the ticket but all the way down.

And then, of course, flipping over the ballot and looking at the other side and thinking for ourselves.

- And what I would add is think about this election season and every election season as an opportunity to rededicate yourself to some kind of service.

At this point of renewal, what am I going to do to engage with my community, right?

How am I gonna get more civically involved?

How am I gonna volunteer?

How am I gonna talk to young people?

How am I gonna donate my time, my economic resources?

How am I gonna do something that contributes and moves the needle forward rather than being kind of an observer and a spectator of all of the actions?

- [Zosette] Turning now to a truly Detroit business that is popular among art lovers.

Pewabic Pottery has been a mainstay in Detroit's East Village neighborhood for more than a century.

The distinctive tiles and other ceramic art produced at the pottery are a huge part of the city's history.

"One Detroit's" Bill Kubota has the story.

(mellow percussive music resumes) - [Bill] A fixture on Detroit's East Side on Jefferson in East Village, Pewabic Pottery, where you'll see a really old clay mixing machine.

- It was made very well back in 1912, and it's still operating today, like a charm.

- [Bill] Pewabic Pottery, turning out ceramic vases, decorative and architectural tiles.

A Detroit legacy that goes back to the turn of the last century.

- Well, I think that's kind of the beauty of Pewabic is we started at a time where this was really popular throughout the United States, but we are really one of the oldest continuously operating historic potteries.

So, not many more left like us.

- [Bill] Pewabic was thriving in the 1920s, part of the Arts and Crafts movement.

a reaction to the industrialization sweeping the nation, especially places like Detroit, how to bring some humanity, art, and beauty amongst all these machine made things.

Meanwhile, dental equipment supplier Horace Caulkins created a kiln to fire enamel for porcelain teeth.

- Horace was a really good business person, and so, kind of realizing that there was this entire new art trend growing within the city of Detroit, known as China painting, he expanded his line of kilns into kilns for the firing of pottery.

- [Bill] Caulkins began working with the China painter, Mary Chase Perry.

- Well, our founder, Mary Chase Perry, later Mary Chase Perry Stratton, was born in Hancock, Michigan.

- [Bill] Hancock, in the upper peninsula with its copper mines, including a mine called The Pewabic.

Stratton liked that name.

- Mary was really the artistic vision of the organization, and that was something that was fully supported by her business partner.

- [Bill] Education Director Annie Dennis has been discovering Pewabic's history, doing a deep dig into the archives.

- We are finding that she had connections to the Detroit suffrage movement, and I think it was really inspiring for women artists to find a woman run organization.

And that's no different today.

I think the coolest and best part about Pewabic, and not just today, but just historically, are the people that continue to be drawn to this place and care for it.

- [Bill] Back in the clay mixing room, Cameron Hodge runs the machine that removes excess water.

- This is still one of the best ways that you can produce clay.

My last major position was as a distiller, and it was actually a very similar process of mixing a batch of whiskey and then mixing a batch of clay, so that's actually how I got hired on in fabrication.

- [Bill] The molds that shape the clay, for a lotta projects, the process, pretty much the same as it's always been.

- Take the slug, put it into the mold, use my arbor press to press it into all the corners.

I like when the public comes around because it is a nice reminder of like how special this job actually is that we to make these tiles that some of 'em are about 100 years old as far as the design goes.

And just continuing the legacy and being a part of the history of Detroit, it's pretty cool.

- [Bill] After the shaping, some get a spray coat.

These tiles, an original Stratton design, hand painted by glaze technician Cassidy Downs.

Then comes the firing, but the process isn't all old school.

Brett Gray's in the kiln room.

- I have a degree from CCS in ceramics.

Before that, I made custom surfboards, and then I ended up here working in the vessel department.

The biggest difference between historic kilns and these kilns are these are all computer controlled, and we do about five different glazes in here right now.

So as I'm pulling these out, I'm kinda looking over them to make sure everything looks good, there's no imperfections.

These came out perfect.

99% of the time they do.

- It's hard to talk about Pewabic glazes without starting with iridescent glazes because it's really what essentially helped to put Pewabic on the map well over 100 years ago.

- [Bill] Glazes with an iridescent finish.

- [Brett] So this is a before and after, before it goes into iridescent.

This one has the iridescent on it, which is also a third firing.

- [Bill] Here's where art and science converge.

In the old days, elements like lead and uranium gave these works, which you can see at the museum here, that remarkable luster.

These finishes replaced with far less hazardous materials now.

Stratton's work brought together other creatives, who established modern Detroit's legacy of art and design.

- I really think it was this network of designers and architects and artists that kind of helped to form the path of Pewabic Pottery.

And this group not only influenced the aesthetics of the city of Detroit and kind of this visual landscape, but also the educational communities.

For example, the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts is still alive and well in Detroit.

It's now known as the College for Creative Studies.

They also had ties to the University of Michigan.

In fact, Mary helped to found the art program at U of M. The first Wayne State University ceramics classes for the first 15 years, existed here at Pewabic.

- [Bill] Pewabic tiles abound around Detroit, projects, old and new, the Guardian building, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Comerica Park, and now, right now, renewed interest about what's going on at Pewabic.

- The digital age that we're in right now had people refocus on things that celebrate things made by the human hand, and so we're actually seeing this really incredible resurgence of people understanding now more than ever why it's important to have artists work and create things by hand.

- [Zosette] And the public is invited to Pewabic Pottery's annual Seconds Sale this Sunday, August 4th.

Imperfect tiles and vessels will be on sale at discounted prices.

There are several other arts and cultural events taking place in metro Detroit this first weekend of August.

Dave Wagner and Peter Whorf of 90.9 WRCJ have today's One Detroit Weekend.

- Peter, it's been a great summer, full of fun activities for the entire family, and there's a lot more to do this weekend, so get us started.

- Friday is Live at Five at the Northville Art House, where they have an opening of an exhibition, live music, refreshments, and you get to chat it up with artists as you explore their work.

- It's nice to be able to hear directly from the artists about what their work means.

Also, Friday and Saturday is the Blues, Brews, and Barbecue event at Westland.

Head to Thomas H. Brown Central Park and enjoy fantastic music, delicious food, and an array of beers.

- [Peter] And don't forget about the annual Dearborn Homecoming Friday through Sunday.

The festival has incredible food, live music, activities for adults and kids, a carnival, and so much more.

Plus their fireworks may just be my favorite.

- [Dave] Saturday, August 3rd, is a hair fashion and vendor expo at Sistah's Braid Too.

There will be haircare workshops, live demonstrations, a marketplace, music, and refreshments.

- Then on Saturday and Sunday, the Belle Isle Art Fair will showcase an abundance of artists, music, a secret art garden, hands-on projects, and much more, all in that beautiful setting.

- Well, there you have it.

And, of course, there's always so much more to do around Detroit, so stick around, as we give you a few other ideas.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

(mellow percussive music resumes) - [Zosette] That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit," thanks for watching.

Head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories that we're working on.

Follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

- [Announcer 1] This program is made possible in part by Timothy Bogert, comprehensive planning strategies.

From Delta faucets to Behr paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support also provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Announcer 2] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at DTEfoundation.com.

- [Announcer 2] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(mellow percussive music) (chimes)