Art + Culture
Usher, Doug E. Fresh to appear at Ford Freedom Award ceremony
May 10, 2016·By BLAC Editorial
The annual event will honor former mayor Dave Bing, author Shaka Senghor
May 10, 2016
or the 18th year, Ford Motor Company will celebrate leaders improving the Black community with the Ford Freedom Award.
This year, with the theme Men of Courage: Advancing the Narrative of African American Men, Ford will honor former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, the late business executive Reginald F. Lewis, criminal justice reform advocate and author Shaka Senghor and student activist Jonathan Butler.
Rapper Doug E. Fresh and singer Angie Stone will be among the evening’s performers, while Usher is planned to appear as a presenter during the event along with NFL Hall of Famer and Detroit native Jerome Bettis.
“The Ford Freedom Award provides the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History a unique platform to pay tribute to some of America’s greatest influencers,” Wright Museum President and CEO Juanita Moore says in a press release. “Honoree Reginald Lewis, who was undoubtedly influenced by African American trailblazers that came before him, understood the fundamental importance of African American history in inspiring others to blaze their own trails.”
The event begins at 6 p.m. on May 17 at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. Tickets are $50 per person ($150 for the VIP treatment) and the proceeds will benefit the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
For more information, visit FordFreedomAward.com.
Every question deserves a better answer than a search result — here's where this story leads.
Why Every Metro Detroit Nonprofit Should Be Thinking About AI
How a local workshop is helping nonprofit leaders turn curiosity into practical action. For many nonprofit leaders, artificial intelligence still feels like something meant for Silicon Valley or Fortune 500 companies. It isn’t. Whether your organization has three employees or three hundred, AI is quickly becoming another tool that can help teams spend less time […]
Althea Gibson’s Second Act
Most people remember Althea Gibson as a tennis legend. Fewer know she also became the first Black woman to compete on the LPGA Tour, breaking another barrier and opening doors for generations of Black women golfers.
Detroit Jazz Festival 2026 Guide
A local guide to navigating the Detroit Labor Day weekend jazz celebration.
Help Us Get It Right
This coverage is a community project.
Spot something outdated? Know a person, business, or organization this story should connect to? A story we should tell next? It goes straight to our editors — privately.