DISCOVER: Gifts for mom, newly released books by Black authors, and nonprofits and orgs support the community

Dear Mama

By Arianna Smith

This COVID quarantine is stressful for everyone, especially moms. We’re betting a thoughtful gift this Mother’s Day still has the power to make the first woman in your life smile, even if you can’t be together in person. While we all stay in and take care of each other, send mom something that’ll let her know you’re thinking of her now more than ever.

DABLS MBAD AFRICAN BEAD MUSEUM TRINKETS

Crafting enthusiasts will love the opportunity to create their own sparkling cultural masterpieces with authentic beads from the African Bead Museum. The online shop offers beads of all kinds as well as pendants, necklaces and bracelets for jewelry lovers and makers who want to create and wear Black culture. mbad.org/beadshop

MOTHERHOOD & MIMOSAS POST MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH

Let’s cross our fingers and hope that we’re out of the house by the time this event rolls around! Local Chef Shobe will (hopefully) host a post-Mother’s Day brunch at The D Loft on Saturday, Sept. 12. Tickets are presale only and include live entertainment and a soul food and seafood buffet with mimosas. Vegetarian options will also be available. eventbrite.com

THE WHITNEY BRUNCH BOX

If Mom is a foodie, make her day with a customized meal box from upscale Detroit eatery The Whitney. The Mother’s Day “brunch box” serves four and includes a bottle of champagne and fresh-squeezed orange juice, scones, maple glazed bacon, white cheddar frittatas and more – plus easy-to-follow instructions. Or opt for the equally luxurious grill box, proceeds from which go towards providing a special night out for first responders and essential workers. Orders available for pick up or delivery; deliveries within four to seven days. thewhitney.com

37TH SHIELD LIBRARY OLDSCHOOL SOUND

Amazon and Spotify let us stream any book or track we want at the touch of a button, but sometimes there’s nothing like the feel of a real-deal eight track. Eastern Market’s 37th Shield Library has over 1,000 vintage records, CDs, comics and tapes ready to sell and ship out, as well as an ever rotating inventory of vinyls and cassettes in every genre under the sun. Listings include the item condition. discogs.com

NATURALICIOUS HAIR CARE

Don’t let mom’s hair care routine suffer just because of a quarantine. Gwen Jimmere’s new brand is Detroit bred and made for tight, curly, honest-to-goodness natural hair. Products utilize mom-approved ingredients like Moroccan and grapeseed oils. A gift of Naturalicious is an “I love you” to mom and her strands. naturalicious.net

GOOD CAKES AND BAKES TREATS

One of the best Black-owned bakeries in metro Detroit is still cranking out orders and running their online store up to and through Mother’s Day, so if mom got addicted to that gooey lemon butter cake, she can still have a personal pan of it all to herself on her special day. Good Cakes and Bakes offers carryout, curbside pickup and “no-contact” home delivery for all online options. goodcakesandbakes.com

A HAND HELPING

By Arianna Smith

We may be quarantined for a few more weeks, but COVID-19 will never put a stop to our ability to rally together and support each other. Consider donating time, spare change or even just vocal support to these local nonprofits and their efforts to get everyone in Detroit through this crisis as unscathed as possible.

Michigan Black Mama’s Bail Out

The Michigan Black Mama’s Bail Out Coalition and the Detroit Justice Center want everyone home for Mother’s Day. They’re joining forces again in 2020 to raise funds and expedite the release of Black mothers and caregivers who are behind bars and in danger of exposure to COVID-19. fb.com/michiganblackmamasbailout

ISAIC

Native Detroiter Tracy Reese and her company ISAIC, the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center, are hoping to raise $25,000 in an effort to mobilize local apparel manufacturers to produce standardized protection gear in Detroit – like those masks we all know and now love. isaic.org/covid-19

The Heat and Warmth Fund

THAW is asking for donations to its Front Line Energy Program meant to help vulnerable front-line workers and their families. Every dollar will be matched by the fund and goes towards paying our heroes’ utility bills and helping them keep the lights on. thawfund.org/donate

United Way for Southeastern Michigan

United Way for Southeastern Michigan has launched a Community Health Fund to partner organizations in response to the virus. They’re accepting donations for nonprofits and struggling families, as well as providing safe volunteer opportunities such as tutoring, phone therapy with seniors and meal delivery. unitedwaysem.org

Detroit Public Schools Foundation

Now is not the time to let education slip through the cracks because we’re too busy with the basics. Donations to the Detroit Public Schools Foundation support transportation, food, medical and household supplies for Detroit Public Schools Community District students during this time. dpsfdn.org

The Detroit Phoenix Center

The Detroit Phoenix Center, a local nonprofit that assists vulnerable and homeless youth, is asking for donations of essential and nonperishable supplies to designated drop-off locations or monetary gifts. Simultaneously, DPC is helping kids remotely with services like virtual therapy, meditations via Headspace and COVID-19 support workshops. detroitphoenixcenter.org

Cass Community Social Services

As always, Cass Community Social Services is accepting donations of supplies and groceries for those adversely affected by the coronavirus and Detroiters in need of assistance in general. The outreach volunteer team is currently working to distribute supplies to homeless citizens and identify COVID symptoms in those who need help. casscommunity.org/donate

Pass Your Bucks

Pass Your Bucks is an online initiative that acts as a collective donation board for multiple organizations that do good in Michigan, like the Ruth Ellis Center or Auntie Na’s Village. Choose a singular nonprofit to support or sign a pledge that redirects federal emergency stimulus dollars towards organizations that work with people of color, the LGBTQ community and those facing housing insecurity to assist them with COVID-19 relief. passyourbucks.com

Newly Released Books by Black Authors

By Paris Giles

The House of Deep Water Jeni McFarland

Michigan native Jeni McFarland’s debut novel delves headfirst and unapologetically into timely themes of racism, class and sexual trauma. Carried mainly by female characters and drawing from McFarland’s painful, personal story, the book is meant to amplify the voice of small-town America while addressing the silence that surrounds sexual assault, McFarland says, “especially in the Black community.”

Biracial Beth Dewitt has just moved from North Carolina back home to fictional River Bend, Michigan following a divorce and the loss of her job. Beth hopes to stay with her white father while she tries to get her life back on track, but he’s living with 32-year-old Linda, pregnant and recently removed from a bad marriage in Texas. Linda’s mom Paula, who abandoned Linda and her sisters, has also just arrived to town. Complex connections among the trio cause emotions to bubble over and tempers to flare, fueled by scandal, grudges and unhealed wounds.

Lakewood: A Novel Megan Giddings

Also examining race and class and set in Michigan, this debut from Megan Giddings peeks inside the terrifying world of medical experimentation. When Lena Johnson’s beloved grandmother dies and the extent of her family’s debt is revealed, she drops out of college and takes a job working in a mysterious and confidential research program. Lena is told that the advancements made at Lakewood could make medical history and change the world, but the consequences for the test subjects could be devastating.

It’s Not All Downhill from Here Terry McMillan

From the beloved author of bestsellers turned ’90s Black classics like How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale comes a new novel from Terry McMillan for the gray and sexy. Loretha Curry pooh-poohs any ominous ideas about what it means to grow old. About to be 68, Loretha has it all: a beauty empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends and a husband who still makes her weak. But when an unexpected loss turns her world upside, she must summon all her strength and resources – including those girlfriends – to keep on keeping on.

Conjure Women: A Novel Afia Atakora

Set in the South and spanning generations before and after the Civil War, this first novel from Afia Atakora follows the lives of three women: Miss May Belle, a healing woman; her precocious and strong-willed daughter Rue; and their master’s daughter Varina. The secrets that bond these women, to each other and to their community, come to a head at the start of the war and with the birth of a cursed child.