The Great Migration — the Black exodus to the North and the American West — was a historical event that has helped define some of America’s major cities, with Detroit as a primary destination for many of those individuals and families.

One Detroit has been collecting stories from people around Southeast Michigan, including those of its contributors Stephen Henderson and Nolan Finley, hearing how they and their families migrated to Detroit and the lives they created here. It’s part of Detroit PBS’ Destination Detroit initiative, which is documenting the history of Detroiters and the city itself. 

For Finley, who currently works as the editorial page editor at The Detroit News, his parents found their way to Detroit from southern Kentucky. Finley’s father spent time both in Detroit and Kentucky off and on before deciding to settle in Garden City.

The Kentucky county where Finley’s family emigrated from had a population of approximately 17,000 people before World War II. After the war, the population dropped to 7,000, Finley said, with many headed north in search of greater prosperity.

One Detroit Senior Producer Bill Kubota sat down with Finley to talk about his family’s migration story and his roots on a tobacco farm near the Tennessee border. 

Detroit PBS’ Destination Detroit initiative was launched in February 2025 alongside events at The Station at Michigan Central celebrating Black History Month and the premiere of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s docuseries “Great Migrations: A People on the Move.“ The four-part docuseries is available to watch on demand online now.