Nusrat Rahman covers economic mobility for the Detroit Free Press. A born and raised Detroiter, she interned for Hour Detroit Magazine. She has freelanced for Model D and Tostada Magazine and contributed to The New York Times. As a graduate student of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Rahman has written about a school in the Bronx for new immigrants and Bangladeshis working within New York City’s fast-food industry. A 2018 graduate of Wayne State University, Rahman is set to graduate this spring from Columbia, where she has focused on narrative and investigative reporting. She’s a graduate of the Al-Ikhlas Training Academy, a non-profit, full-time Islamic school in Detroit.
Beat: Economic mobility in Detroit
This beat focuses on economic mobility within the city, and the hardships and obstacles that many Detroiters face to obtain or maintain the American Dream. We'll glean coverage ideas directly from our audience. Some initial coverage ideas include the following: the city's water department, including summer shut-offs, and search for humane solutions from across the country to this problem. Detroit's entrepreneurs, talking to the woman who sells roasted corn to make a few extra dollars so she can stay in a decent house in a decent neighborhood. And mompreneurs, who see a specific need for kids in the city and use their money to fufill that need, because lending institutions still won’t fund neighborhood projects—even in nice areas and to people with stable incomes and good credit—because you’re still within a couple miles of “questionable” neighborhoods.