Wordless Wednesday: Cass Tech High School (1917)--Another Detroit Gem Disappears

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Instead of preserving history and temporarily securing the doors and windows of the beautiful and historic 1917 Cass Technical High School building, the Detroit Public Schools Administration is spending over $3,000,000 to demolish the edifice. The destruction begins this week and continues through the summer of next year. Any number of companies could have come in to re-purpose the building located right off of I-75 and many bus lines. Cass Tech graduated many famous (and infamous) Detroiters; and was previously known as one of the top public high schools in the United States. (Disclaimer: I am a member of the CT Class of 1967...)

Redeux News: Wendy Hilliard Mensah Cass Tech '78; NYU '88 World Champion

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Wendy is featured in the current edition of the New York University Alumni Magazine.

Wendy Hilliard Mensah, a Detroit native and graduate of Cass Technical High School, is a world-renowned United States Gymnastics Champion and member of the United States Gymnastics Hall of Fame (2008). In 1978, Wendy became the first African-American to represent the U.S. in rhythmic gymnastics, and was a gold-medal-winning captain of the United States Olympic team in the 1980s. Wendy attended Wayne State University and Marygrove University in Detroit and graduated from New York University in 1988. From 1995 - 1997, Wendy was president of the Women's Sports Foundation.

 Today, through the Wendy Hilliard Foundation in Harlem, Wendy trains thousands of young people annually (at no charge) in gymnastics and other sports with workshops, clinics, and summer camps. Wendy also travels the world championing sports for girls and women, and has attended virtually every Summer and Winter Olympic Games since 1980. Wendy has been a sports commentator for several networks, and uses her foreign language skills to communicate with other sports legends in Russian and French.

Wendy was recently featured in the Alumni Magazine of NYU in a full page article titled "Gymnastics for the People". Wendy lives by a strong philosophy taught to her by her late Russian coach, Dr. Zina Mironov: "It's hard; but hard is good."