Detroit is Different

“Boycotting is good, but building is better.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Black Leaders Detroit CEO & Founder Dwan Dandridge breaks down what it really means to build a Black future funded by Black people—one dollar a week at a time. We talk about why a simple commitment like, “We should be able to prioritize five minutes to donate a dollar,” is not just crowdfunding, it's a direct continuation of the Million Man March energy where, as Dwan remembers, “They told us to pull out a dollar and said, ‘This is what they fear.'” Dwan walks us through how Black Leaders Detroit has moved over $5 million in no-interest loans and grants to Black-owned businesses, from barbershops to boutiques to natural hair pioneers like Textures by Nefertiti, proving that “$2,500 or $5,000 might not be a lot to some, but it can save a building, a legacy, and a block.” He also gets deeply personal—sharing how he flatlined in 2018, now lives with a pacemaker, and still chooses a leadership style rooted in sacrifice: “Everybody else gets to run to safety. If anybody goes under the bus, it ends up being the leader.” From telling funders “we don't do any ass kissing here,” to refusing to water down the name Black Leaders Detroit even as attacks on DEI rise, Dwan's ethic is simple: “I don't allow myself to want anything bad enough to compromise what's right.” This episode is about legacy Black culture as living practice—cooperative economics, spiritual courage, and the kind of reputation where, as Dwan says, “If I'm not who I say I am, I want to get exposed.” Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“We were really tired of the media narrative around Black men.” From that frustration, Darlene King-Turner – CEO & President of The Unity Collective – helped birth the National Black Men in Leadership Conference, now in its fifth year and returning to Huntington Place this December as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd and generations of distorted images of Black manhood. In this Detroit is Different episode, she traces her roots from Georgia and Alabama to the downriver 48217/Southwest Detroit corridor – a Black community of steelworkers, teachers, Black doctors, and midwives – and connects that history to today's environmental injustice, noting that those zip codes carry some of the state's highest cancer rates while being “forgotten when it's time for capital and funding.” Darlene walks us through being sent as a 17-year-old to a mostly white Christian college in the U.P. so she could “learn how America really operates,” then coming back to Wayne State in the early '90s as Africana Studies, Kente stoles, and Black graduation reshaped campus culture. From building Wayne RESA's first professional development and events department to crafting its first diversity strategy, she breaks down how “diversity brought people in the door, inclusion tried to make them feel like they belonged, but equity is what really shook the table,” and why equity isn't “taking something from you to give to someone else,” but giving people what they need to thrive. We unpack DEI's current backlash and Project 2025, why Black men still hold only 3.2% of leadership roles nationally, and why some are now afraid to even attend a conference with “Black” in the title, even as Darlene insists that “until Black men are in the boardrooms and the C-suites, this country will not grow in the way it needs to.” She frames this year's theme, The Power of Us, as both a call to action and an extension of the Civil Rights fight – from Detroit's African-centered education battles to today's reparations and racial equity work – making this episode a blueprint for how legacy Black Detroit is shaping the future of Black leadership and why loving on Black men in public is essential to the next chapter of our culture. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Detroiters are our assignment editors.” That line from Orlando Bailey sets the tone for a conversation that is both legacy-rooted and forward-looking, as he sits back in the Detroit is Different studio and walks us through his evolution from a kid in Youth on the Edge of Greatness to Executive Director of Outlier Media—one of Detroit's most trusted sources for civic truth. In this episode, Orlando reflects on growing up East Side under the watchful love of giants like Maggie DeSantis and Donna Givens Davidson, describing ECN as an organization that “walked right beside me my entire life.” He breaks down the weight of Black leadership today, especially in a media landscape where “the truth is incendiary to the chambers of power,” and shares how becoming an ED forced him to be “as open, as honest, and with as many eyes on my stuff as possible.” We talk collard green juice on the gym floor, judges who need robes, and why Detroit storytelling—done authentically—remains the strongest defense against erasure. With wisdom, humor, and Detroit cultural fluency, Orlando unpacks everything from the future of local journalism to the politics of public transit to the spiritual power of Black people telling the truth about themselves. This episode is Detroit past, Detroit present, and Detroit future talking to each other in real time. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Write it down, make it plain.” That's how Cornetta Lane Smith steps into the Detroit is Different studio—rooted, ready, and carrying her grandmother's legacy with her. Across this powerful conversation, Cornetta drops stories that pull you straight into the heart of Black Detroit lineage: her grandmother migrating from “two blocks of Grand Junction, Tennessee” to Greenlawn; discovering their sharecropper past through census records; and standing on the road where the plantation her ancestors survived once sat—“We realized the street changed from Plantation Road to Elliot Road. I said, this has to be it.” She shares how grief, curiosity, and faith led her to create Recipes of Resistance, a docu-series blending food, memory, and truth-telling, because “the role of the storyteller is to humanize people—especially now, when trust is disappearing.” Cornetta opens up about love, loss, religion, politics, Arab–Black Detroit relationships, and why understanding where we come from is essential to shaping where we go as Black Detroiters. This is an episode that stitches together the past and future of Legacy Black Detroit with the tenderness of a family recipe and the urgency of a people reclaiming their story. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“He was one of the first Black independent record producer of the postwar era — and nobody knew.” That's the spark Marsha Music brings into this powerful Detroit Is Different conversation as she unravels the epic, unsung story of her father, Joe Von Battle — the man who recorded Reverend C.L. Franklin, who cut Aretha's first records, and who captured the raw blues heartbeat of Black Detroit before Motown ever learned to walk. Through laughter, testimony, and hard truth, Marsha paints a living portrait of migration from Macon to Black Bottom, of a father who “refused to ever work for another man,” and of a city built by people who “carried their music wherever they went.” She shares how tuberculosis quarantines, foundry labor, postwar factory shifts, and the destruction of Hastings Street shaped — and scarred — her family's journey. But she also gives us the beauty: John Lee Hooker sleeping on their couch, Kenny Burrell's first recording happening behind the record-shop glass, and the way the Franklin sermons were rushed to the Guardian Building to be broadcast across the country on CKLW. Marsha doesn't just talk history — she makes it breathe. She shows how the past explains the present: why the rebellion still echoes, why Detroit sound can't be separated from Detroit struggle, and why honoring “the people who built this place with their hands and their voices” is the key to our cultural future. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

From her living room in Romulus, 94-year-old Ardena Vaughn takes us from Black Bottom to the “tracks” in Romulus, weaving a lifetime of memories that tell the story of Legacy Black Detroit's past and its unfinished future. Born at Herman Kiefer and raised on Cameron Street, Ardena remembers marching in the alley when “Joe Louis would win” with tin tubs and cans, feeling the whole block erupt when the Brown Bomber put Detroit on the map. She recalls walking past the Chesterfield Lounge, hearing Dinah Washington and the hum of Black nightlife she was “too young to understand, but old enough to feel.” In this conversation she breaks down what it meant to move from the heart of the city to Romulus in the 1940s, where “the tracks” literally divided Black and white neighborhoods. Ardena shares how she became the first Black supervisor at a micro-measurements plant supplying airplanes and automobiles—“I don't even know how I got that job.” She talks about Saturdays riding back into the city for piano lessons, eating hot waffles with ice cream Kresge, and then coming home to build a life rooted in AME church, choir, and family. Still, her wisdom for future generations is simple: “Love everybody… try to be a good example… stay busy.” She still drives her 20-year-old Grand Am, still hosts the holidays, and still plays weekly Scrabble. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“We knew from the beginning we wanted to be that third space” — that's how April Anderson, owner of Good Cakes and Bakes, breaks down why her organic bakery on Livernois is more than a storefront, it's a whole ecosystem. In this on-location Detroit is Different conversation, April and Khary sit in the middle of fall rush and neighborhood kids' events to unpack what it really takes to build and keep a Black business alive for 12 years on the Avenue of Fashion, the largest African American–owned business corridor in the country. She talks about the community that “showed up for us from day one and stayed with us through COVID,” and what it meant to fight through busted zoning rules, missing inspectors (“FBI came and shut down BSEED”), and a streetscape project that almost killed half the block. April gets honest about the tightrope of Black entrepreneurship in Detroit — trying to “work on the business and not just in the business,” learning that “money isn't the motivator, people want to feel valued,” and figuring out how to keep staff paid when ingredients, labor, and everything else keep going up. She breaks down the joy and tension of working with family (“my mom had to listen to the manager too”), what she's learning from fearless Gen Z employees who question everything, and why she refuses to chase Instagram trends that don't fit her Southern-rooted story: “It has to connect with me and our story, or I'm not doing it.” Tied to the long line of Black Detroit shops that held neighborhoods together and looking ahead to who comes after her, April issues a challenge to any business thinking about moving onto Livernois: talk to the people first, bring what the community actually needs, be consistent, and know that “this neighborhood will support you—but they will hold you accountable.” Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Man, I used to sell Skittles at school — got in trouble for it too — but that's when I knew I wanted to be my own boss.” From that moment of hustle to becoming a collegiate athlete and rising rap artist, Chase Money embodies the new generation of Detroit legacy. In this powerful episode of Detroit is Different, Chase sits down with Khary Frazier to trace his roots from Louisiana and Eastside family ties to the quiet drive of West Bloomfield, all the way to Youngstown State, where football dreams collided with pandemic realities — and a new passion for music was born. “I never wanted to just do it for fame,” Chase says. “I wanted to do it right, respect the craft, make it mean something.” The conversation flows like a Detroit cipher, blending lessons on independence, family, artistry, and discipline, while honoring the matriarchal roots of Detroit hustle — a nod to his grandmother, media trailblazer Charlene Mitchell-Rogers. From backyard ball to studio sessions, Chase Money represents how Legacy Black Detroit keeps evolving: grounded in faith, shaped by family, and still hungry to build something that lasts. As Khary puts it, “That's what this city does — we make creativity a survival skill.” This episode bridges generations — showing how hip hop, athletics, and entrepreneurship continue to define Detroit's rhythm and reimagine its future. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

From a small town in southern India Chikodi, where “we slept on the floor,” Shri Thanedar's story moves from caste system expectations he rejected to a life built on duty — “I worked as a janitor at 14 and gave my pay to my mother.” He traces the thread of Indian culture that raised him: reverence for education (“public school and university were free — that investment lifted me”), family obligation (sending $75 of his $300 stipend home each month during grad school), and the ethic of care that shaped his first career as a health chemical physicist—“my job was protecting workers who can't see from a danger you can't see.” Eventually building a business in America and rebuilding it after the Great recession. He speaks tenderly of grief — losing his first wife to mental illness — and the policy it birthed: “put counselors in every school; fund mental health like lives depend on it, because they do.” Detroit, he says, recognized the familiar grind: “Detroit chose me because I've struggled too.” This episode threads his India-to-America-to-Detroit journey through immigration, caste, class, and kinship, and lands on a future where policy matches the love that raised him — safe work, and strong accessible education for everyone. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“You can't call it a comeback when we never left,” says Keir Worthy, reflecting on Detroit's cultural rebirth with a mix of reverence and reality. In this in-depth conversation, Keir—designer, cultural connector, and proud Detroiter turned New Yorker—dives into what it means to carry Detroit's creative DNA across coasts while staying rooted in the spirit of home. From helping shape Crain's Detroit Homecoming to mentoring the next generation of Black designers at the Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design, Worthy unpacks how legacy Detroiters are reclaiming visibility in a city long defined by reinvention. He calls out the “cost of cool”—the price of gentrification that displaces the very artists who make a city vibrant—while celebrating the optimism of Detroit's young creators who are building new lanes through collaboration and entrepreneurship. Through stories that span from Russell Simmons' Def Jam days to the rise of Detroit's design renaissance, Keir and Khary trace how creativity, music, and faith in community remain Detroit's truest exports. This episode is a reflection on what's been lost, what's being rebuilt, and why “legacy Detroit” still has the blueprint for America's cultural future. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Back in Detroit is Different studios—my grandma's house—where the organ once sat and the stories still breathe.” Episode 500 turns the mic on founder Khary Frazier, with Kahn Santori guiding a deep dive into why this platform became the safe space for stories of contemporary Legacy Black Detroit. Khary maps his roots—“Rosa Parks, Linwood, Davison, Dexter”—and how a choir-director grandmother and entrepreneurial parents, shaped a curiosity that became a catalog. In 2014 at Le Petit Zinc: “I wanted to introduce people to the Detroit I know,” from Malik Yakini and D-Town Farms to The New Dance Show's Henry Tyler, Rev. Ortheia Barnes, Sharon McPhail, and even Slow's BBQ Owner Phil Cooley. “Detroit is clickish, but I had connections across the cliques”—into subcultures (car clubs, Hamtramck's Eastern European community, the North End's legendary Aknartoons) and the fractures of the 96 freeway. Khary rejects clickbait—“this ain't the place for that”—and builds community instead: pandemic roundtables, a garden, and the Collard Green Cook-off born from a CashApp Crowdfunding campaign. He's candid about platform attacks—“with success comes attention you don't want”—and future films on the Detroit Phoenix Black firefighters and the New Bethel incident, linking elders' truth to tomorrow's archive. The heart lands where it began: “Opening this space with my Mom was my proudest moment,” a living memorial that keeps the past pulsing into Detroit's future. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Council is empowered — they're not using their power.” Brenda Faye Butler from Birmingham to Detroit—walks us through a life that links the Civil Rights South to the Eastside today: a coal miner's daughter who landed here after the 1967 uprising, trained at 14 by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth to knock doors and teach neighbors the civics needed to pass voter tests, and later inside the Wayne County's first executive administration of Bill Lucas “setting up how government would run.” Brenda unpacks why council-by-district matters, how ARPA and CDBG dollars should “follow the people,” and why CRIO must truly monitor deals “If a developer says they met with the community—who?”. Brenda Butler is a community voice that represents the Eastside residents where politics and business connect. She's real about development math, tax abatements, and the difference between promises and delivery: “Stop saying jobs; people want careers.” We trace her organizing arc—from Chandler Park meetings during the housing crisis to tracking Stellantis benefits and flood relief gaps—tying it all to Legacy Black Detroit's past (migration, unions, church-led civics) and future (youth seats on CACs, manufacturing training, climate resilience). And as a write-in for District 4's Community Advisory Council, she makes it plain: “Bring everyone to the table. That's equity.” By the time she spells the ballot line—“Write in B-R-E-N-D-A F-A-Y-E B-U-T-L-E-R—coal miner's daughter working for us”—you'll hear why her voice maps where Detroit has been and where we're going. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

"My father used to say, ‘If you're gonna deliver mail, own the block you walk on.' That stuck with me.” Joe Drew-Hundley, Deputy Director of the Michigan Roundtable for Just Communities, sat down with Detroit is Different to trace his family's Detroit roots from Waynesboro, Mississippi to the east side post routes that built Black stability and ownership. In this powerful and personal conversation, Joe shares how his family's migration story mirrors Detroit's — the grind, the grief, and the genius of making something out of what others overlook. He breaks down the journey from Ford Motor Company to the military to the post office, the lessons of growing up in Detroit then navigating suburban schools, and how those experiences shaped his work building just and beloved communities today. “My mom worked to finance small Black businesses, my dad bought homes on his mail route — community work was our inheritance.” From the Great Migration to today's movement for racial and economic justice, Joe's story bridges the past and future of Legacy Black Detroit: how we moved, how we built, and how we keep giving back. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“You speak life—I try to speak life every time I open my mouth,” says One Single Love Rose, and from there this episode blooms into a living archive of Legacy Black Detroit: four generations from Black Bottom to the East Side, Creole kitchens to jazz guitars, a mother born a “call bearer” whose veil marked prophetic gifts, and a daughter who learned in second grade that “words have power—to hurt or heal.” Rose traces family roots from Shreveport red clay to McClellan Street porches, then walks us into Detroit's spoken-word renaissance, where she evolved from page to stage—touring Europe, mentoring “great-mentees,” and crafting sets that move “from the bedroom to the boardroom.” She breaks down playful, sensual erotics done “with love,” the discipline of listening for spirit at 3 a.m., and why young writers must “write for everybody so you can go everywhere.” It's an irresistible, funny, soulful ride that ties Black Bottom's vanished jazz bars to the future of Detroit's cultural power—proof that when Detroit women speak life, the city's ancestors answer back, and tomorrow's artists find their cue. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Jamaica taught me that Blackness didn't need to be cleaned, civilized, or educated away.” With that declaration, scholar-activist Megan Douglass sits down with Khary Frazier for a Detroit is Different conversation that bridges continents, generations, and movements. In this deeply layered interview, Megan traces her roots from Greensboro, North Carolina to Kingston, Jamaica to Ipsy and Detroit, weaving a narrative of diaspora, struggle, and healing. She talks about being the daughter of a Jamaican mother and a Southern father who “believed the jailer becomes jailed,” about growing up Black in supposedly liberal Ann Arbor, and about how moving to Jamaica redefined her understanding of liberation: “When everybody around you is Black—your doctor, your teacher, your prime minister—you realize the problem ain't us.” Her story flows through farming in the hills of Ocho Rios, grief and rebirth after loss, and her return to Detroit to study movement sustainability and spirituality at Wayne State. “I bring my activism into everything I do,” she says, breaking down the false divide between scholarship and struggle, art and organizing. From Riverwise Magazine's fusion of poetry and protest to her reflections on community care, grief, and the legacy of her father's mentorship programs, Megan embodies the past, present, and future of Legacy Black Detroit—rooted, radical, and revolutionary. This episode is more than a conversation; it's an ancestral roadmap for what's next. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Man, I was selling football cards out front of my mama's house before I even knew what entrepreneurship was.” From hustling mixtapes and vintage football cards to building District 81, one of Detroit's most iconic streetwear brands, Ty's story is a testament to the grit and creativity that fuel Black Detroit's legacy. In this Detroit Is Different episode, Ty sits down with Khary Frazier to chart his journey from Inkster block parties to national fashion floors, from designing for Fairlane's elite shops to co-owning restaurants, nightclubs, and now producing films like My Man, My Man, My Man. Through it all, Ty keeps circling back to the spirit that defines Detroit hustle: family, resilience, and vision. “The streets always hiring,” Khary reminds him—and Ty shows what it means to flip that same survival instinct into generational business. Their conversation connects Detroit's past—the migration from Mississippi, the rise and fall of factory jobs, the pulse of 90s hip-hop—with its future in fashion, film, and food. This episode is a masterclass in how Legacy Black Detroit keeps reinventing itself, always with love, risk, and rhythm at the center. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

"I don't boycott temporarily—I just say, ‘I'm not rockin' with you no more.'” That line from Earl “E-40” Stevens set the tone for one of the most electric Detroit is Different conversations yet — a masterclass in legacy, ownership, and staying power from a Bay Area legend whose hustle feels right at home in the Motor City. Recorded live at the 2025 Taste of Black Spirits Detroit, this episode captures the rare chemistry between E-40 and Detroit is Different host Khary Frazier as they dig deep into the parallels between Detroit and Oakland — two Black cities that built American culture from the ground up. E-40 breaks down how selling tapes out the trunk became selling bottles from his own distillery, how the “independent hustle” of the ‘90s hip-hop era birthed today's Black spirits movement, and why “collective behavior” — Black folks choosing to work together — is the new currency of liberation. From the story of Mango Moscato to his upcoming ventures in Ghana, to his respect for Detroit's own Lazar Favors and the network behind Taste of Black Spirits, this conversation is a toast to both past and future. It's about turning cultural capital into generational wealth — and doing it with flavor, integrity, and fun. This episode bridges eras — from trunk sales to tech-driven distribution — showing how Black entrepreneurship, creativity, and community economics have always been two sides of the same Detroit coin. Whether you're a fan of hip-hop, business, or Black excellence, E-40's blueprint for ownership speaks directly to Detroit's next generation of legacy builders. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

"Poverty is a choice to allow that to go on in the city," says Denzell McCampbell, and that fire fuels this Detroit is Different conversation. In this episode, Khary Frazier sits down with McCampbell—four generations deep in Detroit, raised in a Persian neighborhood rooted in union jobs and Alabama migration stories—to unpack his run for City Council in District 7. From his mother's firsthand memories of Selma's Jim Crow violence to his father's UAW legacy, McCampbell threads together personal history and public service. He breaks down what it means to organize against environmental racism where factories sit next to family homes, why “our solutions are in our neighborhoods,” and how expanding voting rights and fighting disinformation are extensions of Detroit's long struggle for self-determination. This isn't just campaign talk; it's a vision of Detroit's past and future colliding—one that calls back to Mayor Coleman Young's political movement while looking ahead to what equitable development and true public safety could mean for Black Detroit today. Whether you lived through Eyes on the Prize on PBS or you're just waking up to how policies shape your block, this is a powerful sit-down that roots politics in people and legacy. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Nobody was the right person for the job … it just had to be me right now.” That's how Jelani Stowers breaks down the whirlwind journey of taking ownership of Pages Bookshop in Rosedale Park, a cultural anchor in Detroit. In this conversation with Khary Frazier, Jelani traces his family's roots—grandparents who migrated from Alabama and Virginia to Detroit for Wayne State, a father balancing electrician work with film, and a mother who shaped young lives as a preschool teacher. He talks about growing up in Rosedale Park, remembering the neighborhood-wide yard sales that felt like “Halloween with treasures,” and how early lessons at the African-centered Nsoma Institute taught him to respect Africa, compost waste, and even see Pac-Man through a philosophical lens. From coding internships to studying philosophy at Wayne State, Jelani connects gentrification, democracy, and Detroit's cultural resilience into a philosophy of action. The heart of this episode? How saving a bookstore became about more than books—it's about legacy, community continuity, and ensuring that Black Detroiters still have space to gather, learn, and dream in their own neighborhoods. If you care about Detroit's past struggles and its future possibilities, this is a conversation you need to sit with. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

"Gratitude is the space where we humble ourselves to the blessing of life itself." From the jump, Mindful B Anthony sets the tone for a Detroit story rooted in legacy, resilience, and transformation. In this Detroit is Different conversation, he takes us on a journey from his family's four-generation hold on Van Dyke and Mack—where his grandmother insisted “this land will always have value”—to the bus routes that taught him the city block by block, and the classrooms that sparked his love for math, language, and purpose. He reflects on leaving Renaissance for Southeastern, catching the 6 Mile across town before dawn, and navigating Hampton University's business of education while rediscovering his true calling in healing, creativity, and entrepreneurship. What begins with childhood alley basketball games and honor roll trophies unfolds into a life of activism with We the People of Detroit, a mentorship lineage through Charity Hicks and Tawana Petty, and the artistry of copper and crystals turned into “energy tools disguised as jewelry.” This episode is a blueprint of how Black Detroit's past—our migrations, our neighborhood pride, our community organizing—feeds the future of culture creators who, like Anthony, are shaping new ways of living, healing, and building legacy. If you've ever wondered how Detroit blocks, schools, buses, and bands prepare us for the world stage, this is the conversation you need to hear. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Schools are the very center of communities—close a school and in three years you'll see what happens to the neighborhood.” From the first laugh about “getting lost in my own neighborhood” to hard truths about policy, Arlyssa Heard of 482Forward sits with Khary Frazier and maps a Detroit story stretching from Delray pulpits to Dexter & Fenkell porches and into Lansing's halls of power. She honors Southern roots (“Atlanta was becoming the Black mecca before our eyes”), a preacher father (“I'm a daddy's girl”), and a childhood of full blocks where “every house was occupied,” then names the turn: vacancies, blight, and the weaponization of policy—Milliken v. Bradley, white flight, and emergency management that left her son with “an entire year without an English teacher.” Heard walks us through the rise of African-centered schooling—Paul Robeson, Malcolm X, Aisha Shule—and the organizing lineage of Helen Moore, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, and Queen Mother JoAnn Watson, reminding us that “Detroit families have always exercised choice,” but too often against rigged funding: “If you can't shut something down, starve it—don't fund it.” She distinguishes being anti–starvation from anti–charter, exposes post–Count Day push-outs, and puts receipts on how 482Forward helped “get DPSCD its board back” while blocking a New Orleans–style takeover. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“I went to grad school out of spite—to learn how to beat developers at their own game.” From that first thunderclap, author-organizer Ru Colvin takes us on a deeply Detroit journey that stretches from their grandmother's migration from York, Alabama to the east side blocks of Jefferson Chalmers, where “we grew up around the water” and a school culture that was “very Black—we sang ‘Lift Every Voice' every morning.” Colvin threads memory and movement: a violin at Cass, Black Planet-era fan fiction, Wayne State in Obama ‘08, then the dissonance of working downtown as foreclosure swept neighborhoods—“they called it a comeback while my family lost our home in 2014.” That rupture births purpose: corporate book clubs turn to street-level facilitation, AmeriCorps in the East Side Solutionaries, and the mantra “our communities are up to us.” They name names—Land Bank tours full of non-Detroiters, bedrock power reshaping blocks—and still insists on possibility, writing a house's autobiography in Home and imagining “liberation zones” in gardens where a family home once stood. With Khary,they honor teachers like Ms. Green who kept their pen alive. Along the way, Colvin reframes planning as protection, storytelling as strategy, and memory as infrastructure: “Translating what people say into something we can use.” Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“What about us?” Sherry Gay-Dagnogo asks, cutting straight to the bone as she joins Khary Frazier to chart how Detroit's past battles shape tomorrow's wins for Legacy Black Detroit. In a conversation braided with urgency and receipts, Sherry salutes community media—“Education is key and your platform provides that”—then lays out why she's seeking Detroit's Ombudsman post: a 10-year, people-first watchdog who can “scale excellent service” across city departments and build real partnership with DPSCD. She refuses business-as-usual politics: “African Americans have been the backbone of the Democratic Party,” yet too often policy priorities like CVI, juvenile lifer reform, police accountability, and fair auto insurance are stalled while candidates chase culture clout—“through rappers”—instead of respecting the 92% of Black women who show up. She revisits the redistricting fight she led—“we deserve African-American representation”—and the unanimous court ruling that followed, tying it to a longer arc of emergency management, EAA missteps, and school closures that hollowed neighborhoods. From bus routes to literacy, from Brightmoor to Birmingham lines drawn wrong, she calls for audacious leadership rooted in elders like Coleman Young and JoAnn Watson: “Justice will always ultimately prevail—but only if we demand it.” This is Detroit memory and muscle, a blueprint for accountability that insists our institutions serve the people who built them. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“The biggest word that inspired us to be here is grit.” From that charge, Brittany Vanderbeek of Aqua Action and host Khary Frazier dive into Detroit's bluest truth: “the greatest asset in the world…water,” and how our city's relationship to it will shape what comes next for Detroit. Brittany lays out Aqua Action's mission to “build a water-secure future through entrepreneurship,” explaining how everyday residents—not just agencies—can be “the people with a voice in water innovation.” Why Detroit is the hub (“so many opportunities…for water entrepreneurs to pilot their technologies”), how municipalities and startups can partner, and why design thinking means “start with the people.” The episode also gets real about tech: AI's thirst—“one simple prompt takes energy and water”—and the need for alternatives to water-cooled data centers. Brittany connects the global and the local—from a binational AquaHacking program (“anybody with an idea”) to Detroit River kayaking. If you care about Belle Isle, clean taps, and Detroit's right to define and benefit from the Blue Economy, this one's a listen. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

It's not about showing your teeth—it's a reminder to be kind, Phillip Simpson, founder of The Smile Brand, takes it from Sojourner Truth Homes and seven & Hoover to DSA hallways, a U-M critique that birthed his iconic smile, and the ATL streetwear era that sharpened his business grind. He breaks down jitting, mentors like Joyce Ivory and Tyree Guyton, closing the Baltimore Gallery, and why Black men's joy is resistance—not performance. This one is Detroit to the bone: family, faith, murals, and a mission to make kindness contagious. Tap in and catch the full journey behind the face you've seen all over the city. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“We can do our own planning… I want to see Black people living well and thriving.' —Lauren Hood, Institute for Afro-Urbanism” Lauren Hood pulls back the curtain on Afro-Urbanism and flips the script on who gets called an “expert.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, she breaks down the pivot from disruptor to builder, why abundance beats scarcity, and how Detroiters' lived experience is technical knowledge. From a fellowship spanning ages 18–70 to global interviews shaping a Detroit-centered practice, Hood shows how culture, metaphysics, and social capital move policy and place. Tap in to hear what it really takes to plan a future where Black Detroit thrives and feels like home. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“All of the opposition that opposed me has no comparison to the opportunity that upholds me.” From that declaration, Mama Tree—Latrina Conaway of Treetop Grows Farm—takes us on a Detroit journey that's as raw as it is restorative. Mama Tree frames her half-acre East Davison sanctuary as “a space of reconciliation.” The land, she says, “taught me that I am a creator,” pulling her out of a “neo-colonized mindset” into an Indigenous-and-African-centered practice of food sovereignty: a 2,156-sq-ft hoop house, cherries, peaches, apples, and the sweetest collards at Detroit is Different's Collard Green Cookoff (yes, “60 pounds of collard greens” moved with love). As a wife and “mom of seven,” she's building policy-minded youth and cross-block coalitions from E. Davison to Hamtramck, because “we are in 48212… in a space of critical climate change,” and legacy means leaving soil, skills, and standards, not just stories. This episode is Detroit past-present-future in one voice: Black Bottom roots, 1990s survival, and today's climate-just, organic farming that heals body, spirit, and block. Tap in to hear how Mama Tree braids memory with movement so Legacy Black Detroit keeps growing—on our terms, in our voice, for our next generations. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Serving your soul one plate at a time,” Ms. Kisha declares—and from there her story cooks: taught collards by “my grandma, my mom,” rooted in Tuscaloosa-to-Detroit migration “for the motor industry,” raised on the East Side and Kettering '95, where a senior-year leap into swimming turned into being “seventh in the state,” all because of “somebody just believing in my ability when I didn't even see it.” That belief now seasons her kitchen—family-run with “kitchen kin folk,” a husband she calls the engine of the business, and a commitment to community-first numbers: “I'm not going to take you down half the size and still charge you $2 more.” She breaks down sourcing like a Detroiter who knows the land and the people—Eastern Market relationships and an instant bond with Mama Tree (“we went directly to the farm”) to marry agriculture and culinary at the Collard Green Cookoff, where 60 pounds of greens won her the championship (“I cook them 10 pounds at a time… my hands are still hurting”). Khary and Ms. Kisha connect it all to Legacy Black Detroit—the grandma's party store on Helen & Lambert she'd rename “Verna May Harris Boulevard,” the porch-to-pop-up continuum, the Big Three jobs and backyard grills—showing how our past nourishes our future, one plate, one farm partner, one family recipe at a time. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Leaders have to be a little delusional and have a lot of audacity.” From the first minutes, Jerjuan Howard plants that flag and then shows the receipts—why “youth development, community development must go hand in hand,” how a Gen Z squad of 30-and-under staff is running a league of 300 students across 20+ schools, and why “Detroiters…have everything that we need already—it's just about coming together to make it happen.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Jerjuan and Khary trace a straight line from porch talk to policy: debates on whether to demolish the RenCen, backyard chickens and food grading ordinances, and the big one—“African cultural sovereignty… vs. political representation.” Jerjuan calls himself a middleman between elders and the youth—“my grandma used to say, ‘eat the meat and throw away the bones'”—so Umoja turns what kids already love (“kids already like to argue”) into a vehicle for critical thinking, city pride, and leadership. We dig into the audacity behind taking Detroit kids to Africa, the team-captain model that makes students league ambassadors, and why “indirect action is… just as responsible” as bad policy when communities are ignored. He lays out the build on Puritan: the open-air Umoja Village, a once–25-year-vacant building becoming a Black-authored bookstore and third space one block away (“for us and by us”), and a community-driven health clinic on deck—proof that Legacy Black Detroit isn't nostalgia, it's blueprint. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“To whom much is given, much is required,” Renata Miller shares her love of Detroit from four generations of Detroit love and responsibility. Miller roots her run for City Council District 5 in a lived archive of Legacy Black Detroit: East side summers “by the river,” Conant Gardens pride where her grandfather “laid bricks you can still read in Hamtramck,” and Black Eden pilgrimages to Idlewild. She honors a Mother who's “still a nurse at church at 76” and a Father, a Navy veteran and Detroit Fire captain, who raised her on union halls, service calls, and straight-arrow integrity. Miller is adamant that development must mean jobs and single-family dwellings for kids to have homes with a backyard. It's a conversation that braids Coleman Young era fights to Erma Henderson, JoAnn Watson, and Barbara-Rose lineage, then points forward: block clubs, church basements, and porch-to-porch organizing—“I'm a grassroots advocate; I'll be on the streets.” Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“It ain't fly without us.” From that truth, Lazar Favors gives an hour of game on how Taste of Black Spirits is rewriting the rules of an industry that too often locks Detroit out. Lazar salutes Detroit is Different as “day one, step one,” then breaks down why he and Marshalle are a true "power couple" — we weaved it together,” fusing Taste of Black Spirits with the Detroit Black Film Festival to build culture and commerce at the same time. He explains their strategy to do 'unusual business' skip the middlemen, bring the decision-makers to the community, and redirect the dollars,” while schooling listeners on distribution gatekeeping, data, and survival in a shifting market. We get stories that sing Legacy Black Detroit: John Lee Hooker's “Boogie Chillen'” whiskey line carried by his grandson. Also an E-40 cameo (Mr. Earl Stevens) with a portfolio from Tycoon to tequila. He pushes collective moves—“call it collective behavior”—linking Black-owned brands with Black-owned distilleries to scale faster. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“You can go your whole life and not look back... until it's necessary.” Keisha Brooks shares a soul-stirring journey through Detroit's West Side porches and East Side power, weaving a story that reclaims ancestry, heals through touch, and reminds us why the Mack Alive Parade still marches strong after 35 years. In this intimate conversation with Khary Frazier, Keisha reflects on growing up on Hazelwood and Greenview, her transition from Mumford Mustang to Western Michigan student, and finding her calling in healing arts through massage therapy. From the hip hop shop on 7 Mile to Cafe Mahogany, Keisha gives voice to the women who shaped the city's culture in the 90s—and reveals how today's work with Mack Alive brings it full circle. “I'm massaging ancestors out of people's backs,” she jokes, but the impact is serious. Learn how Praise in the Park and the East Side's biggest parade are not just events, but Black Detroit legacy in motion—from Jackson, Mississippi roots to Connor and Harper streets, and back again. This is a masterclass in how memory, music, and movement continue to define Detroit's healing future. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“We're more in control of our own destiny now.” That's the charge from Marshalle Favors, founder of the Detroit Black Film Festival and creative visionary behind The Collective—a 13-filmmaker-owned production hub that's changing the game for independent Black cinema in Detroit. In this powerful episode, Marshalle builds with Khary Frazier about the art, business, and unapologetic legacy of storytelling from the heart of the Blackest city in America. From working as an extra in Sparkle alongside Whitney Houston, to curating an international festival rooted in Detroit soul, Marshalle shares how Black film is being reclaimed—on our terms. They dive deep into the sixth year of the Detroit Black Film Festival, why venues like the Charles H. Wright Museum and the Love Building matter for cultural connection, and what it means to create a platform where “everybody wants to see each other win.” If you're a creator, this episode is your push: “It doesn't matter how small you start. It matters how consistently you build.” Whether it's a courtroom scene shot in Southfield or a social justice doc playing at the Downtown YMCA, this is a masterclass in building Black Detroit's future from its brilliant past. The message is clear: Detroit isn't just a music or car city anymore—it's a film capital in the making. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

Episode Notes "You gotta lead with your curiosity if you want to build a platform." That's just one of the gems Denzell Turner drops in this in-depth Detroit is Different episode hosted by Khary Frazier. Denzell—founder of the Black Fridays Podcast—shares his journey from growing up on Ashbury Park, surrounded by four generations under one roof, to crafting media that speaks directly to Black Detroit's present and future. The conversation digs deep into how Turner's experiences at Cass Tech, U of M, and the Midnight Golf Program shaped not only his understanding of business and marketing but his mission to amplify Detroit's underrepresented voices. “I had to figure out how to put the Denzell spin on it,” he says, recalling his inspiration from Earn Your Leisure. With a studio of his own, a new podcasting course, and nearly a million impressions across his content, Denzell is part of a new wave of Legacy Detroiters transforming the creative economy. This episode is a full-circle moment—documenting a Detroit story generations deep, with a future rooted in cultural storytelling and community power. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“When we first started this, we were up against a powerful current—guys just around the corner selling dope, others robbing folks. Meanwhile, we were giving out book bags and feeding people. And slowly they began putting the dope away, putting their guns down, and coming over—not because we preached at them, but because we showed them love,” Dr. Yusef Bunchy Shakur. In less than 30 minutes, this powerful interview between Khary Frazier of Detroit is Different and Dr. Yusef Bunchy Shakur, Executive Director of the Michigan Roundtable for Just Communities, reveals how two decades of love, resistance, and vision have transformed Detroit's Zone 8 through the Ava Joe and Durron Festival & Backpack Giveaway. With over 30,000 backpacks distributed, a crack house turned community hub, and the memory of elders guiding the way, this story is a blueprint for building a just and beloved community. It's raw, real, and rooted in the grit, dignity, and joy of Black Detroit. Watch this and be inspired to plant seeds and pour water where you stand. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

"To actually dream is crazy... you gotta have something wrong with you to really do something you've never seen done before." In this soul-stirring Detroit is Different conversation, Khary Frazier sits down with Desmond “Clever” Lester—media innovator, promoter, and community connector whose journey from Joy Rd to Oak Park and the airwaves of Detroit radio has shaped a legacy of creativity and resilience. Clever shares powerful reflections about Black Detroit's deep Southern roots, his family's move from Nashville in 1959, and the vibrant culture of neighborhoods that felt like home, not "the hood." From interning at WJLB under Chris Kelly to launching Clever Vision and co-creating events that brought a new wave of comedy and culture to the D, Lester opens up about his calling as a storyteller and his commitment to showing love to the community—like giving up prom money to help after his house burned down. "The barbershop used to be our church," he says, explaining the origin of The Fellowship—a monthly men's gathering rooted in integrity and brotherhood. Packed with humor, Detroit history, real game about promotion and production, and heart-wrenching stories like his father's Olympic boxing dreams cut short, this episode is a tribute to the past and a call for Black Detroiters to honor, heal, and build the future together. “Perception is reality,” Lester says—so listen close, and see legacy in motion. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

"We love some collard greens. Black folks love collard greens." – Khary Frazier. In this deeply flavorful episode of Detroit is Different, the mic flips as host and producer Amber Ewing interviews Khary Frazier—founder of Detroit is Different and creator of the Collard Green Cook-Off—about the cultural power and future of this beloved community gathering. From Chandler Park to ancestral Vicksburg, Mississippi, Khary roots the cook-off in Black agricultural legacy, experiential marketing, and family storytelling: “The collard green traveled with us during the Middle Passage. That's our culture in every leaf.” They explore how a dish once dismissed by colonizers now brings together urban farmers, soul food chefs, and thousands of Detroiters in celebration. With over 480 pounds of greens, a live show, and a judging panel featuring Detroit legends like Howie Bell, Coco, and Orlando Bailey, the 2025 Cook-Off is more than food—it's a movement. The conversation dives into creativity (yes, collard green sushi), cultural pride, regional expansion, and the power of turning "slop" into sacred. This episode embodies what it means to honor Legacy Black Detroit—by nourishing body, memory, and future through community. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Detroit gives me free concerts, the architecture, the river — I told my friends, ‘Detroit got this.'” In this rich and inspiring episode of Detroit is Different, Cheryl Ajamu joins Khary Frazier to share her journey from Memphis to the woman behind the revival of the Detroit Football Classic. Cheryl is the Owner & Executive Producer for the 2025 Detroit Football Classic August 30, 1pm at Ford Field, Central State University vs Kentucky State University. Cheryl recounts arriving in Detroit in 1996 and falling in love with the city's cultural soul—its historic architecture, its cooler summers, and its abundance of free concerts: “95 is much better than a hundred.” From ad sales at BET Detroit to helping promote the city's neo-soul underground through Urban Organic, she describes how she “lived on both sides of the equation”—connecting Black creatives with major brands while keeping community at the center. But this story isn't just about the past; it's a roadmap for the future. Cheryl discusses ownership, empowerment, and strategy as she brings back the Classic—not as a nostalgic tribute, but as a declaration of Black cultural and economic power in Detroit. “I own this,” she says proudly, marking her place in a space traditionally dominated by men. This episode weaves Detroit's historical Black pride—from Paradise Valley to Motown to the architecture she once explored alone—into a call for intentional cultural preservation, community building, and ownership. Cheryl's story is a powerful reminder that Detroit's legacy isn't just history—it's still in the making. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“My dad quietly made some very significant contributions… he brought Rosa Parks to Detroit for the first time.” In this powerful episode of Detroit is Different, Khary Frazier sits down with Jane Fran Morgan of JFM Consulting Group. As the conversation moves forward, she recounts how her academic wanderings—through sociology and vet science at Michigan State—led her to urban planning and community-driven data work. The heart of the episode pulses in her help bringing to life the Neighborhood Vitality Index: a Detroit-born tool designed by residents, for residents—measuring safety, housing quality, upward mobility, and community pride. Advocating for neighborhood voices in policy conversations, Jane weaves together personal narrative and professional purpose, showing how data becomes power only when the people shape it. This interview is essential listening for anyone invested in the soul of Legacy Black Detroit—and in what it takes to heal and rebuild through culture, connection, and collective data-driven action. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“I belong anywhere I want to be.' That moment snapped the energy for this episode, where Kiana Montgomery dives deep into her legacy as a third-generation Detroiter and how her public relations work is rooted in uplifting Legacy Black Detroit. She shares, “If you want to engage with that audience… that's the audience I'm looking to connect with,” weaving stories of family reunions enduring a 74% decline, summers spent in New Jersey, her grandfather's journey from Alabama with just a dollar in his pocket, and building a business servicing Detroit's cultural gatekeepers. Along the way, she reflects on how her military brat upbringing and HBCU experience at FAMU shaped her voice and how the city—with its cold winters and resilient communities—became her chosen home during the turmoil of 2020. You'll hear how she strategically connects national brands to local narratives, the power of organic networking (even through "statement piece" shoes), and why Detroit is “Clique‑ish”—a badge of respect she leverages to elevate neighborhood voices on a national stage. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

"I'm working on my obituary," Alex Washington says with a laugh, but the weight of her words hits home. In this intimate, in-depth conversation with Khary Frazier, journalist and culture writer Alex Washington dives deep into her Detroit roots, her love of storytelling, and the fierce loyalty to her city's people and legacy. From memories of Renaissance High to her first feature in the Free Press, she reflects on how being raised by union workers and a village of elders shaped her vision for journalism. Her start in Detroit hip hop journalism during the mixtape era—covering artists like Big Sean and Danny Brown—revealed the city's raw cultural power and inspired her commitment to documenting the stories others overlook. “Detroit taught me how to be a neighbor, a friend—it taught me how to love people.” Alex opens up about the grind of Black journalism, content creation, and why the stories that don't go viral—like the woman hand-making Kwanzaa kinaras or the mom-and-pop flower shop on Six Mile—matter the most. She also unpacks the state of Detroit journalism today, from shrinking newsrooms to the shifting roles of legacy institutions and independent outlets. “Detroit is not a monolith,” she reminds us. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who cares about preserving the authenticity of Detroit's Black legacy while imagining its future. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“He didn't say he wanted to die. He said he didn't give an F about dying. That's different.” — Victoria Camille. In this powerful and deeply sobering episode of the Detroit is Different podcast, host Khary Frazier sits down with Victoria Camille of the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability (CPTA) to examine the disturbing details surrounding the July 12, 2024, shooting death of Sherman Lee Butler. “Nothing about this looks like self-defense to me.” — Khary Frazier. Sherman Butler was killed during an eviction at his apartment on Manderson St., near Palmer Park in Detroit. He was tased by Detroit Police officers and then fatally shot by a Wayne County Bailiff—while recovering from foot surgery and experiencing mental distress. “We all have a story. Show compassion. Sherman deserved to live.” — Victoria Camille What You'll Learn in This Episode: Detailed Analysis of the Footage: Victoria Camille and Khary Frazier analyze the DPD-released bodycam footage, breaking down how the incident escalated—despite clear protocol violations. Critical Facts Revealed: The bailiff used a DPD-issued radio improperly. DPD officers did not follow policy requiring them to control the scene. Mental health teams were called but failed to respond promptly. Tasers were used on a person visibly in mental and physical distress—against DPD policy. A DPD officer read the eviction notice, an act outside of their scope. “Nothing about this looks like self-defense to me.” — Khary Frazier “This wasn't just a policy failure; it was a moral one.” — Victoria Camille After Months of Advocacy: The community organized protests, FOIA requests (led by Taura Brown), and weekly meetings demanding transparency. On December 23, 2024, a partial video was finally released. Victoria Camille's Op-Ed led to a formal Citizen Complaint, triggering a deeper investigation by the Board of Police Commissioners' Office of the Chief Investigator. Policy Violations Found: At least 10 DPD policy violations identified by the OCI. Mental health co-response teams were eating at McDonald's while the call was active. The bailiff continued to conduct evictions after the shooting. What the Community Demands: Accountability from DPD, Wayne County Prosecutor, and the media. Clarity on reforms for Bailiffs and Officers. Passage of the Video Release Ordinance by MLK Day 2026—requiring release of all use-of-force videos within 7-37 days. Stay Informed. Stay Active. Share This. This episode isn't easy to hear—but it's necessary. Join us in healing community through truth, culture, and advocacy. Support the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability (CPTA) Email: DetroitCPTA@gmail.com Website: DetroitCPTA.org Like, Subscribe, and Share to uplift truth and push for justice. DetroitIsDifferent #JusticeForShermanButler #PoliceAccountability #VictoriaCamille #DetroitCPTA #EvictionCrisis #MentalHealthJustice #PoliceReform #CommunityHealing