Detroit is Different

"The vision is bigger than the no.” Amber Ewing, Director and Executive Producer of *Cooking with Comedians Challenge*, brings a Detroit story rooted in family, art, womanhood, and the will to create anyway. In this Detroit is Different conversation, Amber shares how her imagination was shaped by Rosedale Park, Detroit schools she calls “the original HBCUs,” DSA, Oakland University, and the feeling she got watching the Bad Boys Pistons on VHS—realizing later that editing and video/film production made her feel that energy. As “the only Black woman in program” in her college, Amber had “a rough time.” She accepted that she had to “work harder than most” to earn respect. That reality still informs how she moves: “I come with my experience, I come with my work, I come with a proof of concept.” *Cooking with Comedians Challenge* became six years of persistence, borrowed cameras, personal checks, live audiences, chefs, comedians, hosting nerves, and hard-earned lessons. Amber's journey reminds us that creativity is not extra—it is quality of life, community memory, and a future Detroit can taste, laugh with, and build from. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“People call lawyers not because they want to, because they need them when they have a problem.” Mayor Byron Nolen's Detroit is Different conversation reveals how his success in law became the foundation for his public leadership in Inkster. With no lawyers in his family and no law firm pipeline before law school, Nolen built his career through study, courtroom discipline, and hustle, first taking court appointments because he “just wanted to be in the courtroom,” then learning civil litigation from respected Detroit attorney Ernest Jarrett, whose work included major police misconduct cases. Nolen describes practicing across Wayne, Washtenaw, Macomb, and Oakland counties, running from court to court before Zoom, knowing that when “it's time to try that case, you just got to be better than everybody else.” That reputation became trust when Inkster residents were hit with a 105% water bill increase and came to him saying, “I need you to represent us.” Though he was a solo practitioner facing the city, residents put in $20 each, sued, and won $3.5 million in credits. That victory turned legal skill into community confidence, and Inkster residents encouraged him to run for Mayor, where he currently serves. Now, that same encouragement is carrying him forward as a candidate for Michigan's 12th Congressional District, showing how advocacy, knowledge, and trust can move people from crisis to political 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“The idea that things can fundamentally be better—and that we can make that happen—is what pulled me into organizing.” On this Detroit is Different episode, Chris Gilmer-Hill, candidate for Michigan State House District 8, connects his campaign to family history, Black Detroit memory, and years of grassroots political work. He traces his roots from his great-grandmother Annabelle coming from Louisiana to Wayne University in the 1930s, to his family becoming “the first Black family on their block” in University District with a racial covenant crossed out in Sharpie, to stories of sharecropping, labor struggle, and the Elaine Massacre shaping his understanding of power. Chris shares how Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign moved him from watching politics to organizing, rooted in the belief that “a better world is possible.” Through DSA and Detroit campaigns, he began knocking doors for Lyra Spencer, Denzel McCampbell, and others, learning that real power comes from “normal people” talking to neighbors about policies that can materially improve their lives. He has canvassed across Detroit—east side, west side, southwest, every council district—and says the work taught him that people are willing to listen. This episode shows how family knowledge, socialist values, environmental justice, and door-to-door organizing brought Chris from studying systems to fighting to change 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Resources have been taken from the bottom and funneled up to the top.” Theo Pride, Organizing & Fiscal Operations Manager of Detroit People's Platform and founding member of Detroiters for Tax Justice, returns to Detroit is Different with the kind of grounded political clarity that gives listeners “some game.” Recorded on Juneteenth, this conversation moves through Detroit's past, present, and future, connecting freedom, poverty, development, tax justice, and Black political leadership. Theo reflects on the historic rise of Mayor Mary Sheffield, saying Detroit now has “somebody we know who is right from the city,” while also naming the unfinished work ahead for neighborhoods that have not felt the benefits of downtown growth. From food lines that remain long after COVID, to “working class folks” being squeezed by policy, to the belief that government must step in so “everybody has what they need,” Theo frames Detroit's challenges through community power. This episode matters because it asks who development is really for, what Black Detroit deserves, and how organizing can turn struggle into policy, resources, and a future where everyday Detroiters are centered. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I got the best of both worlds, country and as well as Detroit.” Tia Graham, co-host of WDET 101.9 FM's 'The Metro,' brings that layered truth into this Detroit is Different conversation, tracing her family's journey from Alabama and Arkansas to Detroit, where factory work, survival, and community shaped generations. From her grandfather “fleeing the Klan” to her Joy Rd upbringing near Exit 9, Tia opens up about the past that built her and the neighborhood that raised her. She remembers block parties, kids playing football in the street, the Boys and Girls Club, the Belle Isle strip with her Big Sister, and the everyday beauty often hidden from national & traditional media's Detroit narrative. “It was just our neighborhood McDonald's,” she says, challenging the way people talk about Joy Rd. This interview matters because it connects migration, memory, media, and Black Detroit's future. Tia's story shows how community survives through elders, siblings, culture, laughter, and people who choose to tell the truth with care. Listen to hear how a Detroit voice behind the microphone became a witness to the city's resilience, rhythm, and responsibility. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“As a lawyer, I have to be tough—but as a mom, I balance that with my soft approach.” Attorney Renette L. Jackson, founder of Legally Mom and author of Act Like a Teen, Think Like a Lawyer, brings fire, wisdom, and Detroit-rooted love into this powerful Detroit is Different conversation. With “at least five” generations tied to the city, Jackson traces her story through veterans, nurses, Northwestern pride, and the family home near Quincy and Gladstone, where “grandma's porch” and a clean alley shaped her understanding of safety, connection, and community. She honors her grandmother as “a general and a nurse,” a woman whose toughness and tenderness became the blueprint for Jackson's own legal mission. From Southfield High to Washington D.C., from politics to parenting, she shares why watching Detroit leaders helped her realize, “I need to go back home.” This episode is about more than law—it is about protecting families, preparing youth, and carrying ancestral strength into the future. Jackson's story reminds us: Detroit's past is not behind us; it is training us. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“If you don't have a strong foundation, that whole thing sooner or later is going to fall down.” Detroit City Council President James Tate returns to Detroit is Different for a grounded, candid conversation about the patience, pressure, and politics behind neighborhood transformation. From his early campaign days in 2009 to now serving as Council President, Tate reflects on how public leadership demands listening beyond social media noise, saying he would rather call a critic directly than argue online. The interview digs deep into Brightmoor, where Tate explains why he invested “a million dollars each year” into training programs to improve residents' financial futures before new development raises costs around them. He names the hard truth: families living on a median income near $24,000 face many challenges & crisis living day to day lives. Tate also speaks frankly about solar farms, land value, fair compensation, and the danger of offering residents “money to move/relocate.” This episode connects Detroit's past of disinvestment to its future of community-rooted development, asking who benefits when neighborhoods are rebuilt—and who gets to stay. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Food is a tough business,” and Chef Ederique Goudia, founder of In the Business of Food, steps into Detroit is Different to show why love for cooking must meet licensing, safety, strategy, and community care. Known as Chef E, she breaks down how Eastern Market, the Incubator Kitchen, and her workshops support everyone from “a food truck, a lemonade stand or a chain of restaurants” to entrepreneurs selling barbecue sauce “out of their trunk” who are ready to get legal, licensed, and onto bigger shelves. This conversation moves from the real cost of spoilage to the public responsibility of feeding people safely, with Chef E reminding listeners that food “can become dangerous very quickly.” She also explains free food safety manager certifications for Detroit residents, allergy awareness, Ask an Expert sessions, manufacturing, distribution, mental health, social media, and hospitality support. This episode matters because food has always been a gateway into Detroit culture, family, business, and survival. Chef E connects the past of homegrown hustle to a future where Detroit food entrepreneurs can build businesses with knowledge, confidence, and community-rooted support. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I am a lifelong Eastsider. I was born, raised, educated, and I still live on the East Side of Detroit.” Toinu Reeves, Michigan State Senate candidate for District 3, joins Detroit is Different with a story rooted in neighborhood, family, and economic vision. From being born at Hutzel Hospital to growing up near Mack and Chrysler, from Bates Academy to deep family roots in Jefferson Chalmers, Reeves carries the Eastside into every part of his campaign. He remembers Jefferson Chalmers as “one of the most beautiful places,” filled with big trees, river parks, swans, canals, elders, cousins, Spades tables, and pickup basketball. Known as the “Eastside Economist,” Reeves explains why he is running: to bring lived experience, financial knowledge, and policy skill together for a district that deserves more than campaign promises. With a background in economics, finance, public finance, tax policy, and trade, he breaks down “economic leakage,” collective ownership, neighborhood investment funds, and how Detroiters can build wealth by owning pieces of the businesses they already support. This episode is about protecting legacy, building Black wealth, and electing leaders with the tools to turn Eastside experience into policy that works for the future of Black Detroit. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I came here from her love an spirit of Detroit”—that truth opens a powerful Detroit is Different conversation with Yelena Ramautar, Community Engager for the Caribbean Community Service Center, about migration, belonging, memory, and the work required to truly become part of a community. Yelena traces her journey from Guyana to the Bronx, then to Detroit in 2015 after her adoptive mother told her, “I got a home. Just come on. You can find your way and figure it out.” She reflects on New York gentrification, school closures, immigrant identity, and the shock of being “othered” at a predominantly white college after growing up among Black, Caribbean, Latino, and African communities. In Detroit, she learned that relationships may crack the door open, “but you have to do the work to show that you're invested.” Her mother's Detroit story—Cass Tech, Wayne State, teaching, and hearing Dr. King speak on Woodward—connects Black excellence, movement history, and family legacy. This episode asks what responsible cultural connection looks like as neighborhoods change and diasporic communities meet. Yelena's story reminds us that Detroit's future depends on honoring memory, resisting extraction, building trust, and turning migration into meaningful commitment to people, place, and shared liberation across 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“You carry this brilliance in you—this is something that's in your DNA.” In this moving Detroit is Different conversation, Tiara Jones, owner of Black Beautiful & Brilliant, shares how love, grief, family, and purpose shaped her decision to continue the brand created by her late husband. Tiara traces her roots from Inkster to Alabama, connecting her family's Great Migration story and the trauma of racial violence to the strength that generations carried into Metro Detroit. She reflects on meeting her husband during the COVID era, building a life together, and choosing to preserve his vision after his passing: “I'm going to pick this brand back up, because it can be bigger than what he envisioned.” More than clothing or a slogan, Black Beautiful & Brilliant becomes a lesson for their son and daughter about “what love looks like,” commitment, loyalty, and cultural pride. Tiara also speaks honestly about grief, finding her voice, supporting Black women, and reminding the community that brilliance is not something granted from outside—it already lives within us. This episode connects the past to the future by showing how ancestral survival, neighborhood memory, Black enterprise, and family legacy can become tools for healing, ownership, and collective possibility. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Sometimes people think that because it don't happen overnight, they're not doing well… keep going. Don't stop.” In this powerful Detroit is Different conversation, Rev. Alonzo Bell, Executive Director of The Redeem Team, traces a life shaped by East Side Detroit, faith, family, discipline, and the long work of community service. Bell takes listeners from his family's Arkansas roots and Black Bottom beginnings to Gratiot, where poverty was real but love, church, and neighborhood connection gave children a foundation. He reflects on Martin Evers Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Austin Byrd Jr.'s civil-rights vision, the changing East Side of the 1980s, and the perseverance required to keep building when resources are scarce. “It comes a certain point of time where you just put enough time in and then the scales begin to move in your direction,” Bell explains. His story connects Detroit's past—migration, Black church leadership, neighborhood pride, factory loss, and survival—to its future: patient institution-building, youth guidance, faith-centered organizing, and leadership rooted in service. This episode reminds us that community transformation is not a sudden breakthrough; it is brick-by-brick work, witnessed by the people, strengthened through relationships, and sustained by those committed enough to keep fighting for generations ahead. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I didn't want to be any attorney. I wanted to be a second chance attorney for our people,” Jade Mathis shares in a Detroit is Different conversation that moves from Black Bottom ancestry to courtroom advocacy and City Hall leadership. Jade's Detroit story begins with grandparents who migrated from Little Rock and Tuscaloosa during the Great Migration, met in Black Bottom, and built family roots on Dexter and Philadelphia, where her grandmother gardened, fed neighborhood children, and kept beauty alive on the block. Jade carries that same community care into her legal journey. After illness shifted her path from journalism to law, Jade pushed through LSAT setbacks, law school rejection, and taking the bar six times before becoming the attorney she promised God she would be. Her work included the Project Clean Slate, expungements, NAACP service, GED tutoring, and civil rights cases with Attorney Ben Crump traveling the nation, representing families struggling from police killings and fighting through litigation, protest, and grief. Now leading Detroit's Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity Department, CRIO, Jade brings those lessons home: clean records, recognize grassroots leadership, defend rights, and make government answer to the people'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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Literally all of the creative gifts I have come from him.” Brittini Ward brings that truth into Detroit is Different with a conversation rooted in lineage, love, and the music that raises us. From tracing her family's migration through Kentucky, Arkansas, Jackson, Mississippi, Parkside, Six Mile, Palmer Park, and Sherwood Forest, Brittini shows how “this creativity, this movement, this dance, this Detroit, this down south” lives in the body before it ever becomes art. She reflects on her father—“drawing,” “pop locking,” DJing, writing, singing, serving as Sergeant Ward, and still making tapes saying “Goodnight, LaMarr Ward, goodnight, Ashlee Ward, goodnight, Brittini Ward” so his children could feel him close. That spirit becomes Baba Duke, her multimedia exhibition at Irwin House honoring music fathers and daughters through oral histories, portraiture, sound, memory, and love. This episode is about more than an exhibit; it is about how Black Detroit preserves fathers, daughters, neighborhoods, and futures through story. It connects the past we inherit to the future we build when memory becomes community practice. Come listen, feel, remember, and bring somebody you love there. Visit Baba Duke at Irwin House Detroit, 2351 West Grand Boulevard, Thursday–Saturday 12 PM–7 PM and Sunday 12 PM–6 PM. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Detroit is a very special place… the Mecca for Pan-African thought and action.” Baba Mike Anderson, citizen of the Republic of New Afrika, joins Detroit is Different for a powerful episode recorded on Malcolm X Day rooted in Black liberation, memory, and movement. Baba Mike carries us from his North End childhood on John R, where “you didn't have to leave the neighborhood,” into the political fire of post-Rebellion Detroit, where Black Power, African identity, labor struggle, and self-defense shaped his path. He shares how reading J.A. Rogers, reading the Nation of Islam through the Pittsburgh Courier, meeting General Baker, and being introduced to the Republic of New Afrika awakened his consciousness. “It wasn't long after that that I took the pledge,” he recalls, becoming a citizen of New Afrika and member of the Black Legionaires, the Republic's military arm. From New Bethel Baptist Church to African Liberation Day, Baba Mike connects Detroit's role in Malcolm X, Pan-Africanism, reparations, and revolutionary organizing. This episode is not nostalgia; it is a blueprint. Baba Mike reminds us, “It's really not about you. It's about what you leave behind.” 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“The Freedom Fighter is in my blood,” Jenell Mansfield says, tracing her roots from Macon, Georgia, to Dexter-Davidson, the Jeffries Projects, Central High School, and Haiti's revolutionary legacy. In this Detroit is Different conversation, Mansfield, a teacher and social worker running for Wayne County Commissioner in the 5th District, opens up about the generations that shaped her politics, purpose, and love for Black people. Her family story begins with Great Migration dreams, a veteran great-grandfather seeking something better, grandparents who came of age in Motown-era Detroit, and a Haitian father whose history taught her that freedom is never given. Mansfield connects personal memory to public policy, breaking down how housing, poverty, education, water shutoffs, and “hyper ghetto” conditions impact what Detroiters can imagine for their futures. She reminds us, “You can't be what you can't see,” while challenging listeners to think about what happens when Black communities are separated from resources, elders, and examples of possibility. This interview matters because it ties Detroit's past to the political choices ahead, showing how lived experience, social work, teaching, and community love can become a blueprint for leadership rooted in the people. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“You don't tell us who we are, we tell you who we are.” That spirit drives this Detroit is Different conversation with Mallory McMorrow, who is running for a Michigan seat in the United States Senate. This interview opens with roots: how a Jersey-born industrial designer who lived across five states found home in Michigan through road rallies, Detroit architecture, car culture, and the creative question, “What can we build together?” McMorrow shares how her love of cars, Route 66 road trips, and design shaped her belief that even something as basic as “four wheels to get you from point A to point B” can become art, memory, and identity. From building a concept car live at an auto show to graduating into the 2008 economic crash, her story connects Michigan's industrial past to its political future. Khary brings the Detroit lens—Flint, Roger & Me, blue-collar culture, and the pride of communities outsiders misunderstand. This is a conversation about belonging, reinvention, and why Michigan's future must be built with the same creativity, grit, and community truth that shaped its past. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“You don't just leave things sitting at the city council meeting”—Nicole Small brings that truth home in this powerful Detroit is Different conversation about civic education, community accountability, and the future of Detroit politics. A former Detroit Charter Commission member, devoted organizer, and activist, Nicole reflects on why the city charter matters as Detroit's “constitution,” how residents learned power through block clubs, labor families, precinct workers, and neighborhood elders, and why today's lack of engagement should alarm us. From her family's Arkansas-to-North End roots to growing up in Bagley, attending King High School, and witnessing the organizing culture of labor marches, Nicole connects personal memory to political responsibility. She names the difference between simply attending meetings and actually bringing the work back home: “In order to really be successful and change and to be a change agent, you have to be involved.” This episode matters because Detroit's past civic muscle—block clubs, elders, labor, local civics, and resident voice—still holds lessons for the city's future. Nicole reminds listeners that community power is built through knowledge, honesty, accountability, and people willing to fight for where they live. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“It's not one lane… it's multi-lane, like 75 or something.” Dre Clemons brings that Detroit truth into this episode of Detroit is Different, sharing a life shaped by Joy Road, hip-hop, design, education, and community responsibility. Known through worlds connected to Detroit's Most Wanted, Whodini, music, product design, transportation design, and architecture, Dre explains how growing up near Wyoming, Livernois, Rouge Steel, arcades, Dairy Queen, McKenzie, and Cass Tech built his imagination. He remembers Joy Road as “both a joy and a treacherous place to be,” where industry, danger, family, music, and style all moved together. Dre's story opens a deeper understanding of Black Detroit creativity: the same hands that touched hip-hop culture also studied computer-aided drafting, designed products, taught at College for Creative Studies and the University of Michigan, and poured into young people. This conversation matters because it connects Detroit's past to its future—showing how neighborhood lessons become art, engineering, entrepreneurship, and education. Dre Clemons reminds us that Detroit brilliance has always lived in the streets, schools, plants, bands, and families that shaped the 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“You've got to do the work first and continue the work.” Return guest Angelique Mayberry-Peterson comes back to Detroit is Different, now serving as Wayne County Commissioner for District 5, opening up about stepping into the seat once held by the late Irma Clark-Coleman, who she lovingly calls “Mama Irma.” Angelique reflects on the humility of receiving a unanimous vote from the commission, the weight of not trying to “fill the shoes” of a woman who served community for 50 years, and the responsibility of honoring that legacy by doing homework, asking questions, and showing up. She shares how her time as Detroit Public School Board President, her UAW experience, and years of relationship-building across schools, labor, faith, and neighborhoods prepared her for this role. From Northwestern's community programs to King High School bus rides, from elders still organizing at 93 and 99 to students needing fertile ground to grow, this conversation is about Detroit's past speaking directly into its future. Angelique reminds us, “If you said you're going to do something, then do it. If you can't do it, then say it”—a lesson in honest leadership, community trust, and public service rooted in love. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“We got the goods for you here.” Drake Phifer returns to Detroit is Different to share the heart behind Detroit Diaspora, a cultural festival built around the music, movement, art, food, vendors, and unmistakable style Detroit has carried across the world. In conversation with Khary Frazier, Drake frames the event as a homecoming for Detroiters and descendants of Detroiters whose families, creativity, and influence now live across the globe. Detroit Diaspora honors the DJs, dancers, visual artists, makers, and community builders who keep the city's spirit alive wherever they land. More than a festival, it is an immersive celebration of Black Detroit's cultural reach—connecting Paris, Berlin, Washington, D.C., Thailand, and beyond back to the city that shaped the sound. 8th Annual Detroit Diaspora Day Fest is a 12-hour celebration of global Black culture where the family reunion, art opening, house party, marketplace, cipher, and block party meet.This year's musical experience brings together selectors, artists, and cultural storytellers, including: DJs will move the crowd, artists will showcase visual stories, vendors will share fashion, food, jewelry, wellness, and cultural goods, while canopy lounges create space to connect. Experience cultural storytellers from Detroit, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, D.C., St. Louis, Cleveland, and beyond. Explore the Detroit Diaspora Pop-Up Art Show curated by Kirsten Jordan, Jonathan Kimble, and Drake Phifer, featuring Dwele, Asia Hamilton, Anita Sewell, Anthea Calhoun, Alecia Robinson, Audrey Johnson, Brian Nickson, Corey Chavis Jr., and more. Explore the Detroit Diaspora Pop-Up Art Show featuring Dwele and more. Detroit is Different will be live onsite capturing features. Come ready to dance, shop, view art, connect, remember, and celebrate. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I truly believe I was built for what I do.” Tiffany Gunter, General Manager of Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), joins Detroit is Different for a conversation rooted in family legacy, Detroit grit, and the future of regional transit. From her great-great-great grandfather coming north from Columbia, South Carolina for automotive opportunity, to her father's 30-year career in the airport industry, Tiffany's life connects “planes, buses and automobiles” through generations. A proud Northwest Detroiter from Seven Mile and Outer Drive, she reflects on walking through the neighborhood and learning entrepreneurship early selling Kool-Aid cups and cookies during backyard basketball tournaments. Her mother's lesson—“you can't make me your supplier and then don't cut me in on a deal." She shares how working in a church office at 13 taught her compassion, listening, and patience with people facing real life issues. Now leading SMART, Tiffany sees beauty in 3 a.m. bus pullouts and the scale of service that moves workers, families, and communities. This interview connects Detroit's past mobility struggles to a future built through understanding, service, and regional cooperation. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“The Black church has the ability to do so much—and it can do so much more.” Dr. Charles Williams, pastor of historic King Solomon Baptist Church, joins Detroit is Different for a powerful conversation on faith, family, organizing, and the sacred responsibility of serving Black Detroit. Dr. Williams opens up about how Dr. Charles Simmons of the Hush House, a member of King Solomon, connected him to the legendary church over a decades ago—a house of worship where Malcolm X delivered “Message to the Grassroots,” Dr. King spoke, Joe Louis gave, and generations organized for freedom. Now Michigan Chair of the National Action Network, Dr. Williams reflects on his Detroit roots, his family's migration story, and the wisdom he gained as a young reverend from Rev. Horace Sheffield II and Rev. Jim Holley. He shares how King Solomon continues to be more than a church: “a social center,” a place of advocacy, community action, and healing. With his wife's work in health and well-being shaping their ministry, and his doctorate from the University of Michigan grounding the Black Church's role in the Black family, this interview bridges Detroit's past and 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“A lifetime over 50 years”—Queen Mother Helen Moore returns to Detroit is Different inside the very building that now carries her name, the Helen Moore Recreation Center, formerly Dexter-Elmhurst Recreation Center. In this triumphant conversation, Moore sits with Khary Frazier and reflects on decades of revolutionary organizing, education advocacy, and community protection rooted in love for Detroit children. She remembers how the center became “a way to show people what people could do,” and why she made it her mission to “keep this center and never leave it,” even when many said the building should be torn down. Moore shares how she and neighbors built bonds across generations, welcoming young people, elders, athletes, families, and even those facing street conflicts with a firm standard: “Look, don't bring none of that in here.” This episode uplifts the power of Legacy Detroit organizing—how respect, persistence, and collective care can save public space and shape the future. From Wayne State to Detroit College of Law to the frontlines of education justice, Queen Mother Helen Moore's story is a lesson in community ownership, revolutionary patience, and what it means to fight for our children. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“There's no place on the planet, and I mean that, that loves my dad the way that Detroit does.” Joyce Barrow-Henderson, daughter of boxing legend and Detroit champion Joe Louis, brings warmth, history, and family truth to Detroit is Different as she prepares for the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership birthday celebration honoring her father on Saturday, July 23, 2026, at 10am at the Warren Trailhead, 7241 McDonald, Detroit, MI 48210. In this powerful conversation, Joyce shares why Detroit's love for Joe Louis still feels personal, saying here he is not distant history—he is “Uncle Joe.” She opens up about the Joe Louis Foundation's mission, rooted in his “kindness,” “generosity,” education, and community connection. The interview moves beyond the boxing ring into Joe Louis' impact on Black Detroit business, culture, sports, and pride—from Brewster Recreation Center to Black Bottom, Flame Show Bar, golf, horses, family, and the doors he opened for others. Joyce reminds us, “If you think he was a great boxer, he was an even greater daddy.” This episode connects Detroit's past and future through legacy, land, love, and community memory. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“It's a once in a lifetime project,” Leona Medley says, describing the Joe Louis Greenway as more than a trail, but a neighborhood-centered vision connecting Detroit, Dearborn, Highland Park, and Hamtramck through “four cities, 29 miles of trails.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Medley opens up about her Detroit story, from family roots on the west side near Seven Mile and Prevost to becoming rooted on the east side for 30 years. She reflects on her mother, “my rock,” her family's Palmer Woods legacy, and the lessons of movement, protection, and possibility that shaped her. Medley shares how leadership found her after more than 25 years in work history and community development, saying the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership role felt like “a dream come true.” As Executive Director, she carries forward a people-first approach: encouraging the skills, talents, and gifts of everyone around her while advocating for beautiful green space in Detroit neighborhoods. This interview connects Detroit's past of family, migration, industry, and resilience to a future of access, health, and shared public life, leading into the grand celebration of Detroit champion Joe Louis on Saturday, July 23, 2026, at Warren Trailhead. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I'm vested in Detroit,” Portia Powell says, and that line carries the power of this whole conversation. In this Detroit is Different episode, One Detroit Credit Union President & CEO Portia Powell shares a story rooted in Black Detroit family legacy, Eastside resilience, and the financial wisdom she first witnessed through her mother's life. From growing up near Mack and 75, watching her mother rise from hardship into homeownership and real estate, to learning firsthand that “credit and financial knowledge are gateways to opportunity,” Portia reflects on how those lessons shaped her path. With more than two decades in banking, she has truly walked the road “from a teller to a CEO,” bringing both sharp expertise and a community-centered heart to her leadership. This interview is bigger than personal success—it connects the past and future of Detroit by showing how family teaching, neighborhood identity, and access to financial tools can help build stronger communities. Portia's story matters because it reminds listeners that institutions can still feel human, leadership can still feel local, and Detroit's future grows from the people who never stopped believing in us. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“It tattooed something on my brain about public service and tragedy.” That line from James White sets the tone for a deeply personal and powerful Detroit is Different conversation about trauma, service, healing, and the future of community care in Detroit. The CEO of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network opens up about being raised by his grandparents on Detroit's west side, growing through the pain of family loss, and how witnessing grief at a young age shaped his sense of duty. What began as a childhood calling toward policing evolved into a broader, more human understanding of public safety—one rooted in empathy, mental health awareness, and recognizing how trauma lives inside families and neighborhoods for generations. With moving reflections on Detroit family life, the guidance of elders, and the emotional realities too many Black families know firsthand, James White connects his personal story to a larger vision for community wellness. This episode matters because it honors the past while pointing toward a future where healing, compassion, and mental health support are central to how we build safer, stronger Detroit communities. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I'm happy to be here with you” sets the tone for a powerful Detroit is Different conversation with Leseliey Welch, CEO of Birth Center Equity and co-founder of Birth Detroit, Detroit's only Black-led self-sustaining birth center. In this rich dialogue, Leseliey reflects on family roots stretching from Detroit's east side to Mississippi and Louisiana, her journey through Saginaw, Southfield, Oak Park, and public health, and how those lived experiences shaped her commitment to Black families and community-based care. Calling herself a “professional dreamer,” she shares the vision, discipline, and cultural grounding required to create space for BIPOC-led birth centers in a city that deserves care rooted in dignity, trust, and tradition. This episode is about more than childbirth. It is about Black leadership, the wisdom of our mothers and grandmothers, the systems that have failed our people, and the future we must build ourselves. Leseliey's story connects Detroit's past of migration, survival, and organizing to a future where birth justice is part of healing the whole community. This is a conversation about life at the very beginning—and what it takes to protect it. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I really knew that I could do something with it when I started making money with it,” Jason Phillips shares in this rich Detroit is Different conversation, opening up about how artistry became both his balance and his pathway to opportunity. Rooted in four generations of Detroit family history and shaped by the West Side around Myers and Joy Road, Jason reflects on childhood memories of bike rides, neighborhood parks, Dairy Queen runs, and the kind of community life that formed his imagination. He talks about growing up in a home where creativity was always present, then realizing his gift was different when his talent in art began earning him recognition and cash in high school competitions. That same passion has now expanded across painting, mixed media, murals, tattoos, and the building of Detroit Ink Spot on West McNichols as a living gallery of his vision. With lines like “I've been here just about my whole life” and “I could push the envelope,” Jason's story connects the legacy of old Detroit neighborhoods to the future of Black creative enterprise, showing how art can be both personal healing and community-building 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Detroit has definitely created its own ecosystem for the film world,” and in this Detroit is Different conversation, Return Mark “MJ the Don” Jackson brings that truth to life with the sharp vision, humor, and hard-earned wisdom of a creator growing into his next chapter. Revisiting the podcast to build beyond earlier talks centered on music, MJ opens up about writing scripts with Comedian CP, developing new tools for film writers, and navigating Detroit's rising independent film scene with both caution and confidence. “You want what's in your brain to magically pop up on the screen,” he says, capturing the challenge every visionary faces when turning ideas into real work. From stories of pitching projects, learning the business, and seeing CP's journey unfold, to reflecting on patience, growth, and the responsibilities of raising daughters, MJ offers more than creative insight—he shares a deeper testimony of maturation. This episode connects Detroit's long tradition of self-made artistry to a future where Black creatives build their own systems, platforms, and legacy. It matters for community because MJ's story speaks to how wisdom, collaboration, and faith in your gifts can shape not just content, but culture itself. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Detroit has always been a magical city, always been a place of love and a place that welcomes,” says returning guest Ber-Henda Williams, and that spirit carries this powerful Detroit is Different conversation into the heart of the upcoming Modern Day High Priestess Book Signing Detroit, happening Monday, April 27, 2026, from 6pm–8pm at Teen HYPE. Ber-Henda shares how she is one of the lead organizers, authors, and artists connected to the internationally bestselling anthology The Modern Day High Priestess, a truth-telling project rooted in women moving through “their own dark nights of the soul” and finding healing, purpose, and power on the other side. With voices and presence connected to Carina Jackson, Tiara Boyd, Jennifer Seafrit, Trish Meekins, and Lauren Dickinson, this episode explores the leadership of Black Women, caregiving, mother wounds, community healing, and why Black women remain central to cultural transformation. When Ber-Henda says, “we're chronicling our stories,” she speaks to both Detroit's legacy and its future: women brave enough to tell the truth, break generational cycles, honor spirit, and build intentional community in real time at Teen HYPE, one of Detroit's sacred spaces for youth, love, and possibility. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“We come from the same family, we got the same blood running through our veins, but my path got to be this just by virtue of who my parents were and your path is this by virtue of who your parents are.” That line captures the depth of this powerful Detroit is Different conversation with John Conyers III, as he reflects on his book My Father's House: An Ode to America's Longest-Serving Black Congressman, the legacy of his father John Conyers Jr., and his own path into public service through his campaign for Michigan's Third District State Senate seat. This episode is rooted in Detroit, family, and truth, as Conyers III shares stories from Black Bottom, the West Side, and the neighborhoods that shaped his political vision. He offers more than memories—he gives listeners a clear understanding of how legacy, race, opportunity, and access all shape the lives of Black Detroiters. “I didn't grow up how y'all think John Conyers III would grow up,” he explains, opening a conversation about class, identity, and what it means to carry a historic name while building your own purpose. This interview connects the past and future by showing how Black political legacy can still inspire community power, deeper equity, and a stronger vision for Detroit's next generation. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“I remembered that I wanted to be a teacher” is the kind of line that grabs you because Mama Nozibele's (Susan Kelsey-Brewton) story is not just about a career, it is about a calling. In this rich Detroit is Different conversation, the Michigan Department of Education's 2025 Regional Teacher of the Year for Detroit (Region 10) reflects on roots in Black Bottom, growing up on Detroit's east side, learning through sports, family, and neighborhood life, and building a path from Head Start to the transformative space of Aisha Shule under the love and leadership of Mama Imani Humphrey. With warmth and wisdom, she shares how education, athletics, and culture shaped her belief that “we can do multiple things,” and how teachers can pull gifts out of young people with intention and care. The episode also opens another side of her artistry through her love for crochet, showing how creativity and teaching are stitched together in Black community life. This is a conversation about the past that raised us and the future we still must build—one where children are seen, culture is centered, and community remains the classroom. Connect with her at Crochet with Nozibele: crochetwithnozibele@gmail.com. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“His story had to be told” is the kind of line that stops you in your tracks, and in this powerful Detroit is Different conversation, Shushanna Shakur brings that truth to life with love, clarity, and revolutionary purpose. As the sister of the legendary Chokwe Lumumba, author of Memories of My Revolutionary Brother: Chokwe Lumumba, and Founder and Director of Heritage Youth Program, Shushanna reflects on the pain of losing her brother, the urgency of preserving his story, and the responsibility of telling it from the view of someone who had “a front row seat in his life.” She shares how, immediately after his passing, she knew “who better than me could tell the story,” grounding the interview in family, movement history, and the healing power of writing. This episode is more than remembrance—it is a lesson on grief, political legacy, and why our stories must be documented by the people who lived them. For Detroit, for Black freedom struggles, and for future generations building community, this conversation reminds us that memory is organizing, storytelling is protection, and legacy is a living responsibility. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“As you know, literacy rates in Detroit are low… we needed a third space,” Jerjuan Howard says, and that conviction powers this special on-location episode of Detroit is Different from inside the Howard Family Bookstore. Raised in this very community, Jerjuan takes listeners into a vision rooted in memory, mission, and neighborhood love as he shares how a boarded-up building at 13803 Puritan Ave became a living dream through patience, craftsmanship, and collective support. “When I came home from college… I knew I wanted to invest back into Puritan,” he explains, connecting this bookstore to the same community-centered energy that has driven his work with Umoja Village and the Umoja Debate League. More than a place to buy books, this emerging space is being shaped as an essential Black Detroit third space for coffee, tea, poetry, youth discovery, local authors, and everyday connection. With stories of legacy, literacy, ownership, and the power of neighbors building with their own hands, this conversation captures both the past and future of community on Puritan—just weeks before the grand opening on April 25, 2026 at 11 a.m. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Land is wealth,” and in Detroit that truth hits different. In this powerful Detroit is Different conversation, Attorney Anthony Adams joins Khary Frazier to break down what home ownership really means in Detroit today—not just living in a house, but having “legal title to the property,” clear paperwork, and the protection to hold on to what our families worked for. Adams explains how Detroit went from a city rooted in Black homeownership to one facing what he calls an “economic tsunami,” where overassessment, foreclosure, land contracts, and fraudulent deeds have put generations of Detroiters at risk. He makes deed fraud plain: “someone who has no claim of interest in a property gets possession of a property and transfers it to someone else,” often leaving families shocked to learn a home has been stolen on paper. This episode is essential listening for anybody buying, inheriting, protecting, or fighting for a house in Detroit, as Adams lays out why title work matters, why “you can't get title from someone who's never owned it,” and what families must do right now to defend their legacy. From elders in nursing homes to homes passed down without clear deeds, this is a deep, practical, and urgent conversation about wealth, vigilance, and community survival. The past taught Detroit that homeownership builds stability; this episode shows how protecting it shapes our future. Attorney Anthony Adams practices at Marine Adams Law PC, marineadamslawpc.com, (313) 961-5535. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Our job now is to help people unlearn the stuff that is not serving them, help them tap into the remembrance of the (inspirational) things that lie within our DNA.” Dr. Rose Moten's story is one of bloom—of growing through responsibility, grief, faith, and purpose into a life devoted to healing others. In this powerful Detroit Is Different conversation, Dr. Rose—clinical psychologist, author, speaker, life-transformation specialist, and founder of Life in Full Bloom—reflects on the roots that shaped her, from her family's deep foundation of love, education, and community to the life-changing experience of helping care for her father as a teenager after his health declined. What began as a daughter's need to understand “what happened to my father's brain” became a lifelong calling to explore the relationship between the mind, the brain, trauma, emotion, and wellness. She shares how those early experiences shaped not only her path into psychology, but her broader approach to healing—one that honors presence, emotional awareness, trauma release, and the possibility of transformation at every stage of life. This episode is a meditation on what it means to bloom through hardship, to turn pain into purpose, and to help others come back to themselves with compassion, clarity, and care. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Once I saw that, I knew that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be on radio.” That spark carries this rich Detroit is Different conversation with Gerald McBride author of the new book God and the DJ. Gerald McBride is a legendary radio DJ, voice-over master, and filmmaker, whose story stretches from the soul team reporter days of 1970s Detroit radio to becoming one of the city's most recognizable voices. Gerald takes listeners inside a living archive of Black Detroit sound, sharing how watching Donnie Simpson work the board with a grease pencil and razor blade made radio feel like magic, and how hearing his own family name on air made the dream real. He reflects on a time when Detroit radio was deeply tied to community, when DJs had personality, creative freedom, and real relationships with listeners. From memories of Martha Jean “The Queen” and the power of WJLB to stories of being live with Roger Troutman of Zapp and building beloved R&B artists battles, this episode is joy, history, and cultural testimony. Gerald's journey also points forward through film, including his work telling the story of Black teenagers playing hockey—proof that Black Detroit creativity keeps evolving, teaching, and inspiring future 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“My heart bleeds for Detroit” is how Dr. Demarra West opens this rich Detroit is Different conversation, and that one line sets the tone for an episode rooted in healing, belonging, and Black community care. Therapist, author, leadership expert, and founder of Be Well Beautiful People, Dr. West reflects on how spending more time in Detroit has deepened her connection to the culture, the people, and the lifestyle that speaks to her spirit. She shares why Detroit holds unique power as a place where “we can amplify wellbeing for Detroiters” and why being in community is not extra, but essential medicine. In this powerful exchange, she breaks down the difference between treatment and true wellness, reminding us that “the healthcare system is really about treating disease,” while real wellbeing calls us back to mind, body, spirit, joy, rest, and relationships. She also gives listeners a glimpse into the upcoming Hearth Summit, a gathering helping place Detroit on the map as a leader in culturally rooted wellness. This episode connects the ancestral wisdom of our past with the urgent healing work of our 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Everybody was moving to the north for jobs,” Beverly Smith says, and in that one line she opens a powerful story of migration, Black ambition, and building something lasting in Detroit. In this Detroit is Different conversation, the founder and CEO of Detroit Smart Pages reflects on arriving in Detroit from Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1968, just after the rebellion, with her husband and young child, chasing opportunity and a bigger life. What unfolds is a rich journey through entrepreneurship, from early business ownership with Black Pages roots, to photography, to becoming a longtime publisher uplifting Black business, neighborhood stories, and Detroit's living legacy. Smith's voice carries the wisdom of someone “of the community, in the community,” and her reflections on mentors like David Rambeau and Ron Scott connect her personal path to a wider tradition of Black media, activism, and cultural documentation. This episode matters because it shows how Black Detroit has always created its own platforms, archives, and celebrations of “legends, luminaries and legacy.” Beverly Smith's story is about more than publishing—it is about how community storytelling preserves the past while giving future generations a roadmap for self-determination, visibility, and pride. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“The right time is right now” sets the tone for this powerful Detroit is Different conversation with Portia Roberson, CEO of Focus: HOPE, as she breaks down leadership, legacy, and what it means to serve Detroit with purpose. From her years as a Detroit attorney learning to “really practice law” in Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, to working on Barack Obama's historic 2008 campaign, to now guiding one of Detroit's most iconic institutions, Portia shares a journey rooted in Black political possibility, organizational discipline, and community care. She reflects on Focus: HOPE's origin after the 1967 rebellion, its role as an advocacy organization, and why she believes in returning to the core mission because “all money's not good money.” This interview connects the past and future of Legacy Black Detroit through stories of partnership, food justice, early childhood education, workforce development, and multigenerational responsibility. Portia also offers deep insight into Black leadership, Detroit's legal culture, the emotional meaning of Obama's rise, and the ongoing work of building institutions that truly help families. This is a rich conversation about strategy, service, and sustaining community through change. 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 Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co