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Detroit is Different

  • Latest episode: “From Project ADAPT to Building Black Futures with Quan Neloms and the Power of Detroit Mentorship”
  • Latest episode: “Everything We Need is Already Here Najah Woods on Grassroots Leadership”
  • Latest episode: “The Man Behind the Sound Rob Brown on House Music Black Detroit and Building a Legacy”

  • Latest episode: “From Project ADAPT to Building Black Futures with Quan Neloms and the Power of Detroit Mentorship”
  • Latest episode: “Everything We Need is Already Here Najah Woods on Grassroots Leadership”
  • Latest episode: “The Man Behind the Sound Rob Brown on House Music Black Detroit and Building a Legacy”

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What Detroiters Should Expect if Mary Sheffield Becomes Mayor

“If you got an older family member now with the technology, just record them, record those stories.” Quan Neloms understands that preserving Black Detroit’s history begins with listening to our people. Born to parents who migrated from Georgia and Florida in the 1970s, Quan grew up in the Medical Courts near Eastern Market before moving west, where hip-hop, neighborhood friendships, and community elders shaped his purpose. From Mumford High School to Project ADAPT, where mentors like Otis Bellinger poured into young Black men, Quan discovered the power of guidance and collective responsibility. Through family memories, stories of Proof, and generations of community leadership, Quan reminds us that Detroit’s future grows from relationships worth remembering and continuing.

“Accessibility is key. We need access to the funders. We need access.” Najah Woods understands that opportunity means little when the people doing the work cannot reach the resources. Her story stretches from family roots in Alabama and Black Bottom to Inkster and Detroit, carrying the legacy of her grandmother Grace Rita Hampton, whose UAW advocacy opened doors for Black workers and neighbors. “That’s just what you do for your neighbors,” Najah recalls of the community service she grew up witnessing. Her journey through the Charles H Wright Museum, Teen HYPE, and Public Allies reveals how mentorship, relationships, and lived experience shape leadership. Through family experiences with sickle cell disease and breast cancer, she also understands how inequity affects everyday life. Today, her work with Civic Slam challenges traditional funding barriers by connecting grassroots Detroit organizers with financial support and opportunity. “Everything is already here,” she explains, affirming that Detroit communities possess the wisdom and leadership to shape their own futures.

“I’ve reached a point I think in my life that I’m looking at making sure that my legacy is solid.” Rob Brown has spent decades making sure Detroit sounds good, but his story begins long before the big stages and festivals. From summer visits to Meridian, Mississippi, where his uncle Paul worked in radio, to building homemade speakers and learning turntables in a neighborhood basement near the University of Detroit, Rob’s love for sound grew through family, curiosity, and community. He remembers block club parties, carrying crates of records, and experimenting with Christmas lights on speakers until “everything cut off.” That childhood creativity eventually became Creative Audio Solutions and 18 years leading technical production for the African World Festival, with mentor Mama Njia Kai challenging him to think bigger. Now Rob faces a different challenge: teaching others to carry the standard he built. “The only way that you can grow is if you delegate responsibility.” This conversation reveals the Black Detroit technical talent behind the microphone and why passing down that knowledge matters.

“That work ethic that you get from those Southern people, that’s in our blood as Detroiters.” Andre Terrell carries that legacy from his grandfather, who migrated from Macon, Georgia, and built Simmons Brothers from a wheelbarrow and shovel into a successful construction business. Growing up in Detroit, Andre discovered photography while attending Mumford and Crockett Vocational High School, eventually photographing generations of Detroit students at A&M Photography Studio. His entrepreneurial vision expanded into technology when he launched Street Vision around 2000, securing streetvision.com at a Woodward Avenue cybercafe before most Detroiters had internet access. “People didn’t even have internet at the time,” he recalls. From uploading videos overnight through dial-up connections to navigating the digital divide, Andre stayed committed to technology as it evolved. Today, his Street Pass mobile app connects consumers, Black-owned businesses, and cultural experiences. His story explores the intersection of Black Detroit entrepreneurship, technology, and ownership, showing why recognizing opportunity early means little without the determination to keep evolving.

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