“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.

“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.

“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.

“Poverty is a choice to allow that to go on in the city,” says Denzel 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 the Pershing 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.