Detroit is Different

  • Latest episode: “What If? … Don Barden & Michael Jackson Get a Casino”
  • Latest episode: “Dexter Roots, Civil Rights Power: Jade Mathis Carries Detroit Forward”
  • Latest episode: “Music Dads, Daughters, and Detroit Legacy with Brittini Ward”

  • Latest episode: “What If? … Don Barden & Michael Jackson Get a Casino”
  • Latest episode: “Dexter Roots, Civil Rights Power: Jade Mathis Carries Detroit Forward”
  • Latest episode: “Music Dads, Daughters, and Detroit Legacy with Brittini Ward”

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What Detroiters Should Expect if Mary Sheffield Becomes Mayor

“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.”

“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.

“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.

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“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.

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