“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

Report from Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability on the Shooting Death of Sherman Lee Butler

“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.

“I didn’t think if I stayed, I’d be alive’—that electrifying moment, when Konstance Patton revealed how everything changed the moment she stepped out of Detroit, sets the tone for this compelling episode. In a deeply resonant conversation with Khary Frazier, Patton weaves together the threads of her Black Detroit legacy—from ancestral roots in the Carolinas, Virginia, and New Orleans to intergenerational artistry that stretches back to her grandmother’s kiln in Brightmoor and massive bead‑worked Last Supper in a Petoskey museum. She reflects on formative childhood memories riding a bike past seven‑mile gravesites, the comfort of her grandmother’s quilts and pottery, and how early encounters with classical violin and swimming taught discipline and collaboration. Through her travels—from a shocking culinary awakening in London to soulful inspirations in Egypt, India, Italy—Patton found her voice in visual storytelling. Now, drenched in paint at her annual ‘potluck’ gatherings at Detroit’s Talking Doll Studios, her immersive events bring together healing, yoga, music, food, and multi‑generational Black creatives. She tears back the curtain on how grief, burnout, and pandemic‑era protests catalyzed her bold new goddess sculptures—resin and bronze Venus figures cast with beads and needles from her lineage—and how her guerrilla‑style Imani portrait in NYC still stops strangers in their tracks. With upcoming shows at the DIA and deep ties to Detroit institutions like Bird’s bar and Talking Doll Studios, this episode captures a living legacy—rooted in the past, dynamically shaping the future of Legacy Black Detroit.

“I started taking piano lessons when I was four… and by twelve I had swapped classical sheet music for jazz improv—I was playing from my head, not the page,”—Ian Fink dives deep into the layered roots of Legacy Black Detroit, bridging generational migration, jazz lineage, and the raw ingenuity of Detroit’s music scene. In this rich, in-depth episode of Detroit is Different, host Khary Frazier sits down with Ian Fink—a pianist, producer, and conduit of Detroit’s legacy Black culture—to unpack how jazz camp with Rodney Whitaker and Marcus Belgrave set the tone for his artistry, how early classical training at age four paved the way for profound improvisation, and how his classical-jazz foundations seamlessly birthed a sonic switch into house and techno influenced by Detroit icons like Theo Parrish and Scott Grooves. They dig into family history—from Dexter/Linwood’s Jewish-Black narratives to movement between Detroit and West Bloomfield—bringing light to how personal origin stories shape cultural creation. Ian chronicles his transition from working through Video Seven—an artist collective of critical thinkers turned performers—to independently launching Freak Press, producing annual showcases during Movement Festival, and crafting a forthcoming solo piano album under his label. Along the way, he reflects on the significance of reading Black liberation texts, embracing intergenerational Black resistance, and returning to musical performance with ‘a revitalized sense of purpose.’ By threading together stories of legacy, creativity, and reinvention, this episode shows how Detroit’s past and future collide in the sound and vision of a modern-day local legend.