Introduction - page 17

Theo Pride from the Detroit People’s Platform joined Detroit is Different again to give an overview of Detroit’s Multi-Billion dollar budget. Did you know how much money Detroit has to spend beyond the general fund on Detroit? Do you know Detroit has hundreds of millions allocated to home and building demolition? Pride breaks down how money can be reallocated to keep Detroit homeowners in homes.

This interview is an interactive experience highlighting the PowerPoint presentation that the Detroit Peoples’ Platform created to educate us on the Detroit budget. The City council has till February 2023 to approve the year’s upcoming budget. We can all add our thoughts, suggestions, wants, and needs to this budget by emailing yourbudget@detroitmi.gov (CC info@detroitpeoplesplatform.org). This accountability will help strengthen our communities and neighborhood. 

Boniswa Brock is a fifth-generation educator. The tradition of education her family leads is institution building. Boniswa’s passion for science began early, questioning life and discovering nature. What began as questions have led to a career empowering young people with the gift of discovery. Mama Boniswa was one of my many beloved teachers at the African-Centered School Aisha Shule. She shares how motherhood and the bond with children led her to her family’s calling. Today she is opening a school inside Avalon Village carrying the African Centered wholistic traditions with Mama Shu. 

Rae is a creative that dives in and out of many disciplines. Rae is a Detroit Eastsider that lived throughout the Eastside as a child. In this interview, Rae opens up about family and how from Georgia to Detroit’s Eastside was a gateway for her roots. Experience the balance of family and life and why it impacts last generations. Rae shares her work with the Better Detroit Youth Movement and why it was important for her to mentor, learn from and engage young people. For over a decade now Better Detroit Youth Movement has provided outlets for art and access to opportunity for young people.  

E Block Radio is one of the many media offerings by Quincy Q Lewis. What started as fun between friends has become a staple in Detroit podcasting. Lewis has experience in journalism that goes back to Black Enterprise and being mentored by the late great Mr. Earl Graves. Lewis shares his journey from Martin Luther King Jr. Sr high school football, to journalism today. Eastern Michigan University, Charles Woodson, 911, CNN, Podcasting for Black people, and so much more are all shared. Lewis is a big voice in podcasts and opens up about how and why Detroit is Different. 

Charles Wilson joins Detroit is DIfferent to discuss the Detroit Department of Transportation bus system in the 1980s and 1990s. Wilson shares how as a Vietnam vet, he navigated beyond that to sustain his family. He shares stories from famous routes like Fenkell, Woodward, Dexter, and Gratiot. Wilson also opens up about how Detroit’s poor busing route system kept many passengers from arriving to work on time. Learn the difference between Chicago, New York, and LA bus systems. The agreement between SMART bus and Detroit. It was an interesting and insightful interview with Mr. Wilson.

Detroit is Different partnered with Community Movement Builders and the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion to host a Juneteenth discussion featuring Dr. Carl Taylor and Yusef Bunchy Shakur. This event was insightful; the discussion challenged both Shakur and Dr. Taylor to define the role of DEI in our community.

Earlier this year, I partnered with Riverwise Magazine to interview Russ Bellant about the relationship between Ukraine and Nazism. Bellant is an author and scholar that has studied the impacts of Nazism worldwide. His perspective opened the lens of how to view the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Since our initial interview, conflicts have flared on both sides, with many people being murdered and injured, homes and structures damaged, and the other impacts of war.

This interview updates on what is happening now in this conflict. Covered are the following topics, all interrelated:

Estimate of War timeline
State of Ukraine
State of Russia
State of NATO
European leaders and citizens regarding this War
Russia annexed the Ukrainian provinces into parts of Russia (seaports of the Black Sea)
Russia and the threat of nuclear arms
America’s honesty about Russia
The Russian Army reach
China & Taiwan
Where does America stand in international diplomacy?
Nordstrom Pipeline 1 & 2
America’s bombing of Somalia, Uganda, & Sudan
Thousands of American National Guard troops (from NY & WI) are being deployed into the horn of Africa (Somalia & Ethiopia)
the BRICS system (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa)
New Russian & Chinese currencies backed by the gold standard

In 1987 the Detroit Wholistic Center launched on Dexter and Clairmount. Dr. Jesse Brown opens up about how he saw a need for natural healing in our community. For over 30 years, alkaline water, treatments beyond mucous and PH, and so much more were all knowledge provided by Dr. Brown. In this interview, learn more about his healing and natural life methods. Today he leads the Wholistic Training Institute online with classes for those interested in the wisdom of natural self-care.