When people across the world, the nation, and even Michigan speak of Detroit’s comeback, we as Detroiters understand something different: We stood on business because we never left. Detroit is more than a place. It instills a signature belief, understanding, and confidence that moves us beyond possibilities into action. As Detroiters, we’ve made Detroit a verb and an adjective. Most places are simply nouns. Detroit is something we do, something we embody, and something we carry wherever life takes us.
At the 13th annual Detroit Homecoming, presented by Crain’s Detroit Business, September 23–25, 2026, Detroit is Different brings these stories to life through conversations hosted by Khary Frazier and Candace Cox-Wimberly of I Am a Genius. From Grandmont Rosedale and the North End to Cass Tech and the Avenue of Fashion, these conversations explore how Detroit’s neighborhoods, families, institutions, and cultural traditions inspire global achievement and hometown investment.
Entrepreneurs, filmmakers, artists, engineers, community organizers, and business leaders share journeys connecting personal ambition to collective responsibility. Their experiences reveal a Detroit where innovation extends beyond technology, cultural preservation creates economic opportunity, and lessons learned from parents, neighbors, and elders become foundations for leadership. Each story challenges the notion that Detroit’s greatest value lies in redevelopment rather than the people who have sustained its culture for generations.
Through conversations about artificial intelligence, Black entrepreneurship, historic preservation, professional sports, transportation, filmmaking, police accountability, and community healing, a shared message emerges: Detroit’s future must be built with the people who have always called it home. Guests confront questions of displacement, racial equity, access to capital, and who benefits from Detroit’s growth while exploring how professional success can become community wealth, neighborhood investment, and opportunity for future generations.
These are not simply stories of Detroiters coming home. They are stories of Detroiters carrying home wherever they go. Through Detroit is Different, these conversations become a living archive of cultural memory, relationships, wisdom, and possibility. Detroit Homecoming reminds us that our city’s greatest resource has never been its buildings or industries alone. It has always been its people. Detroit didn’t just make a comeback. Detroiters never stopped making Detroit.
Interviews Guest List
Clare Pfeiffer | Director of the Detroit Homecoming
Antione Taylor | Founder of Moguls in the Making
Brian Corr | Founder/Principal Consultant of Transform Policing
Brian V Rhodes | Animator/Designer of Designed on Twos Inc
Caleb Conley | Program Manager at Tech Town
Christianne Malone Chief Program Officer at Tech Town
David Carleton | Principal of the Detroit Boathouse on Belle Isle
Dayna Cole | Chief of Staff at Lutely
Dr. Shawanna Vaughn | Executive Director of Silent Cry Inc.
Ed Fish | CEO of Tech+IP Finance
Ivy Simmons | Head of Strategic Partnerships at N Lite Media
Jeremy Xido | Director of Sons of Detroit Film
Jovan Barnes | President of Football at Divine Sports & Entertainment
King Moore | Music Artist & Producer
Madisun Leigh | SVP of Development at Scenario Entertainment
Mary Pryor | AI Prompt Engineer at Meta
Micajah Reynolds | Owner of Growing Remedies LLC
Rob Lockett | Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Scott Fox | CEO of Detroit Startup Council
Tiffani Jenkins | Principal Program Manager at Transit & Rail GFT
Tudo Pham | Attorney for US Department of State
