Detroit is Different

  • Latest episode: “Fair Share, Real Power: Detroiters, Development, and the Future of Justice with Theo Pride”
  • Latest episode: “From Joy Road Roots to WDET’s “The Metro” with Tia Graham”
  • Latest episode: “Five Generations, One Mission: Renette Jackson on Law, Motherhood, and Black Detroit’s Future”

  • Latest episode: “Fair Share, Real Power: Detroiters, Development, and the Future of Justice with Theo Pride”
  • Latest episode: “From Joy Road Roots to WDET’s “The Metro” with Tia Graham”
  • Latest episode: “Five Generations, One Mission: Renette Jackson on Law, Motherhood, and Black Detroit’s Future”

“‘Don’t send me home—I’m in pain.’ That’s what I told the ER doctor. If she hadn’t listened, I probably wouldn’t be here today.” Lisa Whitmore Davis sits down in the Detroit is Different studio on Mother’s Day and unpacks a journey that touches the soul and strikes a chord in every Detroit family. From her upbringing in Benton Harbor—”We were the only Whitmores in the phone book”—to leading cultural change in organizations like AARP, Lisa’s story is rich with service, legacy, and resilience. In this powerful interview, Lisa speaks candidly about her battle with breast cancer, the power of Black women’s voices in healthcare—”I had to fight to be believed”—and the documentary project birthed from her pain. Along the way, she shares why she chose Detroit over Birmingham, how her daughter’s school sat next to the Charles H. Wright Museum, and the spirit of service instilled by her missionary father and nursing mother. This episode dives deep into culture, caregiving, spirituality, community, and the healing power of storytelling. “Culture is identity,” Lisa says. And her identity is deeply Detroit.