Idlewild: Black Eden Today

Published on May 9, 2019 in Introduction by Khary Frazier

Idlewild is a town that was established and maintained by a rich history of African American commitment and love. The town’s prominence as ‘Black Eden’ came to life in an America with explicit segregation where the African American affluent sought out a place to vacation and enjoy Summer on the water. Today families from Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and Milwaukee carry the tradition of keeping the town together.

There is a strong tie from Idlewild to Detroit and poet Tawana ‘Honeycomb’ Petty and Susan Matous provided access for Detroit is Different to interview some of the artists, residents, and business owners keeping Idlewild moving. This is a special Detroit is Different featuring Idlewild.

Interviews included are from 4^th generation Idlewild homeowners, artists who perform at Idlewild, business owners who operate businesses in the town, and also visitors who love the Idlewild.

Listen to interviews from:

Elizabeth Atkins, Judge Chris Blount, Blair Evans, Linda McClure, Cedric McDougle, Nikki Studstill, Tony Watts, and One Single Rose (Rose Wilson)

What began as a journey engaging hip-hop audiences, has grown into a career as a marketing consultant. As business people have seen my work, I was propositioned many times to provide graphic design, photography, videography, event planning, website development, and social media campaigning. These initial business contracts inspired me to build Creative Differences Marketing. I’ve balanced my entrepreneurial experience with formal education from Walsh College of Business and Accountancy. My degree in Marketing serves me well in understanding many of the formal, universal, and theoretical marketing approaches used in corporate environments.Formulating this business model has been anchored by the success of my BLOG ‘Detroit is Different.’ I create all content for Detroit is Different. This serves as a prototype of the ways I can design events, websites, graphics, music, podcasts, social media campaigns, and e-mail campaigns. ‘Detroit is Different’ focuses on the people and places of Detroit that add to the culture. Through these people and places, themes are driven. These themes will partner with, sponsor, and advertise for businesses and organizations using this innovative multilevel marketing approach.