Greg McKenzie celebrates Kwanzaa by living and honoring the Nguzo Saba daily. 2022 tasked Greg with the mission of building the World’s Largest Kwanzaa Kinara for Detroit. In this interview, he shares the project management of what it took and how he made it happen. I also provide more context to Kwanzaa and its role in the Black community. Detroit’s annual celebration will be honored at King Solomon Baptist Church this year. Learn about the steel, wood, engineering, and work needed to make this idea come to life.

‘Free Game’ is what we call valuable information that can be applied to life. Kofi Kenyatta joined me to share ideas and ‘Free Game’ from the lens of UpTogether. UpTogether is a national organization with hundreds of thousands of members that focuses on empowering the community. UpTogether is an organization that listens to the community and follows the lead of the grassroots leaders in our neighborhoods. This interview speaks to reparations, electoral politics, capitalism, and community leadership. We also introduce the brand new podcast ‘Moving UpTogether,’ which explores the dynamics of these subjects and much more.

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.