Black Fridays

What Up Doe?! What happens when you become the CEO of the same organization that once helped your family through financial hardship? This week on the Black Fridays Podcast, we're tapping in with Katrina McCree, CEO of The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW), a Detroit-based nonprofit helping Michigan families stay warm, safe, and financially stable. Katrina shares her personal full-circle journey, why...

What Up Doe?! Robert Courtney Collins is back on the Black Fridays Podcast for his third appearance, and a whole lot has changed since we first connected in 2023! As the founder of Robert Courtney and Associates, the Social Media Store, and the driving force behind Creator Kind and BUILD Detroit, Robert has spent the last three years turning big ideas into real opportunities for Detroit entreprene...

What Up Doe?! What happens when you turn your creativity into a business that celebrates your culture and actually makes money? This week on Black Fridays, we're tapping in with LaToya Simpson, founder of The Candidly Speaking, a Detroit-born greeting card and stationery brand bringing Black culture, humor, and real-life experiences to the greeting card aisle. LaToya takes us through her journ...

What Up Doe?! What happens when you stop creating for everybody else and start building something that truly represents who you are? This week, we tapped in with Parrish, the creator of Pardon Me TV, a Detroit-based edutainment platform bringing together Black culture, politics, media literacy, and entertainment. Parrish takes us through his journey from classroom teacher to content creator, how h...

What Up Doe?! Everybody wants funding for their business, but are you actually prepared to receive it? This week on Black Fridays, we're tapping in with Warren Galloway, founder of the National Microloan Conference, to break down how entrepreneurs can access capital and make smarter moves with their money. With decades of experience in financial services, Warren shares how microloans help smal...

What Up Doe?! This episode is a little different because we’re sitting down with Jasmyn, one of the first interns in Black Fridays Podcast history and a film student at Howard University who is already putting real work behind her creative goals. Jasmyn shares how missing out on Howard’s acting program pushed her toward film production, what she learned directing her passion project Free , and how...

What Up Doe?! This week on the Black Fridays Podcast, we’re tapping in with Detroit educator, STEM advocate, robotics coach, and Michigan Regional Teacher of the Year Calvin Nellum. Calvin’s journey took him from earning a physics degree and imagining a future in research to realizing that his real impact would come from helping the next generation understand science, engineering, and what is poss...

What Up Doe?! Amber Lewis of Social N The City is back on Black Fridays, and this time we’re digging deeper into what it takes to turn creativity into a real economy in Detroit. Amber breaks down what she learned traveling through creator ecosystems across the country, teaching the business of influence at Michigan State, building a coalition of Detroit creator organizations, and producing the fir...

What Up Doe?! This week on the Black Fridays Podcast, we sit down with legendary Detroit architect and entrepreneur Rainy Hamilton Jr., President of Hamilton Anderson Associates, for a conversation about building businesses, building wealth, and literally helping build the city of Detroit. Rainy takes us from discovering architecture as a kid at Cass Tech to growing a practice that has spent more...

What Up Doe?! This week on the Black Fridays Podcast, we sit down with Sam White, founder and artistic director of Shakespeare in Detroit, for a powerful conversation about creativity, entrepreneurship, community, and the Detroit spirit that keeps builders moving forward. Sam shares how Shakespeare went from childhood punishment to a lifelong calling, why she intentionally learned startup strategy...

What Up Doe?! This week on the Black Fridays Podcast, we’re sitting down with Dr. Madeline Walker Miller, scientist, entrepreneur, and Founder & CEO of NexTiles, a Detroit-based textile recycling company giving new life to waste from the fashion, automotive, and aviation industries. Madeline breaks down how studying environmental issues led her into entrepreneurship, how she built NexTiles thr...

What Up Doe?! It’s back-to-school season, but this conversation asks a question we don’t hear nearly enough: who is taking care of the teachers? This week, we sit down with the educators behind Teachers Supporting Teachers Everywhere Inc. for an honest conversation about teacher burnout, mental wellness, classroom culture, student relationships, and what happens when the people responsible for pou...

What Up Doe?! This week we’re tapping in with Rebekah, better known as Black Owned With Becks, to talk about what happens when a passion project grows into something much bigger than an Instagram page. Becks breaks down how her journey started with simply sharing Black-owned products she loved, why she walked away from the platform for two years, the unexpected message that pushed her to come back...

What Up Doe?! We got Emmy Award-winning journalist and Detroit native Orlando Bailey joining Black Fridays for a conversation about media, community, leadership, and what it really means to serve the city you come from. Orlando shares how growing up on Detroit’s East Side shaped his love for journalism, how his grandmother inspired his commitment to community, and how that journey eventually led h...

What Up Doe?! Black Fridays pulled up to All Things Detroit 2026 at Eastern Market to celebrate Detroit entrepreneurship, support local businesses, and hear directly from the people building brands in our community. Founder Jennyfer Crawford reflects on growing All Things Detroit from an event inside Nikki’s Lounge to one of the city’s most recognized small business marketplaces, while entrepreneu...

What Up Doe?! This week on the Black Fridays Podcast, we sit down with Eradajere Oleita, founder of The Chip Bag Project, to unpack how a birthday service project grew into a Detroit-rooted sustainability movement. Erada shares how her Nigerian upbringing and love for Detroit shaped her commitment to community, how she turned discarded chip bags into insulated sleeping bags for displaced and nomad...

What Up Doe?! Saisha Ishag-Osman, founder of SEI Management, pulled up to help entrepreneurs get their businesses in order. After nearly a decade in corporate leadership, earning her MBA, becoming an accredited Online Business Manager, and navigating entrepreneurship alongside motherhood, Saisha learned firsthand why talent alone cannot carry a growing company. We break down how service-based busi...

What Up Doe?! Detroit City Council President James Tate pulled back up to Black Fridays for a real conversation about leadership, service, and what it actually takes to fight for Detroiters every day. From stepping into his role as Council President to staying connected with District 1, Councilman Tate breaks down why government has to be personal, why young people need to learn the process before...

What Up Doe?! On this episode of Black Fridays, we’re sitting down with Jasmine Pitts, also known as The Attachment Healer, to talk about emotional intelligence, attachment theory, childhood patterns, trauma healing, and the real work it takes to become safe within yourself. Jasmine breaks down how her own healing journey started after divorce, self-sabotage, anger, and a life-changing attachment...

What Up Doe?! This episode is a monumental one as Detroit’s own Jemele Hill pulls up to Black Fridays for a powerful conversation about identity, journalism, storytelling, and building a media career that can’t be boxed in. From growing up in a city where Black leadership and Black ownership were everywhere, to learning the difference between being a journalist and being an influencer, Jemele brea...

What Up Doe?! Sharea Ayers is back on Black Fridays, and this time she returns as the COO of Black Leaders Detroit with a deeper conversation on capital, culture, Juneteenth, and what it really means to build for your people. In this episode, Sharea breaks down how BLD uses community dollars to fund no-interest loans and grants for entrepreneurs of African descent, the impact of serving over 900 b...

What Up Doe?! This episode is for every creative, entrepreneur, photographer, filmmaker, content creator, and business owner trying to turn their gift into something that can feed their family and impact the community. We sat down with husband-and-wife photography team Tay Lee and Shawn Lee of Lee Media House to talk about how they each found photography, how COVID pushed Tay to finally pick up th...

What Up Doe?! This week on Black Fridays, we got family in the building with Jenell Mansfield, a Detroit daughter, lobbyist, educator, organizer, mother, and candidate for Wayne County Commissioner District 5. This conversation breaks down what county government actually does, why local elections directly impact property taxes, transit, healthcare, seniors, youth, and neighborhood resources, and h...

What Up Doe?? Former Detroit Lions running back, Wayne State legend, entrepreneur, and community leader Joique Bell joins Black Fridays for a powerful conversation about growing up in Benton Harbor, building discipline through sports, becoming a father in college, and turning life’s hardest moments into purpose. Joique shares how poverty, faith, family, football, and mentorship shaped his mindset,...

In this special Black Fridays interview from the Midnight Golf 25-Year Celebration, Detroit native, actor, comedian, and Cass Tech alumnus David Alan Grier reflects on the mentors who shaped his life, the importance of giving back, and why programs like Midnight Golf matter. From stories about influential teachers who made learning exciting to lessons learned throughout his career, David shares ho...