Detroit is Different

“The one thing I would tell the younger generation is to never stop learning.” In this special Detroit is Different x I Am a Genius collaboration, host Candace Cox-Wimberly (She’s a Genius / I Am a Genius) sits with Brandon Young , CEO and co-founder of Safety Ops Specialists, for a conversation that feels like Detroit porch wisdom with a business plan attached. From “Linwood… the stumping grounds...

“Trump is not the disease of our politics—he’s just the worst symptom,” Abdul El-Sayed tells Detroit is Different, and from that line he builds a whole Michigan-rooted case for why progressives can’t just run against villains—they’ve got to run for people. In this deep, story-rich conversation, Abdul traces his Detroit foundation from an Egyptian father who “literally studied into existence the li...

“You don’t get a blueprint in Detroit—you just have to be good and consistent.” Spoken word artist, poet, experience creator, and filmmaker Natasha T. Miller joins Detroit is Different for a deeply grounded conversation on what artistry means when it’s rooted in family, responsibility, and legacy Black culture. With humor and honesty, she reflects on being “300 cousins deep,” tracing her lineage b...

“I wanted a red brick house in Detroit. That’s all I wanted.” In this Detroit is Different studio sit-down, Misha Stallworth West—Senior Program Officer at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation—traces a five-generation arc from Selma to Detroit and family full of community organizers. She remembers a “stoic” grandfather, and a grandmother Alma Stallworth nicknamed “the Rep,” whose fierce love for ch...

“My life will be better if everybody else’s life gets better”—that’s the heartbeat of this Detroit is Different conversation with musician and lifelong activist Bill Meyer, where jazz isn’t just sound, it’s a human-rights practice. Bill takes us from his family’s Depression-era move from Canada to Detroit, to learning piano out of pure little-brother defiance—“the only way I could stop him was if...

“You don’t know that you live in a Black city until you leave.” Aaron Foley pulls up to Detroit Is Different with that truth and four generations of Detroit in his pocket—from Conant Gardens to the North End—unpacking how Legacy Black culture was built through homes, institutions, and the Black press. He paints his great-aunt Joyce's house as “JoAnn Fabrics full of patterns and clothes,” a creativ...

“It’s for the community. It’s about the community. It is community centered”—and Bryce Huffman brings that energy from the first minute, taking us from deep family roots (“Granddad… from Alabama by way of The Bahamas”) to the neighborhoods that raised him—Conant Gardens, Anderson Memorial, Bagley/University District—where “thank God because this is my city” isn’t just a line, it’s a life stance. I...

"We really have exactly 100 years in Detroit,” Arthur Chapman says, and that one line sets the whole episode on fire—because this isn’t just jewelry, it’s Legacy Black Detroit economics. Arthur walks us from Yazoo City, Mississippi to Black Bottom, where family relationships became the real infrastructure, and where his grandfather “Daddy E” (Eli Chapman) stayed in motion as a serial entrepre...

There’s this interesting thing with time where the past collapses within the present.” Triniti Watson—Curator-in-Residence at the Boggs Center for Nurturing Community Leadership and visionary lead of The Critical Mix—pulls up with Detroit roots deep as the Great Migration and a mission to make “lost histories… more visible.” From her grandma’s West Side St. Mary’s Street house—Jeopardy on the big...

“Politics taught me and prepared me for a world that is more political than politics.” Wayne County Commissioner (District 2) and 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Chair Jonathan Kinloch joins Detroit is Different for a Detroit-rooted, world-spanning conversation that starts at Second & Myrtle—“you know you’re Detroit when you remember” it was once Myrtle, now MLK—and reaches back t...

“Detroit is different… it’s all because of the melanin that we’re getting from the sun.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Brother Chungalia—an original member of the US Organization founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga, creator of Kwanzaa, and among the first to celebrate it—takes us from post-riot Los Angeles to the deep roots of Black Detroit. He calls his move here “inevitable,” recalling L...

“We can’t just walk up in people’s neighborhoods and not come the right way—it’s not going to end well for you.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Marlin Williams—Founder of Intentional Technology and the force behind Sisters Code—shows why tech decisions are really decisions about people, power, and legacy. From Alabama roots to growing up on Commonwealth and Six Mile/Outer Drive, Marlin...

“You can be aware without being exposed.” That’s the kind of Detroit-grown wisdom Andre Ebron drops in this powerful studio conversation—equal parts laughter, truth-telling, and strategy for building environments where Black people can breathe and become. Andre traces his roots from Marion, Alabama through the Great Migration, the Boblo childhood memories, and landing in Detroit in 2004—“June 2004...

“‘We said pledges about remembering our ancestors… loving Black (at Aisha Shule)” In this episode, Dr. Tierra Bills—Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Public Policy at UCLA—returns home through memory, tracing her family’s East Side roots and the African-centered foundation of Aisha Shule, where “as the daughter of one of the Walimu… I had to set the tone.” She hono...

“Wake up people, we stay asleep”—and from that call, this Detroit is Different conversation with Kevin Tolbert, 12th Congressional District Democratic Party Chair, moves like a family reunion and a strategy session. Four generations deep—Kentucky, Tennessee, Black Bottom, then East Side to West Side—Tolbert maps how Legacy Black Detroit culture gets made through migration, work, and neighborhood b...

“Worthiness. We all want to feel worthy… but just who we are being validates us.” That’s the energy Lanasia Angelina brings to the Detroit is Different studio—fresh out of the church service, East-side rooted (48205, Black Bottom lineage, Gratiot-Gunston memories), and ready to shake the room with her new book 'Stop Playing Small: How to Go From Stuck to Unstoppable.' From sleeping under pews at P...

“Government power is derived from the consent of the governed—and can you consent if you’re not informed?” BridgeDetroit’s Malachi Barrett joins Detroit is Different for a candid, funny, and urgent conversation about the broken information environment shaping American politics. A military kid who was “always the new kid,” Malachi maps his route from Battle Creek to Lansing’s “blue blood” Capitol p...

“Aneb and I met in 1974 when I was incarcerated in prison,” Matthew D. Jones Jr., LMSW, ACSW tells Detroit is Different—and from that first line, this episode becomes a masterclass in how Legacy Black Detroit culture survives, adapts, and teaches. Jones walks us from Black Bottom (“Chene & Gratiot”) to Forest & Van Dyke, where “seniors… looked out for the kids” and community love was “the...

“Creating safe spaces has always been important to me,” says Kayana Sessoms—and that truth runs like a healing current through this Detroit is Different conversation with the founder of Hitha Healing House, a sacred space born from legacy, loss, and love. Kayana traces her roots through Mississippi, Arkansas, and Detroit’s west side, grounding her story in three generations of Black migration, cre...

“Sometimes you don’t know what you had until it’s gone—and then you realize it was community.” In this powerful Detroit is Different conversation, Johnny Cannon of Joe Louis Southern Kitchen takes us on a journey that weaves food, family, faith, and legacy into one rich Detroit story. Born and raised on the east side, five generations deep, Johnny reflects on roots stretching from Tuscaloosa and G...

“Long before Black people mattered in America, they mattered in Detroit.” That line alone sets the tone for this powerful Detroit is Different conversation with Joe Louis Barrow II, founder of Joe Louis Southern Kitchen and son of the Brown Bomber himself. In this episode, Barrow reflects on Detroit as sacred ground for Black legacy—where the Great Migration, Black Bottom, industrial labor, women’...

“We hate poverty. We have to find a way to eliminate it.” That’s how Maureen Taylor— a historic Detroit frontline warrior for the poor—sets the tone for this electrifying Detroit is Different conversation recorded inside the historic General Baker Institute. From the moment she says she’s “a blue-collar African American from way back,” Maureen unfolds a legacy woven through Black Bottom, the Great...

“I enjoy bringing joy for us all.” That’s how Erika Monaé Lewis — founder of The EMG Network and creator of Networking on Purpose — explains the spark that’s been in her since childhood. In this Detroit is Different conversation, Erika unpacks how growing up on the East Side near the old city airport, running the block with friends, and soaking in the wisdom of the neighborhood shaped her gift for...

“‘I finally realized my purpose the moment my daughter was born’,” Ken Chandler says as he opens up in a rare, vulnerable, and powerful first-ever public interview on Detroit is Different. In one sweeping, emotional journey, Ken traces his family’s three-generation Detroit legacy—from his grandfather’s East Side business empire to the hard truths of what happens when legacy isn’t passed down. He s...

“If it’s not there, you build it.” With that declaration, Jahra McKinney—Director and Director of Collections at the Detroit Sound Conservancy—steps into the Detroit Is Different studio and delivers a masterclass on legacy, love, and the power of preserving Black culture. In this rich conversation, Jahra traces her family’s Detroit story from her grandmother Essie’s legendary Oakland Avenue beauty...