Detroit is Different

“What about us?” Sherry Gay-Dagnogo asks, cutting straight to the bone as she joins Khary Frazier to chart how Detroit’s past battles shape tomorrow’s wins for Legacy Black Detroit. In a conversation braided with urgency and receipts, Sherry salutes community media—“Education is key and your platform provides that”—then lays out why she’s seeking Detroit’s Ombudsman post: a 10-year, people-first w...

“The biggest word that inspired us to be here is grit.” From that charge, Brittany Vanderbeek of Aqua Action and host Khary Frazier dive into Detroit’s bluest truth: “the greatest asset in the world…water,” and how our city’s relationship to it will shape what comes next for Detroit. Brittany lays out Aqua Action’s mission to “build a water-secure future through entrepreneurship,” explaining how e...

It's not about showing your teeth—it's a reminder to be kind, Phillip Simpson, founder of The Smile Brand, takes it from Sojourner Truth Homes and seven & Hoover to DSA hallways, a U-M critique that birthed his iconic smile, and the ATL streetwear era that sharpened his business grind. He breaks down jitting, mentors like Joyce Ivory and Tyree Guyton, closing the Baltimore Gallery, and why Bla...

“We can do our own planning… I want to see Black people living well and thriving.’ —Lauren Hood, Institute for Afro-Urbanism” Lauren Hood pulls back the curtain on Afro-Urbanism and flips the script on who gets called an “expert.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, she breaks down the pivot from disruptor to builder, why abundance beats scarcity, and how Detroiters’ lived experience is tec...

“All of the opposition that opposed me has no comparison to the opportunity that upholds me.” From that declaration, Mama Tree—Latrina Conaway of Treetop Grows Farm—takes us on a Detroit journey that’s as raw as it is restorative. Mama Tree frames her half-acre East Davison sanctuary as “a space of reconciliation.” The land, she says, “taught me that I am a creator,” pulling her out of a “neo-colo...

“Serving your soul one plate at a time,” Ms. Kisha declares—and from there her story cooks: taught collards by “my grandma, my mom,” rooted in Tuscaloosa-to-Detroit migration “for the motor industry,” raised on the East Side and Kettering ’95, where a senior-year leap into swimming turned into being “seventh in the state,” all because of “somebody just believing in my ability when I didn’t even se...

“Leaders have to be a little delusional and have a lot of audacity.” From the first minutes, Jerjuan Howard plants that flag and then shows the receipts—why “youth development, community development must go hand in hand,” how a Gen Z squad of 30-and-under staff is running a league of 300 students across 20+ schools, and why “Detroiters…have everything that we need already—it’s just about coming to...

“To whom much is given, much is required,” Renata Miller shares her love of Detroit from four generations of Detroit love and responsibility. Miller roots her run for City Council District 5 in a lived archive of Legacy Black Detroit: East side summers “by the river,” Conant Gardens pride where her grandfather “laid bricks you can still read in Hamtramck,” and Black Eden pilgrimages to Idlewild. S...

“It ain’t fly without us.” From that truth, Lazar Favors gives an hour of game on how Taste of Black Spirits is rewriting the rules of an industry that too often locks Detroit out. Lazar salutes Detroit is Different as “day one, step one,” then breaks down why he and Marshalle are a true "power couple" — we weaved it together,” fusing Taste of Black Spirits with the Detroit Black Film Fe...

“You can go your whole life and not look back... until it’s necessary.” Keisha Brooks shares a soul-stirring journey through Detroit’s West Side porches and East Side power, weaving a story that reclaims ancestry, heals through touch, and reminds us why the Mack Alive Parade still marches strong after 35 years. In this intimate conversation with Khary Frazier, Keisha reflects on growing up on Haze...

“We’re more in control of our own destiny now.” That’s the charge from Marshalle Favors, founder of the Detroit Black Film Festival and creative visionary behind The Collective—a 13-filmmaker-owned production hub that’s changing the game for independent Black cinema in Detroit. In this powerful episode, Marshalle builds with Khary Frazier about the art, business, and unapologetic legacy of storyte...

Episode Notes "You gotta lead with your curiosity if you want to build a platform." That’s just one of the gems Denzell Turner drops in this in-depth Detroit is Different episode hosted by Khary Frazier. Denzell—founder of the Black Fridays Podcast—shares his journey from growing up on Ashbury Park, surrounded by four generations under one roof, to crafting media that speaks directly to...

“When we first started this, we were up against a powerful current—guys just around the corner selling dope, others robbing folks. Meanwhile, we were giving out book bags and feeding people. And slowly they began putting the dope away, putting their guns down, and coming over—not because we preached at them, but because we showed them love,” Dr. Yusef Bunchy Shakur. In less than 30 minutes, this p...

"To actually dream is crazy... you gotta have something wrong with you to really do something you've never seen done before." In this soul-stirring Detroit is Different conversation, Khary Frazier sits down with Desmond “Clever” Lester—media innovator, promoter, and community connector whose journey from Joy Rd to Oak Park and the airwaves of Detroit radio has shaped a legacy of creativi...

"We love some collard greens. Black folks love collard greens." – Khary Frazier. In this deeply flavorful episode of Detroit is Different, the mic flips as host and producer Amber Ewing interviews Khary Frazier—founder of Detroit is Different and creator of the Collard Green Cook-Off—about the cultural power and future of this beloved community gathering. From Chandler Park to ancestral...

“Detroit gives me free concerts, the architecture, the river — I told my friends, ‘Detroit got this.’” In this rich and inspiring episode of Detroit is Different, Cheryl Ajamu joins Khary Frazier to share her journey from Memphis to the woman behind the revival of the Detroit Football Classic. Cheryl is the Owner & Executive Producer for the 2025 Detroit Football Classic August 30, 1pm at Ford...

“My dad quietly made some very significant contributions… he brought Rosa Parks to Detroit for the first time.” In this powerful episode of Detroit is Different, Khary Frazier sits down with Jane Fran Morgan of JFM Consulting Group. As the conversation moves forward, she recounts how her academic wanderings—through sociology and vet science at Michigan State—led her to urban planning and community...

“I belong anywhere I want to be.’ That moment snapped the energy for this episode, where Kiana Montgomery dives deep into her legacy as a third-generation Detroiter and how her public relations work is rooted in uplifting Legacy Black Detroit. She shares, “If you want to engage with that audience… that’s the audience I’m looking to connect with,” weaving stories of family reunions enduring a 74% d...

"I'm working on my obituary," Alex Washington says with a laugh, but the weight of her words hits home. In this intimate, in-depth conversation with Khary Frazier, journalist and culture writer Alex Washington dives deep into her Detroit roots, her love of storytelling, and the fierce loyalty to her city’s people and legacy. From memories of Renaissance High to her first feature in the F...

“He didn’t say he wanted to die. He said he didn’t give an F about dying. That’s different.” — Victoria Camille. In this powerful and deeply sobering episode of the Detroit is Different podcast, host Khary Frazier sits down with Victoria Camille of the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability (CPTA) to examine the disturbing details surrounding the July 12, 2024, shooting death of Sher...

“I wish I could just clone myself…have a digital version of me doing the work while I get paid” – that line from Brandon Cooper set the tone for this electric conversation on Detroit Is Different. In this compelling episode, Khary Frazier sits down with Brandon Cooper—Detroit native, former Apple Senior Advisor, meditation advocate, and the visionary CEO behind Aphid AI—to explore the intersection...

“I started taking piano lessons when I was four… and by twelve I had swapped classical sheet music for jazz improv—I was playing from my head, not the page,”— Ian Fink dives deep into the layered roots of Legacy Black Detroit, bridging generational migration, jazz lineage, and the raw ingenuity of Detroit’s music scene. In this rich, in-depth episode of Detroit is Different, host Khary Frazier sit...

“I didn’t think if I stayed, I’d be alive’—that electrifying moment, when Konstance Patton revealed how everything changed the moment she stepped out of Detroit, sets the tone for this compelling episode. In a deeply resonant conversation with Khary Frazier, Patton weaves together the threads of her Black Detroit legacy—from ancestral roots in the Carolinas, Virginia, and New Orleans to intergener...

“It’s not about me—it’s about my community waking up and taking back our future!” In this electrifying episode of Detroit is Different we welcome Michigan State Representative and 13th District U.S. Congress candidate Donovan McKinney for a powerful conversation that spans from the struggles of his childhood—“we lived in cars, we lived in shelters, we didn’t know where our next meal was coming fro...

“This is a movement, not a campaign—from the North End to the future of Legacy Black Detroit.” In this powerful, deeply personal episode of Detroit is Different, host Khary Frazier sits down with Todd Russell Perkins—attorney, community leader, and mayoral candidate whose roots run as deep as his passion for Detroit. Todd opens up about the intergenerational legacies that shaped him—from his fathe...