Detroit is Different

Malik Yakini is the original Detroit is Different guest in April of 2014. Nine years later, his work and efforts continue to blossom in introspection and observation about how strengthening the Black Family and Community are related. During this third appearance on Detroit is Different, Baba Malik opens up about the sabbatical and authoring of his book. Learn about his journey from working at a Record Store to working with the Detroit Black Food Security Network. We also explore the relationship between generations and the value of intergenerational organizing and community building. Understand how Baba Malik has grown his views on many social justice perspectives today. This was an insightful and rich discussion. Check out the 2023 Detroit is Different feature with Baba Malik Yakini.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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Dexter is one of Detroit’s most spoken-of streets. Kash Doll’s new album introduced hip-hop listeners to the street worldwide. For Achsha Jones, it was home for her family through the 1980s and 1990s. Achsha is the founder and director of Trip Slip to people that meet her in the technology space. In this Detroit is Different feature, you are introduced to the kid from Dexter who witnessed how crack cocaine, the prison industrial complex, and poverty strengthened her for the rollercoaster of American Life. Achsha shares her love for creativity. Find out about her journey as a 1998 graduate of the Original (old) Detroit High School for Fine and Performing Arts. She shares how watching an idea become a reality is an impactful inspiration that drives her today. Check out the Detroit is Different feature with Trip Slip’s Achsha Jones.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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Nandi Comer is Michigan’s first Poet Laureate in over 60 years. Her writing is flavored with descriptive adjectives painting pictures of time, place, space, and much more. The Poet Laureate of Michigan has roots in the Shrine of the Black Madonna, found a love of poetry in a Summer Job, Fan of attending Luche Libre Wrestling in Mexico, and is also a friend of Detroit is Different. Her work advocating for, creating, and appreciating art is life-fulfilling. Discover more about Nandi’s background and how her journey has left an impression on her that is now shared amongst the world in poetry. 

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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Comedy is a joke to many but for Mic Larry, it has been an inspiration, motivation, and purpose. From the Cooley neighborhood, the Redford Huskie basketball player was a gifted athlete from birth. Mic Larry’s life has been a testimony to finding glory through storms. Learn his approach to utilizing time and taking advantage of the opportunity. Comedian Mic Larry opens up about starting from scratch and making a way in life again and again. Get introduced to one of the masters at the craft of comedy, Mic Larry.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher.

Comment, suggest, and connect with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

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Laughs, smiles, Joy, and love are acts in life that fulfill life. Zsa Zsa has spent a lifetime adding this flavor to her family. In this feature, Zsa Zsa opens up about the pain that brings trauma and tragedy to many families in our community. Zsa Zsa shares how hee solutions of adding life, imagination, creativity, and fun have centered loved ones in times of need. Today her talents and skills have her hosting events, radio programs, and much more. The 910am host of the "Yea I Said It" show opens up about her background. Check out a powerful and inspirational feature on Detroit is Different.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

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Grand River Ave and Joy Rd have taken on many iterations of the Black experience. Bomani has witnessed them all since the 1970s. Bomani began connecting to a community of Black consciousness as a die-hard enthusiast. Today in a role of leadership for the Detroit Chapter of the Malcolm X Grassroots Organization he is sharing the knowledge he has gained. May 19th in honor of the Birthday of Malcolm X Detroits chapter will be hosting an event. Learn more about the passion and process of Bomani in his Detroit is Different feature. 

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher.

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Depending upon when and how you and when you meet Antonio Rafael, you could have an engaging exchange on many things. When connecting with Antonio, concepts from the community will be balanced with the world or vice versa. Antonio’s journey from Southwest Detroit and having working-class parents left grand impressions of ways development impacted the community. Studying at Eastern Michigan University strengthened Antonio’s global understanding of how corporations exploit people internationally. Today Antonio works in art, farming, and advocacy. This was a classic back-and-forth conversation between micro and macro concepts that is thought-provoking and enlightening. Check out the Detroit is Different feature of Antonio Rafael.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

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East Pole Town to many Detroit residents is Chene, over there by the old Packard Plant, or Tyree Guyton’s artistic footprint. For the families that live in the community, it is a place with rooted traditions. Jasmine Noble taught at the James and Grace Lee Boggs School and had the plan to connect the school to the community. Jasmine was in love with the Boggs approach of collective learning, leadership, and community. This inspired her nonprofit ComeUnity One Stop to start as a wrap-around service provider for young people 18 – 24 years old. Jasmine joins the Freedom Dreams collective with her organization and is now steeped in a community project about family empowerment. Learn more about Jasmin Noble’s journey and story in her Detroit is Different feature.  

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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Wisdom is the application of lived experience. TeShayla Coates has walked many paths in life, providing an in-depth relationship in understanding how to connect with people. Coates Communications gives clients assets to share their messaging locally and internationally. TeShayla’s path to building the business was from playing a role in retail services, paying for school out of pocket, and raising a child at a young age. Confidence and courage empowered TeShayla to bet on herself and venture on her own to start Coates Communications. Learn more about her journey and story.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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Arlyssa Heard struggles with crushing debt from student loans and a high-interest car payment. The single mom was excited to get a promotion at her job, but did not want a huge raise.

“The extra $150 extra take-home in my paycheck meant losing benefits worth far more,” she said.

Detroit residents like Heard hear over and over again they’re to blame for their financial situations and the state of their neighborhoods. They’re told they can pull themselves up by the bootstraps if only they try hard enough. Yet the system that’s supposed to help Arlyssa keeps her from getting ahead.

Our current economic system is not working to improve the lives of people in this city. Every day, Detroiters are struggling to make ends meet while enduring exploitative, poverty-wage jobs and punitive, deficit-based social support programs. For decades now, Detroit has been ranked among the cities with the highest rates of poverty. As a native Detroiter, this sobering reality hits home. Detroiters deserve better…Detroiters demand better!

Guaranteed income is a powerful tool.

More than 100 community groups and faith leaders, residents and businesses have signed a letter to elected officials demanding that Detroit join the growing number of municipalities with a guaranteed income pilot. The goal is to push for a federally-funded guaranteed income by demonstrating the benefits. By setting aside at least $1.5 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars – to be matched by a philanthropic partner – we can invest in our Detroit neighbors immediately and lay the groundwork for much-needed changes to our social support systems.

Here’s how it works: Participants get recurring cash payments that they can use however they want, without any restrictions or preconditions. (Guaranteed income is different from Universal Basic Income, which distributes cash transfers to an entire population. Rather, guaranteed income distributes cash to a specific group of individuals who experience systemic challenges inadequately addressed by current programs.)

Direct cash is a proven tool that works. Data from multiple guaranteed income pilots across the country—as well as the expanded monthly Child Tax Credit in 2021—have shown that direct cash payments are one of the most efficient and effective ways to lift people out of poverty. Participants experience drastic improvements to job prospects, food and housing security, financial stability, and their overall well-being and mental health. We have to let go of harmful stereotypes that people experience poverty due to their own failings. We need to embrace a policy shift that recognizes that Detroit residents are experts in their own lives. People need investment in their goals and full control over their choices. They deserve the dignity to choose their pathways to economic mobility.

“We’ve made plenty of gains and we keep on climbing, but we aren’t at the level where we should be,” said Heard, who signed the letter calling for a guaranteed income. “We need this because when we benefit, everyone else benefits.”

What we’ve been doing to reduce poverty in this city isn’t working. Poverty is a policy choice, and as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure, the guaranteed income.” In this upcoming budget cycle, Detroit has an opportunity to take a step in this direction by making an investment in its greatest asset, the people.

Kofi Kenyatta is the Senior Policy and Practice Director at UpTogether. Via www.bridgedetroit.com

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher.

Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/detroit-is-different/c6f5791b-128e-4f7c-a5eb-81083149444b