May 2nd, 20250By Carole Hawke
This past October, Brightmoor resident Marlin Franklin went camping in a unique spot– right in his own Detroit neighborhood at Eliza Howell Park.
Accompanying him were his son and two grandchildren, and this was their first camping trip.
Franklin, who is the digital manager for Brilliant Detroit and a Boy Scout...
April 24th, 20250By Carole Hawke
With a long presence and an expanding footprint, the Siena Literacy Center in West Detroit is a pillar of support for adult learners, including a growing West African immigrant population.
“Siena was founded by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, who believe that anyone who shows interest in improving themselves or...
January 15th, 20250By Julie R. Riddle
In the Detroit neighborhood of Brightmoor, a group of pole dancing, crime-fighting, take-no-guff seniors believes their twilight years are for having fun, not sitting still.
Organizers started Seniors A Go-Go, a project of the Brightmoor Alliance, a few years ago, after a Brightmoor resident lost patience with...
December 30th, 20240By Jaishree Drepaul
For some Detroiters, the houses in their neighborhoods are more than just brick and mortar puzzled together. They're a complex Rubik's Cube of community challenges, historical and current, and of resilience over time. This is especially true for many people living in the city's O'Hair Park neighborhood, where today...
December 10th, 20220
By David Sands
Daisy Jackson, a community organizer and caregiver who lives in Detroit's Islandview neighborhood, found something unexpected when she ran a title check on her house. Someone had placed a lien on the home, the three-story Foursquare-style residence on Field Street where she's lived for more than 50 years....
December 6th, 20220By Caroline Bissonette
Wherever you find her, blending up fresh ingredients in her home kitchen or selling smoothies from her weekly stall at the East Warren farmers market, Teleah Mitchum is the picture of health.
The lively Detroit-based nutrition consultant and owner of Simone’s Original Smoothies brims with vitality as she talks...
November 19th, 20220By David Sands. All photos: Steve Koss
Bishop Daryl Harris has fond memories of his formative years in the area now known as Detroit's Osborn neighborhood. A longtime resident whose Total Life Christian Ministries church is headquartered there, he remembers when it was full of commerce and activity.
"Back in the '70s and '80s,...
August 27th, 20220By David Sands
Until recently, Bieniek Park and Dingeman Park in Southwest Detroit's Chadsey Condon neighborhood were often referred to as "ghost parks", abandoned recreation areas that have fallen by the wayside.
Ethelyn Carroll, a Southwest Detroiter and president of the area's United Block Club Council, remembers how bad things...