(upbeat synth music) - So let's talk about, for people who maybe don't know, what Neighborhoods Day is and why it's become so important.

- Well, Neighborhood Day is a community-wide, city-wide community service day, like any in the nation.

What's unique about it is that it involves literally more than 100 events, churches, Black clubs, having events in their own neighborhoods.

Not at Billow, not at Heart Plaza, not at a big golf tournament, nothing wrong with that, But this day was created strictly to appreciate the people in the neighborhood so they can feel appreciated and respected.

And so this day we asked all the churches and black clubs and community groups, which this day it'll be August the fifth, to have their own event to show how they're making a difference in their neighborhood.

Some people do clean up, some people have festivals, some people have school supply giveaways, resource fairs, job fairs, concerts, things for kids and activities for kids, old-fashioned block parties, meet and greets.

So each group does its own thing.

One unique things about when we started Neighborhood Day, when you hear about, the first thing that he says, "where is it?"

Well, it's where you want it to be.

- It's everywhere.

- What do you wanna do?

How long should we do it?

How long you wanna do it?

So it's a totally day where the neighborhood people are empowered.

It's not coming down on high from some executive's office or some foundation or some corporation, people in the neighborhoods, the little black clubs all over the city of Detroit and churches, and we have many churches involved and businesses as well.

So that's what's unique about us.

So you live (cuts out) in your car, drive as I do every Neighborhood Day all over the city.

You see all these incredible events.

The thing in that I see wherever I go, people are smiling and they're happy.

And there's so much other type of news with that this is a day to take a break.

But I want to emphasize Neighborhood's Day is not about one day, because this day, people do this work all year long, but on this day, and I think I've used this with you, Steve, and it's a good one, so I'll use it again.

Your parents love you every day, but on your birthday you get the chocolate cake.

And Neighborhood Day is a chocolate cake for all the people in the neighborhoods of Detroit who do all this work.

This day, we put the spotlight and you and media play a very important part because this media coverage, again, inspired to get involved and we have hundreds and hundreds of volunteers involved in these little neighborhood groups all over the city.

And so somebody do something, they'll say, "oh, why aren't we doing that?

Why can't we do that?

How can we get involved?"

And so the whole idea is to motivate people to not just sit on the sidelines, but to get involved.

And I think I've said this, I've used this in analogy a lot, you know, Jesus coming, but he's probably not coming tonight.

Okay, that means we have to be the calvary.

So one of the things that I think is really important, the message that's really important about Neighborhoods Day is when we're organized in Detroit when we organized with each other, when we decide for ourselves what our neighborhood is gonna be like and how they're gonna function, things go much better than when we're not doing that.

Absolutely.

Or when we let other people do that.

And Neighborhoods Day is really a celebration of that, I feel like, almost more than anything else.

- Yes, absolutely.

People ask me, well, Luther, what's a good neighborhood?

Nine times out of 10, it's an organized neighborhood.

There's somebody there driving that car.

It doesn't have to be a big neighborhood association, somebody's a small little neighborhood, one little block, but somebody has to say, "this is our block and we're gonna love it and we're gonna form a committee."

We're gonna have to people open some coffee and figure out what we need to about the garbage pile up here or a car driving too fast through the neighborhood or public safety issues.

And one of the things we like is that we got a lot of cooperation from the city of Detroit.

They arrange Ron Bronbich, who's head of the city department of Public Works, he arranges for special pickups after the people who are doing beautification and cleaning up projects, they arrange for special pickups to drive through and pick up.

Some people think we're the city of Detroit, I have to remind them, we're not the city of Detroit.

We don't have trucks to do that.

But we have a good relationship with the city of Detroit and very helpful with us in terms of making this state possible.

But you're absolutely right, it's about taking kind of control of your destiny and not just saying "why don't they."

You listen to the radio sometimes "why don't they, why don't they, why don't they?"

Well why don't you?

And so you don't have to do a big huge project.

You can do something small.

Our of our board members, Tony McLeown, who for years was in Dale community Detroit has an expression I think is very true.

He says, "most people are waiting to be led."

"Most people are waiting to be led."

So if you get up and start doing something, somebody else will start doing something.

And the whole idea is to be actively involved and engaged, and that's the most important thing we want to happen on Neighborhoods Day.

People say we are going to take control of this.

Now, we can't do everything, but we can do a lot.

You know, the mayor's not coming to my block.

The governor's not coming.

The president's not coming.

My congressman is not coming in most cases.

So we're there.

So we had to had take some ownership of that.

And the most inspiring thing is Steve, to see these people.

And I made so many great friends all over the city and you never know how you're touching people.

I could be in a grocery market and somebody comes say, "you're that community guy, what's that thing you do?"

And so really, people are paying attention.

So it's, for me, it's very heartfelt and rewarding for me just to know that in some small way with all these other people out here, 'cause it's really not on me, and Rise Detroit, you know, we are a very small organization and we had the NAACP or Focus Up.

So we've got a paid staff of two people and some volunteers and the board of directors.

But strategically we have put together this formula where we are motivating other people.

We are not trying to reinvent the wheel.

We don't have to create a literacy program, because there's literacy programs all over Detroit that we can support and help.

You know, we don't have to create a gardening program, 'cause there are gardening program.

If we could give more visibility, more volunteers and through exposure like this with you, then it helps raise all boats.

So we really are all in this together, and our thing is just, you know, you want a better Detroit, I want a better Detroit.

How can we work together to make it happen?