(bright music) - Coming up on "American Black Journal," Arise Detroit is preparing for its 18th Annual Neighborhoods Day.

We're gonna tell you what's different this year.

Plus, the African World Festival's back at Hart Plaza this month.

We'll get all of the details, and we'll close the show with a performance by jazz artist, Sky Covington.

Stay there, "American Black Journal" starts right now.

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(bright music) - Welcome to "American Black Journal."

I'm Stephen Henderson.

The 18th annual Arise Detroit Neighborhoods Day is scheduled for Saturday, August 3rd.

This year's event features a new campaign called "My Neighborhood Matters."

Residents are being encouraged to share stories about their neighborhoods in essays and photos and videos that are gonna be posted on Arise Detroit's website and social media platforms.

More than 100 events will take place across the city on Neighborhoods day, including community improvement projects, school supply giveaways, art and music festivals, and resource fairs.

I've got all of the details from the Arise Detroit executive Director, Luther Keith.

Luther Keith, it's always great to see you, and it's always great to talk about Arise Detroit and Neighborhoods Day, it's coming up, - It is coming up August the 3rd here in Detroit, our 18th Annual Arise Detroit Neighborhood's Day.

We like to just call it the largest, community-wide, community service day in the nation.

And we will have more than 100 events in Detroit, again, stretching from Eight Mile Road, literally all the way to Bell Isle and in most zip codes all over the city where people were having all kinds of health fairs, food supply, school supply giveaways, conscious festivals.

We have parades, we have car cruises, we have bike runs along the riverfront, some of everything for everybody, and it's just an ideal way for people to show off what they're doing to make a difference and show how much they love their communities and how much they want to work to help improve their communities all over Detroit.

- Yeah, so, I feel like this is now one of the wallpaper kind of events around Detroit.

I mean, it's been around a long time.

It has persisted in an incredible way.

Go back and talk about the first Neighborhoods Day, where you got the idea and how far it's come.

- This is our 18th year.

We've done this 18 years in a row.

This started again, back 18 years ago, when we had our first event for Arise Detroit.

We had a big volunteer fair down at Campus Martius Park where we had about 50 organizations come down and people signed up to volunteer.

The next year, Jane Thomas, the late Jane Thomas, who at that time was a board member with the Skills Foundation said, "Why don't we do something "for all the neighborhoods of Detroit?"

And we said, "We cannot do this.

"We're a little bitty organization."

But think about what happens on Sunday, every Sunday in church in Detroit, every Sunday in churches in Detroit, I mean.

All over Detroit, all these different churches and their own services, their own (indistinct).

So why don't we take that model, and I know we love the big events in Detroit.

Everybody goes down to Belle Isle or the Hart Plaza or whatever and gather in the thousands.

But we said, "We're gonna flip the script on this, "and say we wanna make this day "about the people in the neighborhoods."

We're not gonna make it about...

Nothing against all the great events we've had of NFL draft, Grand Prix, Rocket Mortgage, open the train station, all those events are great, but this event is created for and by people in the neighborhoods of Detroit.

It's showing off what they are doing to improve their community and showing them love.

And so that's why we try to... You're right, Steve, one of the frustrations, quite frankly is to get some of the local media to understand this is an incredible thing we're doing here in Detroit.

We love the Grand Prix and all the rest, the NFL draft, because it brings people in from all over the country.

But let's not forget about the folks who live in the city and the folks who have never given up and the folks who work here every day.

Show them some love.

That's all we are trying to do with Neighborhoods Day.

And again, these people don't do this just on one day.

They do it throughout the year.

But as we've said, and I've said on your show before, this is the day that the chocolate cake date for the birthday cake for all the groups, all the churches, all the block clubs, Mr. and Mrs. Jones do all this work, unheralded, unsung.

It's a day for them to shine.

And Arise Detroit is fortunate, we've been able to help them shine.

And again, the most important thing right now, of course, Steve, is to get folks to register and sign up.

July 12th is the deadline.

You can sign up on our website, arisedetroit.org.

We figured it out, Steve, that with our $50 registration fee, you're actually gonna get more than $400 in goods and services in return.

You're gonna get a beautiful banner with the name of your organization on it.

You're gonna get T-shirts.

You're going to get, if you're doing a beautification or clean up, (indistinct) a voucher worth $100.

We have gift cards from Meyers this year.

McDonald's has come in, they've thrown in three coupons for food for Neighborhoods Day this year.

And we've had our "Neighborhood Transformers" book, which is full of information on how to improve neighborhoods, so you're gonna get a lot of that.

Of course, you're gonna be posted on our website.

If you go to our website right now, arisedetroit.org, you'll see many organizations have already registered.

And that's the key right now, getting folks.

I wanna say this right now.

I hadn't planned this, Steve, because I respect you and "American Black Journal" so much, anybody who registers and puts "American Black Journal" in their registration form is going to get a free $25 gift certificate from Meyer, from Arise Detroit if you say "American Black Journal" in your registration, - There you go.

That's very cool.

(laughing) So I wanna talk about some different things that you're doing this year.

You had a little wrinkle to Neighborhoods Day.

- Yeah, we actually did.

We added something where we're calling it he "My Neighborhood Matters" campaign.

And everybody's jumping on the thing that Black Lives Matter started years ago.

But we said, "Well let's put a little twist on this."

And what Neighborhoods Day is, it's been that way all along, my neighborhood matters.

And so we try to encourage folks to send us their videos, pictures, stories about why their neighborhood matters, what makes their neighborhood... Maybe it's not a great neighborhood from the standpoint of income, but a lot of other things.

The people who live on the street, what they do and how they get together.

What makes your neighborhood matter?

Well, number one, I live here, so that makes it matter.

But also because of the people around me, how it's come together and that's why Neighborhoods Day we see meet and greets people just coming out of their houses, getting together, getting to know people, getting to know new residents and shaking hands with old residents.

So again, the "My Neighborhood Matters" campaign is simply a way to put the focus on the people in the neighborhoods.

And this is the thing that sometimes we don't appreciate what we have.

Sometimes we don't appreciate until somebody outside tells us what we have.

- But this is your day, Neighborhoods Day, Google neighborhood today all over the country.

There may be some other Neighborhoods Days, but I doubt that there are any quite the scope of what we're doing here in Detroit, what we've done for 18 years.

And all these incredible people that make Neighborhoods Day, like Marvis Cofield of Alkebu-lan Village, and Serena Johnson with her golf program and her Hollywood golf program, and so many programs of all kinds all over Detroit, and that it's a chance for us to lift them up.

And then there's great volunteer opportunities for people as well, 'cause if you go on our website, arisedetroit.org, not only can you register, but every event is listed and whether or not they want volunteers.

This year, we're excited about my old school, University of Detroit Mercy, and I went to it when it was actually called the University of Detroit, where I got my journalism degree from, I'm proud to say.

They're part of Neighborhoods Day this year too.

They're going to have a team of students volunteering in addition to being sponsors.

And that's one of the great thing too, that we've been able get some great sponsors to support us.

There's so many, like Meyer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Henry Ford (indistinct), and so many others who understand that being a good corporate or foundation citizen is about providing these services for the people of Detroit, and the people really appreciate it, Steve.

I can go around the grocery market.

I try to be incognito.

People stop and say, "Hey, aren't you that community guy.

"What's that thing you do?"

(Stephen chuckling) And it's really kinda gratifying to know that people are paying attention.

And at some point, I hope it gets to the stature where you clearly recognize, Steve, that Neighborhoods Day is truly something special, something iconic for the city of Detroit every year, the first Saturday of August.

It has been going 18 years.

This is our 18th year.

And as I say, I get in my car, and I literally drive all over the city all day long, going to Neighborhoods Day events and seeing people smiling.

So that's another great thing.

All the events are posted online on our website, arisedetroit.org.

You can go right now, and you can find the events.

We have en listed by the East Side and by the West Side, going from downtown to Eight Mile and all parts of Detroit.

So it's a great way actually to see the city.

You could actually form your own tour, just circle about eight or 10 locations and spend the day driving around, learn Detroit, see these people, and you're gonna be very inspired, and that's one of the great things about it.

In these times, I don't need to tell you, Steve, we need things that we can smile and feel good about.

- We need good stuff, we do, absolutely.

You know, just hearing about "My Neighborhood Matters" and the way that you ask people to write about or photograph or somehow record what's important to them about their neighborhoods, I mean, that's an important cataloging, archiving of not just what you're doing, but what everybody is doing and how they relate to their neighborhoods.

We gotta make that into a book somehow- - Well, Steve, I've got some ideas about some things that we wanna do that we're kicking around, some ideas about doing something, recording these stories and storing them in one of our local institutions.

- That's fantastic.

- And telling these stories.

So you saying to me that makes me know it's a good idea.

(Stephen laughing) (Luther speaking indistinctly) Because again, I think about a time, just think about it, we lost the great Willie Mays.

You grew up with Willie Mays.

I grew up with Willie Mays.

He was our hero, and he was the kind of guy that we thought was gonna live forever, but none of us do.

And to hear his story is so inspiring, and our young people need to hear these stories.

And so, when people pass on, we don't want all those memories, because we can all learn from those stories.

We can all be inspired by the stories.

How they got over their hurdles can help us, teach us how to get over our hurdles.

And so I think it is important that these stories be told, legacy (indistinct), where we talk about Black Bottom and all the rest of that, and the early days of Detroit, when Black folks were basically, essentially wiped outta some neighborhoods.

And now we're talking about reparations or however you wanna call it, but healing of all of that.

And so these stories in these neighborhoods and these people who live in these neighborhoods, they're very important.

And Arise Detroit has been documenting the last 18 years in some way, so we wanna actually take it to another level where we can actually formalize this concept and make people appreciate these stories and inspire them and get the young people to say, "Okay, that's the way they did it.

"That's the way they did it."

- Yeah, this is how we live.

- And we can do it too.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

- All right, Luther, like I said, it's always great to see you, and I always look forward to this annual discussion we have about Neighborhoods Day coming up August 3rd.

Thanks for being here.

- Thanks again, Steve, for always reaching out to us and understanding what this day means to Detroit.

- Detroit's African World Festival returns to Hart Plaza over the weekend of July 12th.

Now an estimated 20,000 people are expected to attend this 41st annual event, which is put on by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

The festival celebrates the arts and culture of the African Diaspora, and it features music and food, and vendors, art, and so much more.

Here's my conversation with Yolanda Jack, who's manager of Community Engagement at the Wright.

Yolanda Jack, welcome to "American Black Journal."

- Thank you very much.

- Yeah, so I'm excited to have you here to talk about the African World Festival, but I have to confess upfront, I still always wanna call it the Ethnic Festival, (laughs) because I grew up with- - Well, that's where it comes from.

- That's right, so I grew up in Detroit in the 70s and 80s, and that's what we used to have.

But it's really great that this particular festival has survived as long as it has.

It's changed a lot, it's grown, and I think it means more and something different really to the city than it did when it was first happening in Hart Plaza.

- That's true, that's true.

The Wright's African World Festival is one of the oldest, one of the largest ethnic festivals of the ethnic festivals that were originally in place at Hart Plaza back in the late 70s, early 80s.

And yes, we have grown to include a variety of music and food and all kinds of fair to bring everybody down to get connected to the African world and what that is in terms of history and culture and the celebration thereof.

- Yeah, let's talk about the way that you guys describe this African world.

I think that term, that phrase, is really important here too.

The idea that Africa and African people are representatives of the world in a really important way.

- Absolutely, absolutely.

The Diaspora of Africa is deep and strong from the music, as I said, to the food.

And we wanna represent all aspects from the African continent itself, through the Caribbean and into the Americas, South and North America, understanding that the culture of the African people has been placed and is in being cared for in all of these places.

There's some history, there's some connection, and there's ways that all of us have an opportunity to connect to it from literally ingredients of foods to the beats of the music, to the stories we tell.

So all of these are very connected, and you'll see all of that at African World Festival this year.

- Yeah, yeah, talk about what this means to Detroit, the fact that it's in Detroit, which is still America's largest, African American majority Black city, the fact that it's in the city with such an important history with regard to African culture and African history and celebrations.

I mean, it matters that we do this here.

- Absolutely, this is the 41st African World Festival, so we've been doing this for not just a few years, but for some decades, indeed.

And I think the significance is in the fact that we've been having this party, hosting this festival for so many years.

The fact that the Wright Museum will be celebrating our 60th anniversary next year, and we're the hosts of this festival, so to understand the connection between those two things, we have a long, deep history of celebrating Black history and Black culture in Detroit.

The revolutionary spirit did not go far when it was being created and from the Underground Railroad all the way up through to today.

So you find that this history, the history that holds Africa and the descendants of Africa, the history, the people, the cultures, that's being celebrated, because we know it's here.

It's been here since Detroit was a city until today.

- Yeah, yeah, so let's talk about what people will find when they come downtown to Hart Plaza to the African World Festival.

- Oh man, you're gonna see some great performances, music.

You'll see a wonderful presentation and a way for, if you're an elder, there'll be a village.

There's the Wazee Village and the Watoto Village.

We're doing an intergenerational activity this year so that we can connect the elders and the youth as it is in most communities and from the contents of Africa, even though we see it less frequently perhaps today in larger communities, but it's still an aspect of our connection to each other and within our society, that African communities do maintain a connection, an intergenerational connection, and so you'll see that being evidenced at the festival this year.

You'll see all kinds of health and wellness activities, storytelling, a walking history tour, music, food, shopping.

What you wanna do, you'll be able to do down at the African World Festival this year, so I don't think anybody will be bored.

You'll have a wonderful way to engage, not only one of the days, but from the 12th through the 13th, and then on the closing day of the 14th, there'll be something to connect to interest you, to pique your interest or to grow your knowledge about something and to be able to find a new experience at Hart Plaza this year.

- Yeah, let's talk specifically about food.

Food in the city is changing really rapidly, and I feel like there are more African or African-influenced food establishments in the city.

Is that gonna be well represented at the festival?

- I expect so.

I don't have all, the full list of who will be hosting tables or food trucks as opportunity to purchase food this year, but I do know that there will be a good variety, a good array from soul food to food that you will experience from the Caribbean.

And you'll also get the African influence.

It's interesting to realize that when we say soul food, we may not realize that we have African influences in those dishes, the macaroni and cheese and the sweet potatoes and the pies, et cetera.

We see all of that, and we might not appreciate that that's from the continent of Africa.

So you'll see a variety of stuff that you know, and stuff that you don't know.

Come and try some wonderful delights at African World Festival this year.

- Yeah, yeah, I also wanna talk about how this is an event for everyone here.

It is specifically for African Americans who live here and celebrating our history and our culture.

But the cool thing about the festival is that it, of course, welcomes people who have all kinds of histories and all kinds of connections.

It really is about being part of the community here in Detroit and in metro Detroit.

- Absolutely, absolutely.

Detroit is a diverse place.

You'll find people from all walks of life, from all ethnicities and nationalities represented in our community.

And so when you come to the African World Festival, you'll be among the tens of thousands of people over the weekend who will have that same opportunity to learn and to connect, to sing together, and to dance together, to break bread together over a new thing or something that was tried and true.

That's the whole point.

That's the reason why we have this festival, to get the connections, to maintain friendships and family.

It's the case that some people don't see each other until they come to African World Festival.

It's almost like a family reunion, a large family reunion of sorts.

And so you do get that energy.

You do have an opportunity, vendors that you didn't see since last year, how the children have grown or have an opportunity to, "Oh, they still got that (indistinct).

"I wanna make sure I get it this year."

So this is the kind of stuff that you see going on, and it's not only things that I'm talking about, because this is the thing.

But this is stuff that I have experienced over my lifetime going to African World Festival where my children literally have grown up from year-to-year, and we'll buy different outfits and then we'll try to size them.

The same vendor doesn't provide the clothing anymore, because we gotta move to an adult vendor now.

So, and it is truly an opportunity to appreciate through the years, through the seasons, how we do have changes and how, even though, in the midst amongst the changes, certain things stay the same.

You can go to African World Festival and get your African drip.

You can get your earrings and your jewelry and your clothing and make certain that you're ready for all the cultural events.

So these are the kinds of things that people come to African World Festival thinking about, planning not only what they're gonna purchase because they gotta get their shea butter, they gotta get their soaks and their earrings, but they're looking for the new outfit that they're gonna wear for this special event.

Or they're looking for a signature piece to place into their home, a sculpture of metal or stone or wood that's going to adorn their mantles or their tables.

Here, they have an opportunity at African World Festival to learn the culture, to see the beauty, and to see the textures and the flavors, and to hear the rhythms, and to feel them and be just immersed in it in a way that perhaps you're not gonna find anywhere else on the planet.

- We're gonna leave you now with a performance by jazz artist, Sky Covington, from "Detroit Performs: Live from Marygrove."

For more on today's guests, go to americanblackjournal.org.

Plus, you can connect with us anytime on social media.

Take care, and we'll see you next time.

(bright jazz music) ♪ All of me, why not take all of me ♪ ♪ Can't you see I'm no good without you ♪ ♪ Take my lips, I wanna lose them ♪ ♪ Take my arms, I'll never lose them ♪ ♪ Your goodbye left me with eyes that cry ♪ ♪ How can I go on, dear, without you ♪ ♪ You took the part that once was my heart ♪ ♪ So why not take all of me (upbeat trumpet solo) (upbeat trumpet solo continues) - Mr. John Douglas.

(upbeat cello solo) (upbeat cello solo continues) Mr. Abraham Jones.

♪ All of me, why not take all of me ♪ ♪ Can't you see I'm no good without you ♪ ♪ Take my lips, I want to lose them ♪ ♪ Take my arms, I'll never use them ♪ - [Announcer] From Delta faucets to Behr Paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

(bright music) - DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at DTEFoundation.com.

- [Announcer] Also brought to you by Nissan Foundation and viewers like you, thank you.

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