“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-colonized mindset” into an Indigenous-and-African-centered practice of food sovereignty: a 2,156-sq-ft hoop house, cherries, peaches, apples, and the sweetest collards at Detroit is Different’s Collard Green Cookoff (yes, “60 pounds of collard greens” moved with love). As a wife and “mom of seven,” she’s building policy-minded youth and cross-block coalitions from E. Davison to Hamtramck, because “we are in 48212… in a space of critical climate change,” and legacy means leaving soil, skills, and standards, not just stories. This episode is Detroit past-present-future in one voice: Black Bottom roots, 1990s survival, and today’s climate-just, organic farming that heals body, spirit, and block. Tap in to hear how Mama Tree braids memory with movement so Legacy Black Detroit keeps growing—on our terms, in our voice, for our next generations.

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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“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 see it.” That belief now seasons her kitchen—family-run with “kitchen kin folk,” a husband she calls the engine of the business, and a commitment to community-first numbers: “I’m not going to take you down half the size and still charge you $2 more.” She breaks down sourcing like a Detroiter who knows the land and the people—Eastern Market relationships and an instant bond with Mama Tree (“we went directly to the farm”) to marry agriculture and culinary at the Collard Green Cookoff, where 60 pounds of greens won her the championship (“I cook them 10 pounds at a time… my hands are still hurting”). Khary and Ms. Kisha connect it all to Legacy Black Detroit—the grandma’s party store on Helen & Lambert she’d rename “Verna May Harris Boulevard,” the porch-to-pop-up continuum, the Big Three jobs and backyard grills—showing how our past nourishes our future, one plate, one farm partner, one family recipe at a time.

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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“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 together to make it happen.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Jerjuan and Khary trace a straight line from porch talk to policy: debates on whether to demolish the RenCen, backyard chickens and food grading ordinances, and the big one—“African cultural sovereignty… vs. political representation.” Jerjuan calls himself a middleman between elders and the youth—“my grandma used to say, ‘eat the meat and throw away the bones’”—so Umoja turns what kids already love (“kids already like to argue”) into a vehicle for critical thinking, city pride, and leadership. We dig into the audacity behind taking Detroit kids to Africa, the team-captain model that makes students league ambassadors, and why “indirect action is… just as responsible” as bad policy when communities are ignored. He lays out the build on Puritan: the open-air Umoja Village, a once–25-year-vacant building becoming a Black-authored bookstore and third space one block away (“for us and by us”), and a community-driven health clinic on deck—proof that Legacy Black Detroit isn’t nostalgia, it’s blueprint.

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 info@detroitisdifferent.com

“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. She honors a Mother who’s “still a nurse at church at 76” and a Father, a Navy veteran and Detroit Fire captain, who raised her on union halls, service calls, and straight-arrow integrity. Miller is adamant that development must mean jobs and single-family dwellings for kids to have homes with a backyard. It’s a conversation that braids Coleman Young era fights to Erma Henderson, JoAnn Watson, and Barbara-Rose lineage, then points forward: block clubs, church basements, and porch-to-porch organizing—“I’m a grassroots advocate; I’ll be on the streets.”

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 info@detroitisdifferent.com

“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 Festival to build culture and commerce at the same time. He explains their strategy to do 'unusual business' skip the middlemen, bring the decision-makers to the community, and redirect the dollars,” while schooling listeners on distribution gatekeeping, data, and survival in a shifting market. We get stories that sing Legacy Black Detroit: John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen’” whiskey line carried by his grandson. Also an E-40 cameo (Mr. Earl Stevens) with a portfolio from Tycoon to tequila. He pushes collective moves—“call it collective behavior”—linking Black-owned brands with Black-owned distilleries to scale faster.

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 info@detroitisdifferent.com

“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 Hazelwood and Greenview, her transition from Mumford Mustang to Western Michigan student, and finding her calling in healing arts through massage therapy. From the hip hop shop on 7 Mile to Cafe Mahogany, Keisha gives voice to the women who shaped the city’s culture in the 90s—and reveals how today’s work with Mack Alive brings it full circle. “I’m massaging ancestors out of people’s backs,” she jokes, but the impact is serious. Learn how Praise in the Park and the East Side’s biggest parade are not just events, but Black Detroit legacy in motion—from Jackson, Mississippi roots to Connor and Harper streets, and back again. This is a masterclass in how memory, music, and movement continue to define Detroit’s healing future.

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 info@detroitisdifferent.com

“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 storytelling from the heart of the Blackest city in America. From working as an extra in Sparkle alongside Whitney Houston, to curating an international festival rooted in Detroit soul, Marshalle shares how Black film is being reclaimed—on our terms. They dive deep into the sixth year of the Detroit Black Film Festival, why venues like the Charles H. Wright Museum and the Love Building matter for cultural connection, and what it means to create a platform where “everybody wants to see each other win.” If you’re a creator, this episode is your push: “It doesn’t matter how small you start. It matters how consistently you build.” Whether it’s a courtroom scene shot in Southfield or a social justice doc playing at the Downtown YMCA, this is a masterclass in building Black Detroit’s future from its brilliant past. The message is clear: Detroit isn’t just a music or car city anymore—it’s a film capital in the making.

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 info@detroitisdifferent.com

"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 Black Detroit’s present and future. The conversation digs deep into how Turner’s experiences at Cass Tech, U of M, and the Midnight Golf Program shaped not only his understanding of business and marketing but his mission to amplify Detroit’s underrepresented voices. “I had to figure out how to put the Denzell spin on it,” he says, recalling his inspiration from Earn Your Leisure. With a studio of his own, a new podcasting course, and nearly a million impressions across his content, Denzell is part of a new wave of Legacy Detroiters transforming the creative economy. This episode is a full-circle moment—documenting a Detroit story generations deep, with a future rooted in cultural storytelling and community power.

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 info@detroitisdifferent.com