Untold Detroit

Untold Detroit: The Hustle focuses on the long tradition of entrepreneurship in Detroit’s Black community and how the Black economy has evolved in the face of deindustrialization, white flight, and economic hardship since the 1960s. It sheds insight into Detroit’s tumultuous times through interviews with community elders and business leaders like Akosua Barthwell Evans, CEO of the Barthwell Group, Ederique Goudia, owner of In the Business of Food, and A Nzere Kwabena, executive director of LGBT Detroit.

Untold Detroit: The Hustle is supported by Bank of America, produced by the Detroit Historical Society, and hosted by Taylor Claybrook.

For a hundred years, Detroiters have been proud to call Northwest Detroit home. From shopping along Grand River to hiking in Rouge Park, Northwest Detroit has something to offer everyone. But as Detroit fell on hard times, so did these neighborhoods. Listen to community developer John George of Detroit Blight Busters, JeNiece Freeman-Holt of Grandmont-Rosedale Development Corporation, and illustrator Sherrie Savage, owner of Naturally ILLustrated share how Northwest Detroit is bouncing back and building for the next generation.

John George is the co-founder of Detroit Blight Busters, a nonprofit community development group founded to push back against neighborhood decay. For more information on Detroit Blight Busters, click here.   JeNiece Freeman-Holt is the Manager of the Grand River Workplace, the Grandmont-Rosedale  Development Corporation’s small business incubator.   For more information on the Grand River Workplace, click here.   For more information on the Grandmont-Rosedale Development Corporation, please visit  click here.   Sherrie Savage is an illustrator and owner of Naturally ILLustrated and the Coloring Museum.   For more information on Naturally ILLustrated and the Coloring Museum, please visit  clcik here.  

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Detroit’s westside is home to a rich tapestry of neighborhoods, parks, and dedicated residents.  Here the story of how Westsiders reinvented business districts and recentered community as white flight and suburbanization shuttered businesses and hollowed out neighborhoods. Listen to community elder A Nzere Kwabena, executive director of LGBT Detroit, Nezaa Bandele of the Live6 Alliance, and ceramist M. Kay Willingham, owner of Art in Motion share the story of how the westside has changed since the 1960s and where it is going today.

A Nzere Kwabena is the executive director of LGBT Detroit, a nonprofit, and founder of Hotter  Than July. Through his position, Kwabena has not only sought to improve the lives of queer Detroiters, but also to help build up the community.

For more information on LGBT Detroit, click here.

Nezaa Bandele is the small business resource manager for the Live6 Alliance, a nonprofit  development organization. Bandele is also the owner of Paradise Natural Foods, a healthy food catering company.

For more information on the Live6 Alliance, click here.

For more information on Paradise Natural Foods, click here.

M. Kay Willingham is a ceramist and owner of Art in Motion, a gallery and workshop on the  Avenue of Fashion.

To learn more about Art in Motion, click here.

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Detroit’s Eastside is home to iconic landmarks, historic neighborhoods, and tenacious residents. Hear the story of how residents banded together to keep the Eastside open for business as factories shuttered and businesses moved out. Listen to historian and journalist Ken Coleman, chef and business owner Ederique Goudia, and entrepreneur Ricky Blanding share what makes the Eastside hustle.

Ken Coleman is a historian and journalist. A prolific chronicler of Black life in Detroit, he was a senior editor at the Michigan Advance and served as a segment host for American Black Journal on Detroit Public Television.

For information on tour availability, please contact [email protected]

Ederique Goudia is an award-winning chef and restauranteur. Goudia cofounded Taste the  Diaspora, was the lead chef for Make Good Not Waste Upcycling Kitchen, and is the owner and operator of In the Business of Food Detroit. Goudia is also a board member of the Eastside Community Network.

To learn more about the Eastside Community Network, click here.

For the Eastside Community Network business directories, click here.

To learn more about In the Business of Food, click here.

Ricky Blanding is a co-founder of Scrap Soils, a composting non-profit organization. Scrap Soils strives to educate the public about the positives of composting in an effort to curb waste and fight climate change.

To learn more about Scrap Soils, click here.

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Woodward Avenue is the heart of Detroit. For generations, Detroiters have shopped along the avenue for everything from essentials to entertainment. But as Detroit declined, so too did Woodward Avenue. In the face of hardship, Detroiters have not given up on Woodward or the communities that line it. To shed insight into what’s happened and what’s happening, we’re joined by historian Jamon Jordan, owner of Black Scroll Network History and Tours and official historian for the City of Detroit, Angeline Lawrence, the former director of Entrepreneurial Education at TechTown Detroit, and Janet Webster Jones, the owner of Source Booksellers.

 

Jamon Jordan is a historian and educator. He is the owner and operator of Black Scroll Network History and Tours as well as the official historian of the City of Detroit.

For information on tour availability, please visit Black Scroll Network History and Tours.

Angeline Lawrence is the former director of entrepreneurial education at TechTown Detroit. She  has worked to support small businesses throughout her career.

For more information on TechTown’s services, please visit TechTown Detroit.

Janet Webster Jones is the owner and operator of Source Booksellers in the Cass Corridor. A  lifelong reader and educator, Jones expanded Source following her retirement from Detroit Public Schools.

For more information on Source Booksellers, click here.

Prior to the Great Migration, Detroit’s Black community was relatively small, but vibrant. The mass migration of Southern Blacks to Northern cities remade Detroit. New arrivals from all walks of life arrived in Detroit and together with the city’s Black residents built neighborhoods, businesses, and community. To help us understand how dramatically Detroit changed we’re joined by historian Jamon Jordan, owner of Black Scroll Network History and Tours and official historian for the City of Detroit; historian and journalist Ken Coleman, and Akosua Barthwell Evans, CEO of the Barthwell Group.

Jamon Jordan is a historian and educator. He is the owner and operator of Black Scroll Network History and Tours as well as the official historian of the City of Detroit.

For information on tour availability, please visit Black Scroll Network.

Ken Coleman is a historian and journalist. A prolific chronicler of Black life in Detroit, he was a  senior editor at the Michigan Advance and served as a segment host for American Black Journal on Detroit Public Television.

For information on tour availability, please contact [email protected]

Akosua Barthwell Evans is the CEO of the Barthwell Group, a strategic management consulting  firm. Barthwell Evans is the daughter of Sidney Barthwell, Sr, the owner of Barthwell Drugs, Inc.

For more information on Barthwell Drugs, Inc., click here.

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Detroit is a craft beer leader, so how has the industry evolved since craft beer took off? Hear from current industry insiders Eric Briggeman, Kristy Melquist Smith, Angie Williams, Dave Engbers, and Annette May on current issues in brewing – including diversity, selling out, and seltzers. 

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Big beer has fallen, and the craft brewing renaissance has begun. National heavyweights like Stroh's collapsed, and the last of the German brewing families are no more. This episode traces the roots and rise of the craft brewing - from Detroit to Grand Rapids. Rex Halfpenny, former president of the Michigan Brewers Guild, Angie Williams, president of Fermenta, a women's craft beer collective, Larry Bell, founder of Bell's Brewing; John Linardos, president of Motor City Brewing Works and Scott Graham, current president of the Michigan Brewers Guild, unearth the take-off of ales, sours, and of course, IPAs. 

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Beer is becoming a big business, and Detroit is thriving. Stroh, Goebel, and Pfieffer rule the brewing scenes. Some brands stayed local, expanded regionally, and even became national brands – but some didn't survive. Learn how they fared against big brands including Budweiser, Miller and Pabst. in the post-prohibition world and hear from beer historian Gregg Smith, John Stroh, and Detroit History Podcast host, Tim Kiska.

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Prohibition is in full swing – the brewing industry is illegal. But, Detroit beer can't be stopped by Prohibition. How did the breweries survive, and how did Detroiters get their precious beer? Listen to Joel Stone, Detroit Historical Society Senior Curator, John Stroh, local beer historian Stephen Johnson, and Detroit historian Tom Klug share how Detroit beer survived Prohibition. 

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