Dillon Ashton Brown
BikeNHoods
BikeNHoods is a Detroit-based series that uses biking as a lens to explore neighborhood culture, community stories, and real conversations, co-hosted by my brother and me. Each episode features a ride through a different part of the city, highlighting local businesses, people, and discussions around brotherhood, marriage, education, finance, fitness, sports, and emotional wellness.
As part of this grant-supported arc, BikeNHoods produced a special-edition episode for the Detroit Education Narrative Collective focused on education equity and youth creative expression. The episode features Detroit Public Schools Community District students discussing the importance of creative programming in their education.
In collaboration with Cranbrook’s Horizons-Upward Bound (HUB), two HUB students served as youth correspondents, sharing their stories and advocating for the expansion of creative expression opportunities in schools. The episode shows how creativity helps students channel their genius and positively shape their communities.
About The Storyteller
Dillon Ashton Brown
Dillon Ashton Brown is an artist from the east side of Detroit, specializing in creative expression through music, spoken word, literature, and community engagement. Brown’s outlook on life shifted when he learned about asset-framing, inspiring him to approach projects from a perspective of healing, celebration, and creating new approaches and solutions, rather than focusing solely on fighting existing problems.
His plan is to create more creative projects that push a more encouraging message towards people in the community. He aspires to encourage more Black leaders to speak up, unapologetically, through creative expression and love. His plan is to create a haven where communities can express themselves freely, while creating resources that result from the fruits of their own voices. Dillon currently serves as director of development for Horizons-Upward Bound, a program that empowers Detroit students to achieve academic success and graduate from both high school and college.