Follow the Will of Detroit Youth

Whenever we begin a new chapter in our lives, it signals endless possibilities ahead. The desire to begin anew often overshadows the need to study what’s come before, to learn the stories of everything that existed before you arrived on the scene.

When I began at The Skillman Foundation last September, I intentionally slowed my roll. I walked into Detroit knowing there is a need to learn. To learn the wide-ranging cast of characters that call this home—and it’s Detroit y’all so we are all characters. To learn the language of place and to hear even the unsaid. To study the history with all of its plot twists and resolutions to date.

This year, I discovered a city that is rapidly changing while in a fight to retain its soul. A sparkling Black and Brown city of creativity and crackling entrepreneurship in every neighborhood, filled with the genius of young people.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… the longer you stand on Detroit soil and talk to people who live and love and work here, the smarter you become.

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Credits

Paul Engstrom©, Jeff Tabb©, Brooklynn Wolfe©, Jamie Alexander©, Ben Durham©, Haley Cohen©, Anahi Oconnell©, Joanna Parks©, Macy Fernandez©, Taylor Krause©, Penelope Stanley©, Clarissa Gibson©, Madelynn Peterson©, Konner McCann©