WEBVTT

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[people singing]
My city, my city

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My city, my city

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313

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My city, my city,
my city, my city

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313

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People moving out,
people moving in.

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Why?

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Because of the color
of their skin

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And the banging in their hearts

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And the money in their pockets

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- We watched the plants come.

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We watched them
tear down neighborhoods.

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We watched them build roads.

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And they promised a lot.

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Very little was delivered.

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And when the industry folded up

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and took the jobs and the money
with them,

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they left a lot of devastation.

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[people singing]
My city

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All about the quick fix

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My city

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Blinding us with social tricks

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My city

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Eyes meet but don\'t greet

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My city

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- The city\'s
in a very vulnerable place.

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And I think, because
it\'s in such a vulnerable place,

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that we\'re in a position now
to actually explore our power.

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Privilege can be debilitating,

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because you have
so many resources

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that you never
have an opportunity

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to explore your true capacity.

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- When crises happen,

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people not only try
to solve them materially.

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Of course people do,
but they also recognize

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that something more fundamental
is involved.

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Someone looks at a vacant lot
and says,

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\"I\'m gonna grow food on that.\"

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Somebody says,

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\"We have to talk
to our neighbors more.

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We have to bring the neighbor
back into the hood.\"

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That\'s a profoundly
philosophical approach.

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[people singing]
- There are

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- Professors who care to teach

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- There are
- Men who raise their seeds

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- There are
- People who look like me

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- I guess it would be nice
to be in a city

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where, like, everything
just clicked and worked

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in the way that maybe
it was supposed to

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and you didn\'t have
to worry about it,

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but there\'s also something
to having to be creative

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about making things work
for each other, you know.

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There\'s something about
having to create community

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because you have to.

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- And people talk
about the recession,

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but we have always been
in a recession on some level.

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The plants closed down
a long time ago.

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This is not just happening.

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There\'s been kind of a slow
death of the corporation here,

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and so, as Detroiters, just...

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We have to find ways
to maintain ourselves,

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because we are survivors.

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- Stories.
I love stories.

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Started it, \"Once upon a time,\"

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the memories so sublime.

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Stories.
I love stories.

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Streaming from ancient histories
to celebrant jubilees.

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Stories.
I love stories.

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Watching them, living them,
learning them.

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Stories.
I love stories.

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Writing them, being them,
singing them.

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Stories.
I love stories.

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I love stories.
I love stories.

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I love stories.

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- This is my house.

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This is the house that I\'m
presently living on in Detroit.

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It\'s the west side of Detroit
and Birwood Street.

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Actually, it\'s a house
of a former neighbor,

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\'cause I grew up on this block,
so we\'ll move a little further,

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and then I\'ll show you
some of my block.

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I actually grew up
at that house across the street.

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Yeah.

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Detroit had wonderful cars,

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so you always see the new cars
on the block.

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And we didn\'t really want
for a lot,

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because the automotive industry
really paid well,

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with overtime.

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We had just a ball
running up and down the street,

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just being kids.

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We were always taken care of,
well taken care of.

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We used to walk
to our neighborhood schools.

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Our children no longer do that.

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And because we did walk
to our neighborhood schools,

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we got a chance
to get to know our neighbors

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and to build
lifelong friendships.

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Do you have anything that you
want to say about Detroit?

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How Detroiters feel,

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how we\'re making it
during these times,

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and how we\'re trying
to make it better?

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- We live here,
and we love it here.

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No matter what anybody thinks,
we love it here.

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We love our neighborhoods,

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and we take care of them
more than people think.

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- All right,
this what I think about Detroit.

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The economy today
is real messed up,

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and it\'s like,
you got the lower-class people.

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This is what we was
talking about at school today.

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You got the middle class
and the upper class.

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We in the lower class right now.

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Detroit need to step it up.

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They\'re starting to sell
our teams and everything.

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They need to just
put us back on track,

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\'cause we used to be number one.

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- The foreclosure crisis
definitely impacted us.

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- Mm-hmm.

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- Unfortunately, a lot of people
lost their homes,

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and it\'s impacted our block
a great deal.

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But, again, we\'re still trying
to come together

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and figure out solutions

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to live with the situation
that we\'re in.

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Not easy,

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but it\'s definitely doable,

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and we\'re going
to make the best of it.

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We have a block club

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that\'s been in existence
since I was a child,

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which is over
40-something years,

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and there are neighbors
who\'ve been here for that long.

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My mother, who\'s now deceased,

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her peers
are still on the block.

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We just had some renters here.
They just moved out.

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So hopefully they\'ll get
some renters back in soon.

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Other than that, you can end up
with the same type situation:

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people, you know,
taking the copper

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or, you know,
different parts of the home,

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trying to get money,
make a way to live.

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So we have to work
on getting these boarded up.

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And this is actually on the list
to be demolished.

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This one was okay for a while,
and then you got vandalism.

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And unfortunately,
you have to fight for services.

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That is a issue for us,

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but it\'s necessary,
and we\'ll do it.

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Yeah.

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Hey, how are you doing?

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You have anything
you want to say about Detroit?

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- A lot of things
have left Detroit,

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and it\'s kind of hard
to get yourself established

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in whatever you may be doing,

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because we don\'t have
the industry here anymore.

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So, you know,
along with our block club here,

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we try to keep
our neighbors together,

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and we try to instill, you know,

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I guess you could say
self-respect,

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you know, by being neighborly,

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by being family.

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- I was raised up
in the city of Detroit.

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I\'m 85 years old.

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And I came through here
when it was the Depression.

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And we got over that,

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so we\'ll get over
this recession.

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- My dream\'s
that we\'ll find solutions

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to live healthy, happy lives.

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In some ways,
I think it\'s been good for us

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that we\'ve had to change
and transform

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and challenge ourselves.

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It\'s been tough, but I think
it\'s gonna be healthy,

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and I think it\'s been healthy
for the individuals,

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and I think, eventually,
at the end,

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it\'ll be healthy
for the community.

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[leisurely big band music]

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- My mom and dad
are both from the South.

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They arrived in Detroit
with the Great Migration.

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My parents came here
seeking opportunity

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not just for themselves
but for their children.

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And for many, many years,
it was truly the Promised Land,

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because people could come here,
and they could have a job.

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My dad was a truck driver,

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a teamster, in fact.

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And my mom was a homemaker.
There were eight of us.

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We had a grandmother
who lived with us,

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uncle who lived with us,
a great extended family.

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- [singing]
Write me one sweet letter

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Say you\'re in love with me

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- Most of my grandmother\'s
brothers

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and brothers-in-laws worked
in... for Chrysler or Ford.

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It was so automatic
that you understood

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that you could
come out of high school,

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get a job,
and take care of your family,

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that it was almost guaranteed

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that there was always
gonna be a factory job.

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Even if your family
wanted to convince you

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to go off
to get higher education,

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do something more lofty,

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if that fell through,

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you could get a job
that was good enough

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to raise your family.

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[upbeat jazz music]

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- We lived on a street
with trees, nice homes.

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They were small.

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They were working-class homes.

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Our neighbor to one side,
they were Italian immigrants.

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Our neighbors to the other side
were Irish immigrants.

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The neighbor across the street
was Polish.

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I mean, we just had a huge mix
of community.

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- The population of the city
was changing.

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The blacks were not yet
the majority,

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but they were very close to it,

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and yet they had
very little representation

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on the city council,
on the school board,

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on all the institutions
of government.

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And young people
were feeling this,

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because the police force
was harassing them,

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and the young people
looked at the police force

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as the occupation army.

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And that concept
of an occupation army

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gave the resentment
and the anger a kind of edge.

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- And then the riots came.

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The rebellion occurred.

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The city burned.

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I could literally see,
as a child,

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from the tanks
rolling down the street

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of our neighborhood.

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White flight took off.

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I mean, those neighbors
that were next door

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on both sides
and across the street,

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they took off,
and they moved across 8 Mile.

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They took
the neighborhood stores,

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the neighborhood bakeries,

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and the neighborhood
fresh fruit market.

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They took it all with them.

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- Then the auto industry
started to fade.

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Jobs were then outsourced,
sent overseas.

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And so now that my brother,

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who, if he had lived
40 years ago,

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could\'ve just got a job
in the factory

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and taken care of his family,

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there\'s nothing.

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Like, I\'m not looking
for the heyday to come back,

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but I also am looking
for other options for people

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besides going
into massive amounts of debt

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to go to a four-year college

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and then come out
and not even be able to do

00:11:20.533 --> 00:11:23.100
what you really, most
passionately feel like doing,

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because you got to get
the job you need

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in order to pay off loans.

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[people singing]
My city, my city

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My city, my city

00:11:31.267 --> 00:11:32.533
313

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My city, my city,
my city, my city

00:11:36.367 --> 00:11:38.267
313

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People moving out,
people moving in.

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Why?

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Because of the color
of their skin

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And the banging in their hearts

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And the money in their pockets

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Run, run, run,
but you cannot hide.

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- There\'s not a job
waiting for you

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when you come out
of this university.

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That\'s not necessarily...
That\'s not gonna be there.

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So what are we gonna do?

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You can make it up.

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[people singing]
- There are

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- Professors who care to teach

00:12:04.400 --> 00:12:06.667
- There are
- Men who raise their seeds

00:12:06.700 --> 00:12:07.867
- There are

00:12:07.900 --> 00:12:08.900
- You can define it.

00:12:08.933 --> 00:12:10.233
That means it\'s wide open,

00:12:10.267 --> 00:12:12.167
and you can turn it
into something else.

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[people singing]
- In with the new

00:12:13.533 --> 00:12:14.533
- Out with the old

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- There\'s another way.
There\'s other ways.

00:12:16.567 --> 00:12:18.433
We just got to use our brain
a little bit more

00:12:18.467 --> 00:12:19.500
and our heart.

00:12:19.533 --> 00:12:22.267
And I feel a collective energy

00:12:22.300 --> 00:12:25.933
and collective power,
and it\'s gonna take us all.

00:12:27.400 --> 00:12:30.400
[mournful blues music]

00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:55.700
- What do you do
when these large companies

00:12:55.733 --> 00:12:57.833
abandon the city?

00:12:57.867 --> 00:12:59.400
Like, with the white flight
of the \'80s

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and all that stuff
that happened,

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like, industry left, and a lot
of the businesses left,

00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:06.767
and now you have
this food desert.

00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:08.400
And that\'s
a really terrible thing,

00:13:08.433 --> 00:13:11.467
because a lot of Detroit
is obese.

00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:13.933
A lot of Detroiters suffer
from diabetes and all that.

00:13:13.967 --> 00:13:17.500
But it also opens up
the possibility

00:13:17.533 --> 00:13:19.300
for some really amazing
solutions.

00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:33.267
- We have a serious lack
of access to fresh produce

00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:34.967
in the city of Detroit.

00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:37.000
But we have these
vast amounts of land

00:13:37.033 --> 00:13:39.000
that other cities
simply don\'t have,

00:13:39.033 --> 00:13:40.867
and so we have
this great opportunity

00:13:40.900 --> 00:13:45.467
in the city of Detroit
to grow massive amounts of food.

00:13:45.500 --> 00:13:49.867
- The people who live here
are mainly the descendants

00:13:49.900 --> 00:13:53.367
of African-Americans
who came from the South

00:13:53.400 --> 00:13:57.300
and who, through decades
and generations

00:13:57.333 --> 00:14:02.467
of slavery and Jim Crow,
had become convinced

00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:06.133
that we can make a way
out of no way.

00:14:06.167 --> 00:14:08.767
People who had been raised
down South

00:14:08.800 --> 00:14:11.567
and who had grown their own food

00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:14.267
began to look at the vacant lots

00:14:14.300 --> 00:14:17.833
not so much as blight
but as promise,

00:14:17.867 --> 00:14:19.567
as the place where you could

00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.467
not only begin growing
your own food

00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:24.533
but also where you could
bring about

00:14:24.567 --> 00:14:28.600
a sort of cultural revolution
in the minds of young people

00:14:28.633 --> 00:14:31.833
who are used to the quick fixes
of city life.

00:14:31.867 --> 00:14:33.700
- That\'s almost what I said.

00:14:33.733 --> 00:14:34.733
- [laughs]

00:14:34.767 --> 00:14:38.567
It\'s a lot of fun
discovering how things grow,

00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:41.033
but then
after you know how they grow,

00:14:41.067 --> 00:14:43.900
you really want to do
a good job at it,

00:14:43.933 --> 00:14:46.133
and so it\'s always
something more

00:14:46.167 --> 00:14:48.400
that you need to know.

00:14:48.433 --> 00:14:53.267
- We\'re affected
by the lack of control,

00:14:53.300 --> 00:14:56.167
lack of jobs,

00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:59.133
lack of sustainable incomes.

00:14:59.167 --> 00:15:00.667
We\'re all affected by that.

00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:04.733
- And I\'m pretty close
to the middle of the city,

00:15:04.767 --> 00:15:06.067
and if that tree
wasn\'t in the way,

00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:07.700
you could see
the Renaissance Center

00:15:07.733 --> 00:15:08.733
and some big buildings.

00:15:08.767 --> 00:15:12.767
And this used to be houses,

00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:15.967
and this is called the Poletown
neighborhood of Detroit.

00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:17.833
Since I\'ve been here,

00:15:17.867 --> 00:15:20.067
as the houses got torn down
or burnt up,

00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:22.933
I kind of regraded them

00:15:22.967 --> 00:15:26.867
and have been having wood chips
and organic matter

00:15:26.900 --> 00:15:28.200
dumped on here,

00:15:28.233 --> 00:15:30.367
and now the soil
is getting pretty good,

00:15:30.400 --> 00:15:32.500
and we\'re able
to grow stuff here.

00:15:32.533 --> 00:15:34.367
You know, 100 years ago,

00:15:34.400 --> 00:15:37.500
96% of the people
were involved in agriculture.

00:15:37.533 --> 00:15:39.867
Now it\'s like, I think, 2%.

00:15:39.900 --> 00:15:42.100
And that\'s real dangerous,
really dangerous.

00:15:42.133 --> 00:15:43.433
And you can see what\'s happening

00:15:43.467 --> 00:15:45.967
to our food supply
and to our health.

00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:01.167
- This year, we will have
over 1,300 gardens

00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:04.267
throughout the city of Detroit
growing literally tons of food,

00:16:04.300 --> 00:16:07.033
over 150 tons of food.

00:16:07.067 --> 00:16:09.600
It\'s making a real difference
in the nutrition level

00:16:09.633 --> 00:16:12.300
of the folks here
in the city of Detroit.

00:16:12.333 --> 00:16:14.267
There are institutions
across the city,

00:16:14.300 --> 00:16:15.600
large institutions...

00:16:15.633 --> 00:16:18.767
The University of Michigan,
Henry Ford Health System...

00:16:18.800 --> 00:16:20.667
Who would like
to start to incorporate

00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:23.800
this locally grown produce
into their menus.

00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.667
- The food economy is the first
economy of any society.

00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:30.567
No matter how impoverished
people are,

00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:32.433
people have to find
a way to eat,

00:16:32.467 --> 00:16:34.933
and so people are going
to spend money on food.

00:16:34.967 --> 00:16:37.133
So currently we\'re spending
our money on food

00:16:37.167 --> 00:16:40.833
that\'s coming, typically,
from 1,000 miles away,

00:16:40.867 --> 00:16:43.700
1,500 miles away,
3,000 miles away,

00:16:43.733 --> 00:16:46.400
and so we\'re not really deriving
any economic benefit

00:16:46.433 --> 00:16:48.100
from the food
that we\'re purchasing.

00:16:48.133 --> 00:16:50.933
But if we\'re able
to grow that food locally

00:16:50.967 --> 00:16:53.467
and circulate that money
within our own community,

00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:56.067
we\'re able to produce jobs
and create wealth,

00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:58.767
and it creates, of course,
a multiplier effect.

00:17:00.733 --> 00:17:02.133
- It\'s great.
The land is free.

00:17:02.167 --> 00:17:03.933
You can adopt it from the city.

00:17:03.967 --> 00:17:07.567
You can buy the lots
for pretty cheap.

00:17:07.600 --> 00:17:12.033
But it costs a lot more
to bring in the organic compost

00:17:12.067 --> 00:17:15.000
and to bring in a mixture
of topsoil and things like that,

00:17:15.033 --> 00:17:16.667
because, like,
just because it\'s free

00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:19.267
doesn\'t mean it\'s ready to farm.

00:17:19.300 --> 00:17:20.667
- Should we use Roundup?

00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:22.733
You know,
what\'s the alternative to it?

00:17:22.767 --> 00:17:25.767
Can we use machines?
Can we use people, you know?

00:17:25.800 --> 00:17:28.867
And had to have this land
tested, you know, with...

00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:31.267
Since there were houses here,
this isn\'t so bad,

00:17:31.300 --> 00:17:34.067
but some areas in the city
were gas stations,

00:17:34.100 --> 00:17:36.967
and we have to go up
with the soil

00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:39.700
instead of going into it
because of toxins, but...

00:17:39.733 --> 00:17:42.267
Farming is extremely difficult.

00:17:42.300 --> 00:17:44.900
It\'s not profitable,
I don\'t think,

00:17:44.933 --> 00:17:47.267
unless you get subsidies,
you know?

00:17:47.300 --> 00:17:50.867
But it is very important
for us to know.

00:17:52.433 --> 00:17:54.900
- So I\'ll come and pluck
all that in a couple of hours.

00:17:54.933 --> 00:17:56.067
- Yeah.
Yup.

00:17:56.100 --> 00:17:59.133
- I\'ll see somebody
walking down the street,

00:17:59.167 --> 00:18:02.000
and if I seen them enough times
and I\'m out in this garden

00:18:02.033 --> 00:18:05.333
and they\'re looking,
I invite them in,

00:18:05.367 --> 00:18:07.700
and I let them know,
\"This is your garden.

00:18:07.733 --> 00:18:09.667
\"You can shop here.
You can come pick here.

00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:10.967
You spend some time here,

00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:12.233
you can pick all you want,\"
so...

00:18:12.267 --> 00:18:14.300
[man speaking indistinctly]

00:18:14.333 --> 00:18:17.733
We\'ve joined
The Greening of Detroit

00:18:17.767 --> 00:18:19.767
garden resource program.

00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:21.567
You pay a certain little fee,

00:18:21.600 --> 00:18:24.900
and you get access
to seeds and transplants,

00:18:24.933 --> 00:18:26.500
and they direct you,

00:18:26.533 --> 00:18:28.700
because I didn\'t have
a lot of experience gardening,

00:18:28.733 --> 00:18:33.700
just through my grandmother
as a young girl gardening.

00:18:33.733 --> 00:18:34.967
- For a home gardener,

00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.433
someone who comes
to the garden resource program

00:18:37.467 --> 00:18:39.367
and just wants to grow
a postage stamp garden

00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:41.000
in their backyard,

00:18:41.033 --> 00:18:44.300
they\'ll first get access
to basic gardening classes.

00:18:44.333 --> 00:18:46.100
They\'ll get access
to all the seeds

00:18:46.133 --> 00:18:49.600
and plant starts and compost
and knowledge that they need

00:18:49.633 --> 00:18:51.667
to be a successful
home gardener,

00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:52.967
and then they\'ll be introduced

00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.167
to all the other gardeners
in their neighborhood,

00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:59.133
and they\'ll have the opportunity
to share information with them,

00:18:59.167 --> 00:19:01.667
maybe work with them sometimes
in the garden.

00:19:01.700 --> 00:19:03.900
- And so this is a project
that I\'m working

00:19:03.933 --> 00:19:05.767
together with a lot
of the neighbors,

00:19:05.800 --> 00:19:08.467
so instead of me
just having one big garden,

00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:10.200
I kind of...
People help,

00:19:10.233 --> 00:19:11.700
and we\'ll all work together.

00:19:11.733 --> 00:19:18.100
It really... like, there\'s
120 fruit trees around here,

00:19:18.133 --> 00:19:21.633
so just to plant...
To prune the trees,

00:19:21.667 --> 00:19:23.967
you know, it takes
about half an hour a tree.

00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:26.833
So if you multiply that by 100,

00:19:26.867 --> 00:19:30.000
that\'s, like,
two weeks\' worth of pruning.

00:19:30.033 --> 00:19:32.533
So we\'ve kind of
cooperated on this,

00:19:32.567 --> 00:19:34.667
so I\'ll get six or eight people,

00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:36.733
and we\'ll work together,
and it\'s fun.

00:19:36.767 --> 00:19:39.300
We\'re talking.
We\'re pruning together.

00:19:39.333 --> 00:19:41.000
- We could just put the food
out here and say,

00:19:41.033 --> 00:19:43.733
\"Everybody come and ravage it,\"
but that\'s not the way it works.

00:19:43.767 --> 00:19:45.100
That\'s another free cheese line.

00:19:45.133 --> 00:19:47.033
We don\'t need
another free cheese line.

00:19:47.067 --> 00:19:50.100
We need to be creative
in how to take care of ourselves

00:19:50.133 --> 00:19:53.733
and sustain what we have.

00:19:53.767 --> 00:19:55.567
There\'s a lot of young men
around here

00:19:55.600 --> 00:20:00.367
ages, like, 16 to 24, 25,

00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:01.567
and they have muscles.

00:20:01.600 --> 00:20:02.800
[laughs]

00:20:02.833 --> 00:20:04.400
We put them to work in a garden,

00:20:04.433 --> 00:20:06.733
and they were
talking about issues

00:20:06.767 --> 00:20:10.500
pertaining to themselves
and the society.

00:20:10.533 --> 00:20:12.467
It develops leadership skills,

00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:14.867
and, \"I don\'t have to wait
for somebody to take care of me.

00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:16.533
\"I can do this.

00:20:16.567 --> 00:20:19.133
I got this.
I can handle this.\"

00:20:19.167 --> 00:20:23.767
And then they\'re connected with,
like I say, the soil.

00:20:23.800 --> 00:20:27.033
You know, you get that humbling,
and...

00:20:27.067 --> 00:20:28.967
They\'ll come over,
and they\'ll call me:

00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:31.233
\"How is the lettuce doing?

00:20:31.267 --> 00:20:33.200
Are those beans up yet?\"

00:20:33.233 --> 00:20:37.200
And they\'ll come over and see
what they did, and it\'s like...

00:20:37.233 --> 00:20:39.000
- Isn\'t that great?
- Yup, it\'s good.

00:20:41.033 --> 00:20:42.967
- The food that we have here
is healthy.

00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:44.200
It\'s local.

00:20:44.233 --> 00:20:46.633
It\'s often viewed
as just something for, like,

00:20:46.667 --> 00:20:48.933
fancy restaurants, you know?

00:20:48.967 --> 00:20:51.767
But we sell here at the market
at a pretty competitive price,

00:20:51.800 --> 00:20:54.000
but on Sundays,
we have a \"you pick\" place

00:20:54.033 --> 00:20:55.567
where people can come volunteer,

00:20:55.600 --> 00:20:57.100
pick their own for free.

00:20:57.133 --> 00:20:58.900
We can do this
without polluting.

00:20:58.933 --> 00:21:01.233
We can do this in a way
that\'s regenerative

00:21:01.267 --> 00:21:04.800
to the soil, to our environment,
and to our economy.

00:21:06.267 --> 00:21:09.067
- And, you know, mint is also
good for your digestion too.

00:21:09.100 --> 00:21:10.800
- Oh, I know.
- Yeah, I love mint.

00:21:10.833 --> 00:21:14.333
- Everything is fresh
and all-natural,

00:21:14.367 --> 00:21:16.900
and there\'s no chemicals.

00:21:16.933 --> 00:21:18.967
We got, like,
romaine lettuce here,

00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:20.767
some good chocolate mint.

00:21:20.800 --> 00:21:23.500
- You know, we try
to grow all-natural food

00:21:23.533 --> 00:21:26.433
for our community
because we want to eat healthy.

00:21:26.467 --> 00:21:29.700
We don\'t use any chemicals
or any additives.

00:21:29.733 --> 00:21:31.500
Good stuff.
Good stuff.

00:21:31.533 --> 00:21:33.700
- Getting some plants planted
and some weeds weeded.

00:21:33.733 --> 00:21:34.733
[laughs]

00:21:34.767 --> 00:21:36.067
- This is currently the largest

00:21:36.100 --> 00:21:38.500
agricultural project
in the city of Detroit,

00:21:38.533 --> 00:21:41.767
and we came, and we cleared it,
we tilled it, we plant it,

00:21:41.800 --> 00:21:43.200
and then
within a couple of months,

00:21:43.233 --> 00:21:45.400
we have one of the most lush,
productive

00:21:45.433 --> 00:21:47.100
agricultural sites in the city.

00:21:47.133 --> 00:21:49.567
So we\'re continuing
to develop this site as a model

00:21:49.600 --> 00:21:51.300
to show what can be done

00:21:51.333 --> 00:21:53.467
with unused
and underutilized land

00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:54.767
in the city of Detroit.

00:21:54.800 --> 00:21:56.767
- It is an organic farm.

00:21:56.800 --> 00:21:59.567
You kind of forget
you\'re in the city.

00:21:59.600 --> 00:22:03.700
We grow 35 different things,
from arugula to zucchini.

00:22:03.733 --> 00:22:05.500
And we have mushrooms.

00:22:05.533 --> 00:22:07.600
We have beehives.

00:22:07.633 --> 00:22:09.567
We have medicinal herbs.

00:22:09.600 --> 00:22:11.100
- I think people
are being challenged

00:22:11.133 --> 00:22:13.367
with unemployment and downsizing

00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:18.000
and not being able to take care
of their household properly.

00:22:18.033 --> 00:22:19.733
Then they\'re looking
for other solutions,

00:22:19.767 --> 00:22:22.667
and this is one
of the solutions.

00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:26.967
- One of the things that\'s
broken down in our community

00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:30.167
is the communication
between elders and young people,

00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:31.533
which is a very dangerous thing.

00:22:31.567 --> 00:22:32.633
When you have young people

00:22:32.667 --> 00:22:36.333
who are not in constant contact
with older people,

00:22:36.367 --> 00:22:39.467
while they have lots of ideas,
many times, those ideas

00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:42.000
are not grounded
in a value system

00:22:42.033 --> 00:22:45.000
that works for the benefit
of the whole.

00:22:45.033 --> 00:22:46.567
In gardens,
you have older people

00:22:46.600 --> 00:22:48.433
who maybe grew up in the South
doing gardening

00:22:48.467 --> 00:22:50.100
who are working
with younger people

00:22:50.133 --> 00:22:52.567
and talking about food
and talking about recipes

00:22:52.600 --> 00:22:55.333
and talking
about their life experiences.

00:22:55.367 --> 00:22:58.833
- It\'s almost indescribable,
what you feel here, you know.

00:22:58.867 --> 00:23:01.300
And this experience,
I had when I was a little girl.

00:23:01.333 --> 00:23:03.467
Everybody had a garden,

00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:06.000
and the first thing we learned
how to grow was peanuts.

00:23:06.033 --> 00:23:08.400
Or they called them goobers.

00:23:08.433 --> 00:23:13.300
And here we are again,
reestablishing this tradition,

00:23:13.333 --> 00:23:18.467
so I hope that more people
will get involved, you know.

00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:21.167
And we have so many things
that keep us apart, you know,

00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:24.900
\"My car, my job,
I\'m this, my that,\"

00:23:24.933 --> 00:23:26.567
and this is a holy experience.

00:23:26.600 --> 00:23:29.600
[lolling reggae music]

00:23:36.800 --> 00:23:38.933
- We\'re celebrating our harvest,

00:23:38.967 --> 00:23:41.033
we\'re celebrating
our training and education,

00:23:41.067 --> 00:23:42.667
and we\'re really celebrating
the Earth.

00:23:47.267 --> 00:23:49.600
We\'re not just concerned
about growing food.

00:23:49.633 --> 00:23:51.900
We\'re also concerned
about the quality of food,

00:23:51.933 --> 00:23:54.000
food literacy in the public,

00:23:54.033 --> 00:23:57.733
and making sure
that Detroit\'s black community

00:23:57.767 --> 00:24:00.400
has some frames around food,

00:24:00.433 --> 00:24:03.633
politically, economically,
and socially.

00:24:05.233 --> 00:24:08.100
- Although we are
unapologetically focused

00:24:08.133 --> 00:24:10.600
on uplifting
the African-American community,

00:24:10.633 --> 00:24:11.733
the work that we\'re doing

00:24:11.767 --> 00:24:14.467
benefits all people
in the city of Detroit.

00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:17.100
We need to have teenagers
and people in their 20s

00:24:17.133 --> 00:24:20.000
begin to see agriculture
as being valuable work

00:24:20.033 --> 00:24:21.367
and to reframe it,

00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:24.200
not as work that\'s being done
to enrich somebody else,

00:24:24.233 --> 00:24:26.200
because that\'s
how many black people

00:24:26.233 --> 00:24:27.533
look at agricultural work

00:24:27.567 --> 00:24:29.967
because of our experience
with slavery and sharecropping.

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:31.500
So we\'re reframing this work

00:24:31.533 --> 00:24:34.100
as a work that can promote
self-determination

00:24:34.133 --> 00:24:36.700
and community development.

00:24:36.733 --> 00:24:38.733
- What promotes
the greatest good?

00:24:38.767 --> 00:24:40.567
What is our relationship
to Earth?

00:24:40.600 --> 00:24:43.333
How do we promote
the greatest good to the Earth?

00:24:43.367 --> 00:24:44.733
How do we promote
the greatest good

00:24:44.767 --> 00:24:46.033
to the relationship to self?

00:24:46.067 --> 00:24:47.700
How do we promote
the greatest good

00:24:47.733 --> 00:24:49.767
to relationships between us?

00:24:51.067 --> 00:24:53.567
- I grew up in Detroit,
and I knew what it was like,

00:24:53.600 --> 00:24:56.667
and I knew the destruction
of our neighborhoods,

00:24:56.700 --> 00:25:01.600
but with this,
this urban farming,

00:25:01.633 --> 00:25:03.900
this is something
that will help to reestablish

00:25:03.933 --> 00:25:05.867
the sense of community
and connectiveness

00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:07.100
that all people have.

00:25:07.133 --> 00:25:08.500
Yeah.

00:25:10.967 --> 00:25:13.300
- Somebody got to tell them
we are not ghosts.

00:25:13.333 --> 00:25:16.833
Somebody got to tell them
we are not ghosts,

00:25:16.867 --> 00:25:20.433
that we are in this city,
and we are alive.

00:25:20.467 --> 00:25:23.467
[frantic string music playing]

00:25:31.800 --> 00:25:33.767
There was a fire in her belly.

00:25:33.800 --> 00:25:34.800
That\'s it.

00:25:34.833 --> 00:25:39.000
And I\'m dealing with \"the ghosts
of Detroit,\" if you will,

00:25:39.033 --> 00:25:40.633
and not just the ghosts
that are dead

00:25:40.667 --> 00:25:42.033
but the ghosts
that are still here,

00:25:42.067 --> 00:25:44.800
like, the spirit of the people
that are here.

00:25:44.833 --> 00:25:47.133
There\'s something in our hearts,
in our guts

00:25:47.167 --> 00:25:48.933
when you\'re born in Michigan,

00:25:48.967 --> 00:25:50.967
when you\'re raised
by blue-collar working people

00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:52.667
and you come from, like,
union organizers

00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:56.733
and you come from people
who know the value of work.

00:25:56.767 --> 00:25:59.133
You can\'t just have things
crumbling around you

00:25:59.167 --> 00:26:00.867
and don\'t think,
\"Well, maybe I\'ll pick up

00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:03.500
some of these stones
and build something back up.\"

00:26:03.533 --> 00:26:04.633
We know work.

00:26:04.667 --> 00:26:06.533
It is our witchcraft,

00:26:06.567 --> 00:26:07.833
our bloodline gift,

00:26:07.867 --> 00:26:09.467
our Deep South anxiety attack,

00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:12.567
our dreams of something greater
for the ones that come later,

00:26:12.600 --> 00:26:15.867
the men who look like daddies
even when they weren\'t.

00:26:15.900 --> 00:26:18.400
Dove hat gangsters
against a snakeskin shoe,

00:26:18.433 --> 00:26:21.300
Sunday-best men,
Saturday all-night men,

00:26:21.333 --> 00:26:22.900
straight-backed men with pride,

00:26:22.933 --> 00:26:24.933
organizing front-line
union worker,

00:26:24.967 --> 00:26:27.733
men who made women
touch their hats

00:26:27.767 --> 00:26:30.233
and adjust their slips
as they passed...

00:26:30.267 --> 00:26:34.600
This piece is really a homage
to Detroit men, fathers,

00:26:34.633 --> 00:26:36.867
you know, working-class,
the construction-worker men

00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:39.167
that I grew up knowing
and seeing my whole life.

00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.533
In a time of war.

00:26:40.567 --> 00:26:43.533
Nobody heard a bomb drop
in Detroit...

00:26:43.567 --> 00:26:46.267
I found that even
with the hardest of times

00:26:46.300 --> 00:26:48.733
and through recessions
that people still need art,

00:26:48.767 --> 00:26:50.800
because people
still have to be inspired,

00:26:50.833 --> 00:26:52.767
especially
when you\'re freaking broke

00:26:52.800 --> 00:26:54.100
and you don\'t have
anything else.

00:26:54.133 --> 00:26:55.367
That\'s what my poem is about.

00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:56.767
What else do we have left
but poems?

00:26:56.800 --> 00:26:59.067
What do we have left but paint
to feed our children?

00:26:59.100 --> 00:27:00.367
We have to give them that.

00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.233
We can\'t just, you know,
sit around and be like,

00:27:02.267 --> 00:27:03.967
\"Oh, yeah, we\'re crumbling.

00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:05.067
\"We\'re burnt-down houses.

00:27:05.100 --> 00:27:06.233
We\'re abandoned.\"

00:27:06.267 --> 00:27:07.933
I\'m like, \"We\'re not
an abandoned people.\"

00:27:07.967 --> 00:27:09.333
\"You know, those are buildings.

00:27:09.367 --> 00:27:10.367
We\'re still here.\"

00:27:12.733 --> 00:27:14.567
- We really pride ourselves
on our coffee,

00:27:14.600 --> 00:27:17.433
mostly because we\'re
complete freaks about coffee.

00:27:22.633 --> 00:27:24.900
And we just want a way
that we could make a living

00:27:24.933 --> 00:27:26.633
but also a way
that we could make a difference.

00:27:26.667 --> 00:27:28.233
And so we had this vision
of what we called

00:27:28.267 --> 00:27:29.867
a triple bottom-line business,

00:27:29.900 --> 00:27:32.833
which is Earth, community,
and employees.

00:27:32.867 --> 00:27:36.200
Doing a bakery seems so good
in so many ways:

00:27:36.233 --> 00:27:38.567
to act as a hearth,
to bring people together,

00:27:38.600 --> 00:27:40.400
to provide good food,

00:27:40.433 --> 00:27:42.767
to have an open production area

00:27:42.800 --> 00:27:45.567
where people could see
where their food is made.

00:27:45.600 --> 00:27:48.600
- This is some of our products
that we have up here.

00:27:48.633 --> 00:27:51.367
Cinnamon raisin, which is great.

00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:53.467
It has organic raisins in it.

00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:57.233
This is a sourdough right here,
which we call our farm bread.

00:27:57.267 --> 00:27:59.067
Really old-world sourdough.

00:27:59.100 --> 00:28:01.100
And this is our wheat bread
right here.

00:28:01.133 --> 00:28:03.033
Both of these
are real healthy for you.

00:28:03.067 --> 00:28:04.033
They\'re great.

00:28:04.067 --> 00:28:05.367
Like I said before,

00:28:05.400 --> 00:28:09.100
we don\'t use no type
of preservatives at all in it.

00:28:09.133 --> 00:28:11.467
- \'Cause this is a place
where you can create anything.

00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:12.933
There\'s not much here,

00:28:12.967 --> 00:28:17.567
and I think Avalon serves
as hope for a lot of people,

00:28:17.600 --> 00:28:20.100
you know, that another world
is possible.

00:28:20.133 --> 00:28:21.567
And it\'s not like it\'s easy.

00:28:21.600 --> 00:28:24.667
I mean, for, you know,
a good seven years,

00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.567
I worked 100 hours a week.

00:28:28.267 --> 00:28:31.000
- We decided our bottom line
on the environment

00:28:31.033 --> 00:28:35.067
would be 100% organic flour
in everything we made every day.

00:28:35.100 --> 00:28:39.033
The wheat that we use is milled
on the west side of the state.

00:28:39.067 --> 00:28:43.700
And during the growing season,
we do buy a significant portion

00:28:43.733 --> 00:28:47.400
of our produce that we use
in our sandwiches and our salads

00:28:47.433 --> 00:28:50.633
from Detroit farmers.

00:28:50.667 --> 00:28:54.100
We\'re always looking
for opportunities to buy

00:28:54.133 --> 00:28:56.533
even from local distributors,

00:28:56.567 --> 00:29:00.233
like a cheese distributor
that sells imported cheeses

00:29:00.267 --> 00:29:02.867
but is located
in the Eastern Market.

00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:05.467
- Organic sunflower sprouts.

00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:07.833
We were actually buying them
out of Ann Arbor

00:29:07.867 --> 00:29:11.567
from a CSA, organic CSA,

00:29:11.600 --> 00:29:13.467
for a long time.

00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:15.600
Someone local
started to grow them,

00:29:15.633 --> 00:29:18.933
so we just recently
switched over to them.

00:29:18.967 --> 00:29:23.867
It ends up being more expensive
for us to buy from Detroit

00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:27.933
than it was to buy
from Ann Arbor,

00:29:27.967 --> 00:29:29.167
so that\'s what we talk about

00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:31.867
when we talk about supporting
our own businesses.

00:29:31.900 --> 00:29:33.667
- Yes.
- Yeah.

00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:35.967
- This is our flour.

00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:38.067
We try to stay local
with everything we do,

00:29:38.100 --> 00:29:40.600
so when we found this company,
it worked out pretty good.

00:29:40.633 --> 00:29:43.600
You know, Michigan Bay,
so, okay, we\'ll try it out.

00:29:43.633 --> 00:29:46.200
I have my mixer back here.

00:29:46.233 --> 00:29:47.767
He\'s mixing product right now.

00:29:47.800 --> 00:29:48.900
[man speaks indistinctly]

00:29:48.933 --> 00:29:50.233
Okay.

00:29:50.267 --> 00:29:53.100
This is a nice big batch
of sourdough right here,

00:29:53.133 --> 00:29:55.400
and he will break it down,
once it\'s stopped,

00:29:55.433 --> 00:29:57.233
into different pools.

00:29:57.267 --> 00:29:59.033
We have our cinnamon raisin.

00:29:59.067 --> 00:30:01.567
We\'ll do a walnut
out of this pool.

00:30:01.600 --> 00:30:03.600
And this is pretty much
the setup that we use,

00:30:03.633 --> 00:30:06.333
which is pretty standard.

00:30:06.367 --> 00:30:08.800
We pretty much do it
the European way.

00:30:08.833 --> 00:30:11.367
Everything here is handmade.

00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:13.867
I work with a nice crew
to keep it going.

00:30:13.900 --> 00:30:17.167
They make great salaries,
you know.

00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.100
- I would like to see, like,

00:30:19.133 --> 00:30:21.333
more little Avalons
in neighborhoods

00:30:21.367 --> 00:30:24.467
so that, you know,
people would have more places,

00:30:24.500 --> 00:30:29.233
either that or work with other
community coffeehouses

00:30:29.267 --> 00:30:33.633
to be able to provide, you know,
on the same level as us.

00:30:33.667 --> 00:30:37.633
How to do profit sharing,
how to be socially responsible,

00:30:37.667 --> 00:30:41.467
as you get bigger, to spread
the wealth within, you know,

00:30:41.500 --> 00:30:45.733
and to also create other
businesses from your business

00:30:45.767 --> 00:30:48.367
so that it wouldn\'t have
to be us only, you know.

00:30:51.967 --> 00:30:53.833
- You know, I love making bread,

00:30:53.867 --> 00:30:55.900
so I\'m gonna keep doing it
no matter what.

00:30:55.933 --> 00:30:57.933
I see myself maybe retiring
out of here,

00:30:57.967 --> 00:31:01.200
because when I came here,
we were very small,

00:31:01.233 --> 00:31:03.467
and 14 years later
down the road,

00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:05.700
you know, we process...

00:31:05.733 --> 00:31:08.967
We do more work than
the building actually holds.

00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:11.700
- Within the last 15 years,

00:31:11.733 --> 00:31:14.500
about 15 businesses
have opened up

00:31:14.533 --> 00:31:16.467
within, I\'d say, a square mile,

00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:19.100
which, in Detroit,
is a very, very big deal.

00:31:20.733 --> 00:31:23.733
[somber country music]

00:31:34.467 --> 00:31:35.967
- There are people on bikes
in Detroit.

00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:37.367
Not only are there
people on bikes,

00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:39.367
but there\'s more people
on bikes in Detroit

00:31:39.400 --> 00:31:40.867
than most folks think.

00:31:46.100 --> 00:31:47.867
To get somewhere
quicker than walking speed,

00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:49.967
to get somewhere more reliably
than transit speed.

00:31:51.667 --> 00:31:53.533
Over 50% of the trips
people take

00:31:53.567 --> 00:31:56.067
from point A to point B
in America

00:31:56.100 --> 00:31:58.333
are under two miles.

00:31:58.367 --> 00:32:01.767
For the longest time in Detroit,
there wasn\'t, downtown,

00:32:01.800 --> 00:32:04.000
a real bike service option.

00:32:04.033 --> 00:32:05.833
There are more bike shops
on University Avenue

00:32:05.867 --> 00:32:08.100
in my hometown in Florida

00:32:08.133 --> 00:32:10.867
than there are in the
140-square-mile city of Detroit.

00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:13.800
We sell new and used bikes,

00:32:13.833 --> 00:32:16.733
we do service and maintenance
and upkeep on bikes,

00:32:16.767 --> 00:32:18.600
and we\'re collectively run
and operated.

00:32:18.633 --> 00:32:21.300
It\'s not a standard model
for running something

00:32:21.333 --> 00:32:22.467
that looks like a business

00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:24.733
or even necessarily
running a nonprofit,

00:32:24.767 --> 00:32:26.867
but it works.

00:32:26.900 --> 00:32:28.933
This is kind of
where a bike goes

00:32:28.967 --> 00:32:31.267
as it\'s going to get repaired.

00:32:31.300 --> 00:32:33.700
And so all the kind of,
you know, regular workshop stuff

00:32:33.733 --> 00:32:35.400
goes through here.

00:32:35.433 --> 00:32:37.900
We\'ll repair bikes.
We\'ll build wheels.

00:32:37.933 --> 00:32:40.933
[blender grinding]

00:32:45.467 --> 00:32:47.533
May need some alignment issues,
but yeah.

00:32:47.567 --> 00:32:51.233
This was once a bike
that had two seats upon it.

00:32:51.267 --> 00:32:53.533
One of our first class
of interns

00:32:53.567 --> 00:32:55.300
who was actually
a technical writing intern

00:32:55.333 --> 00:32:56.300
made this.

00:32:56.333 --> 00:32:58.167
He kind of sat
everything forward

00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:00.533
and did a really great job
chopping and welding

00:33:00.567 --> 00:33:03.500
some of the different facets
of the bike together.

00:33:03.533 --> 00:33:07.367
We have people
that may not have addresses

00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:11.500
that are skilled machinists,
welders,

00:33:11.533 --> 00:33:14.233
that can put something
like together in...

00:33:14.267 --> 00:33:15.600
You know, in a heartbeat.

00:33:15.633 --> 00:33:18.533
Many folks will see a bike
in a garage and think,

00:33:18.567 --> 00:33:21.000
\"Oh, well, this hasn\'t been used
in 15 years,

00:33:21.033 --> 00:33:24.833
so I\'ll just donate it
to some place or throw it out.\"

00:33:24.867 --> 00:33:26.533
Used bikes from here
might be built up

00:33:26.567 --> 00:33:28.667
and sold through the retail shop

00:33:28.700 --> 00:33:30.233
to put somebody onto a bike
affordably

00:33:30.267 --> 00:33:33.333
and generate funds
for our educational program.

00:33:33.367 --> 00:33:36.500
Young folks will earn a bike
that they can take home

00:33:36.533 --> 00:33:38.433
without having to hit
Mom or Dad\'s pocketbook

00:33:38.467 --> 00:33:41.367
by turning a wrench on it,
fixing it,

00:33:41.400 --> 00:33:43.333
spending a certain amount
of time here.

00:33:43.367 --> 00:33:46.633
There are folks who come in
with, you know, the attitude

00:33:46.667 --> 00:33:48.733
that they just come
and get a free bike,

00:33:48.767 --> 00:33:50.633
and that\'s one way
that things can work,

00:33:50.667 --> 00:33:53.500
but when you just give somebody
something for free,

00:33:53.533 --> 00:33:56.967
in many cases, it\'ll be treated
as if it\'s worth exactly that:

00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:58.500
free.

00:33:58.533 --> 00:34:00.567
We\'ve found
that having young people

00:34:00.600 --> 00:34:02.067
kind of invest in the bike,

00:34:02.100 --> 00:34:04.667
become intimately familiar
with, like, nuts and bolts

00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:07.800
and really sweat and maybe
bruise a few knuckles

00:34:07.833 --> 00:34:11.033
on stuck bolts, that,

00:34:11.067 --> 00:34:12.667
\"Wow, you know,
I fixed that bike,

00:34:12.700 --> 00:34:13.867
and I\'m gonna take care of it.\"

00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:15.300
That\'s the moment
I really drive for

00:34:15.333 --> 00:34:18.400
is that young person
being able to, you know,

00:34:18.433 --> 00:34:19.473
kind of be self-sufficient

00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:21.700
and model that
for other young people.

00:34:32.600 --> 00:34:35.667
- It\'s hard for kids to feel
like they have a future here.

00:34:35.700 --> 00:34:37.967
They\'ve been told
their whole lives

00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:39.100
that this is hopeless,

00:34:39.133 --> 00:34:43.833
it\'s a dead city,
and your goal is to get out.

00:34:43.867 --> 00:34:45.800
And it\'s...
I think it\'s just disingenuous

00:34:45.833 --> 00:34:49.167
to say to young people,
\"Once you get out, come back,\"

00:34:49.200 --> 00:34:51.600
when, for their whole lives,
they have been told

00:34:51.633 --> 00:34:53.367
they are of no use
to this city... um

00:34:56.567 --> 00:35:00.067
until they\'re 22, 23, 24.

00:35:00.100 --> 00:35:02.467
As opposed to what we want
to do, is to say,

00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:03.933
\"From the time
you\'re five years old

00:35:03.967 --> 00:35:05.067
\"and walk into this school,

00:35:05.100 --> 00:35:06.733
\"you are of use to this city,

00:35:06.767 --> 00:35:09.133
\"because you\'re looking around,
and you see the problems,

00:35:09.167 --> 00:35:12.233
\"and, as appropriate
to your developmental age,

00:35:12.267 --> 00:35:13.600
you can make a difference here.\"

00:35:13.633 --> 00:35:16.367
The problem is not these kids.

00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:19.400
[siren wailing]

00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:24.600
- Tragedy in Detroit

00:35:24.633 --> 00:35:26.800
after witnesses say
a police officer

00:35:26.833 --> 00:35:30.467
shot and killed
a seven-year-old girl.

00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:32.467
- They threw a bomb
in through the window.

00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:35.500
She got caught on fire,
and my brother got bandages,

00:35:35.533 --> 00:35:38.633
and his baby,
she got a bullet in her face.

00:35:38.667 --> 00:35:41.167
- She was a asleep,
and they came through the door,

00:35:41.200 --> 00:35:43.400
shooting,
throwing flash grenades...

00:35:43.433 --> 00:35:46.200
- At the wrong house.
- At the wrong house.

00:35:46.233 --> 00:35:47.400
- At the wrong house.

00:35:47.433 --> 00:35:48.967
- Burned my baby up
and shot her,

00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:50.600
killed her.

00:35:50.633 --> 00:35:51.733
- It is so rampant.

00:35:51.767 --> 00:35:53.733
The City of Detroit
Police Department

00:35:53.767 --> 00:35:55.967
has two federal consent decrees.

00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:58.633
- We\'re marching against fear.

00:35:58.667 --> 00:36:01.800
We won\'t let them make
southwest Detroit a war zone.

00:36:01.833 --> 00:36:03.967
- No queremos que convierten
southwest Detroit

00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:05.467
en un lugar de guerra.

00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:07.400
- We won\'t let them make
the east side of Detroit

00:36:07.433 --> 00:36:08.433
a war zone.

00:36:08.467 --> 00:36:10.700
- No vamos a dejar
que convierten

00:36:10.733 --> 00:36:14.033
el lado este de la ciudad
en una zona de guerra.

00:36:14.067 --> 00:36:16.333
- And we won\'t just let them
make downtown Detroit

00:36:16.367 --> 00:36:18.367
a peace zone
only for some people.

00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:21.267
We have to make Detroit
a peace zone

00:36:21.300 --> 00:36:22.533
for the people,

00:36:22.567 --> 00:36:24.000
for the workers.

00:36:24.033 --> 00:36:27.433
[cheers and applause]

00:36:27.467 --> 00:36:30.467
- You know, I have a young son
that\'s in a wheelchair.

00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:33.433
He got shot when he was ten
by the neighbor\'s kid,

00:36:33.467 --> 00:36:36.800
and I also lost a son,
which you know is Robert.

00:36:36.833 --> 00:36:41.000
He was a old-school kid.
He... he...

00:36:41.033 --> 00:36:42.733
For his birthday,
he didn\'t like anything.

00:36:42.767 --> 00:36:44.633
All he liked to do
was be around family.

00:36:44.667 --> 00:36:46.300
\"Mom, you don\'t have
to buy anything.

00:36:46.333 --> 00:36:47.633
\"Only thing I want you to do

00:36:47.667 --> 00:36:49.500
\"is just call everybody
in the family over

00:36:49.533 --> 00:36:52.167
and fry some chicken.\"

00:36:52.200 --> 00:36:55.800
He was a young boy.
He was ADHD.

00:36:55.833 --> 00:36:58.667
I think he was just scared,
basically just scared.

00:37:00.700 --> 00:37:01.833
Detroit can do better.

00:37:01.867 --> 00:37:03.300
We can do better as the people.

00:37:03.333 --> 00:37:05.067
It\'s not the city.
It\'s the people.

00:37:05.100 --> 00:37:08.933
And it works one at a time,
person by person,

00:37:08.967 --> 00:37:11.700
and I chose to stay to help.

00:37:13.800 --> 00:37:17.533
- Now more
\"Fighting For Justice.\"

00:37:17.567 --> 00:37:18.967
- Well, we\'re back.

00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:21.133
There\'s about six minutes left
in the program exactly.

00:37:21.167 --> 00:37:23.667
Give us a call here.
248-848-1310.

00:37:23.700 --> 00:37:26.400
248-848-1310, the
\"Fighting For Justice\" program.

00:37:26.433 --> 00:37:29.000
It\'s interesting...
Talking about violence

00:37:29.033 --> 00:37:30.867
and what\'s happening
in the community.

00:37:30.900 --> 00:37:34.500
What we don\'t hear
are about all of the crimes

00:37:34.533 --> 00:37:36.900
that are committed every day,
\'cause we hear about them...

00:37:36.933 --> 00:37:38.333
- The crime
that the bank commits,

00:37:38.367 --> 00:37:39.667
which is the ultimate...

00:37:39.700 --> 00:37:42.267
When are they gonna put
those people in jail?

00:37:42.300 --> 00:37:44.400
And, you know, this...

00:37:44.433 --> 00:37:46.700
- People look to the police
to resolve their issues,

00:37:46.733 --> 00:37:49.633
and we find that in most cases,
when the police get there,

00:37:49.667 --> 00:37:51.733
they escalate the situation.

00:37:51.767 --> 00:37:53.467
They become a part
of the problem.

00:37:53.500 --> 00:37:54.667
They\'re not the solution.

00:37:54.700 --> 00:37:56.667
They\'re not there
to resolve the issues,

00:37:56.700 --> 00:37:58.067
especially when it relates

00:37:58.100 --> 00:37:59.900
to working-class
and black people.

00:37:59.933 --> 00:38:03.200
- Oftentimes
when people engage...

00:38:03.233 --> 00:38:05.667
Are engaged
in police brutality issues and...

00:38:05.700 --> 00:38:08.067
They don\'t know where to go.

00:38:08.100 --> 00:38:09.333
Before our organization,

00:38:09.367 --> 00:38:11.533
they didn\'t have anyone
that they could go to

00:38:11.567 --> 00:38:13.900
to at least find out
if they had a legal case.

00:38:13.933 --> 00:38:16.267
- \'Cause when we run
into people, a lot of times,

00:38:16.300 --> 00:38:18.600
they have a loved one
who\'s been killed.

00:38:18.633 --> 00:38:21.400
They have somebody
who\'s been attacked.

00:38:21.433 --> 00:38:22.600
And so what we do,

00:38:22.633 --> 00:38:25.433
in addition to just doing
the practical work

00:38:25.467 --> 00:38:27.067
of, like, doing
the investigation,

00:38:27.100 --> 00:38:29.500
going out,
having demonstrations,

00:38:29.533 --> 00:38:32.633
challenging them, leading them
through the process,

00:38:32.667 --> 00:38:35.400
we work with them
to restore them

00:38:35.433 --> 00:38:37.600
to the framework
of their humanity.

00:38:37.633 --> 00:38:39.567
- And that not only
encompasses the people,

00:38:39.600 --> 00:38:41.267
but it encompasses
the police department.

00:38:41.300 --> 00:38:42.300
- That\'s right.

00:38:42.333 --> 00:38:43.333
- They need peace,

00:38:43.367 --> 00:38:45.967
because they\'re out there
angry and afraid,

00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:48.500
and they say that a lot,
that they, you know, fear

00:38:48.533 --> 00:38:50.400
what, you know,
they\'re up against,

00:38:50.433 --> 00:38:52.100
and they are up against a lot.

00:38:52.133 --> 00:38:58.200
- So we\'re talking about peace
in the framework

00:38:58.233 --> 00:39:03.033
of how we regrow
and retain and change

00:39:03.067 --> 00:39:05.267
neighborhoods and communities
from the ground up.

00:39:09.133 --> 00:39:12.100
- I just had a friend murdered
the other day, you know?

00:39:12.133 --> 00:39:15.900
And, you know,
just out in front of the house,

00:39:15.933 --> 00:39:19.067
you know, the cops recover
83 shells from the shoot-out

00:39:19.100 --> 00:39:21.033
that just happened
just in front of this house,

00:39:21.067 --> 00:39:22.467
you know, like...

00:39:22.500 --> 00:39:25.500
[melodic R&B music playing]

00:39:29.833 --> 00:39:31.467
- Let me tell you, man, look.

00:39:31.500 --> 00:39:32.740
[rapping]
Now my lady on my case

00:39:32.767 --> 00:39:33.767
So filling out a app

00:39:33.800 --> 00:39:35.900
All I know is how to whip dust
in a Pyrex.

00:39:35.933 --> 00:39:38.067
Got a baby on the way,
damn, it\'s a mess

00:39:38.100 --> 00:39:41.333
Have you ever been convicted
of a felony?

00:39:41.367 --> 00:39:43.633
- I just kind of, like,
tell them

00:39:43.667 --> 00:39:45.533
that I want, really,
what\'s in your heart

00:39:45.567 --> 00:39:47.233
and then just try
to get out the way

00:39:47.267 --> 00:39:48.933
as fast as possible.

00:39:48.967 --> 00:39:51.067
[laughs]

00:39:51.100 --> 00:39:55.133
You know, and a lot of times,
what ends up being recorded

00:39:55.167 --> 00:39:58.500
is the first thing
that comes to them.

00:39:58.533 --> 00:40:01.533
[sweeping hip-hop beats playing]

00:40:10.700 --> 00:40:14.933
Our best bet for actually
cultivating a healthy society

00:40:14.967 --> 00:40:18.567
begins with making sure
that our youth

00:40:18.600 --> 00:40:22.767
are adequately nourished
to where they can be successful

00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:25.333
in this process
of restoring everything

00:40:25.367 --> 00:40:28.633
that we know is possible
for the city and...

00:40:28.667 --> 00:40:32.233
And everything beyond the city,
essentially.

00:40:32.267 --> 00:40:35.167
If you actually focus, say,
on one young kid

00:40:35.200 --> 00:40:38.200
or a few young, you know, kids,

00:40:38.233 --> 00:40:41.233
to a degree in which
they\'re nourished adequately

00:40:41.267 --> 00:40:43.367
and they affect a few people

00:40:43.400 --> 00:40:45.367
who, in turn,
affect a few people

00:40:45.400 --> 00:40:47.433
who, in turn,
affect a few people,

00:40:47.467 --> 00:40:51.100
now you\'ve affected
hundreds and hundreds of people.

00:40:54.833 --> 00:40:57.000
- This zip code we\'re in, 48205,

00:40:57.033 --> 00:41:00.100
has the largest foreclosure rate
in the entire city.

00:41:00.133 --> 00:41:02.400
This block
is particularly devastated.

00:41:02.433 --> 00:41:04.600
In fact, every house
on the block is empty.

00:41:04.633 --> 00:41:06.700
And we have many students
who have to walk past this

00:41:06.733 --> 00:41:09.100
every day coming to school.

00:41:09.133 --> 00:41:13.133
And this was once
a vibrant community.

00:41:13.167 --> 00:41:17.533
We participate in what\'s called
place-based education.

00:41:17.567 --> 00:41:20.667
Our main place-based project
has been the community garden

00:41:20.700 --> 00:41:22.500
that we\'re going to see
in a few minutes,

00:41:22.533 --> 00:41:24.433
but this is going to be
the secondary project,

00:41:24.467 --> 00:41:27.567
trying to figure out how we,
to some extent,

00:41:27.600 --> 00:41:29.567
remediate the situation
on this block,

00:41:29.600 --> 00:41:31.700
at least getting rid
of the trash,

00:41:31.733 --> 00:41:34.467
cutting some of the shrubs,
cutting the grass.

00:41:34.500 --> 00:41:35.967
This is one of several parks

00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:40.300
that the city
has basically abandoned.

00:41:40.333 --> 00:41:42.933
They say they don\'t have
the money to maintain it.

00:41:42.967 --> 00:41:46.067
And so we\'re working
to try to revive this park

00:41:46.100 --> 00:41:48.100
and build a sense of community

00:41:48.133 --> 00:41:51.967
as well as build greater access
to fresh produce.

00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:53.067
Some of the children,

00:41:53.100 --> 00:41:54.767
both in the neighborhood
and our students,

00:41:54.800 --> 00:41:56.767
built and decorated
these raised beds.

00:41:56.800 --> 00:41:58.900
We\'ve had some children
come out and help with weeding

00:41:58.933 --> 00:42:01.633
and moving topsoil and all that.

00:42:01.667 --> 00:42:04.033
We got a great crop of arugula.

00:42:04.067 --> 00:42:06.067
Then we have these radishes,
which are doing well.

00:42:06.100 --> 00:42:07.900
We just put those in recently.

00:42:07.933 --> 00:42:11.067
Putting in a garden
changes the ecosystem,

00:42:11.100 --> 00:42:14.133
so you notice earthworms
coming back in the soil.

00:42:14.167 --> 00:42:17.467
As the insects change,
the birds begin to come back.

00:42:17.500 --> 00:42:19.567
So we\'re noticing
a kind of revival

00:42:19.600 --> 00:42:22.367
of the old ecosystem,
and this is being infused

00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:24.700
into our science instruction
at the school.

00:42:25.700 --> 00:42:27.167
- What season are we in?

00:42:27.200 --> 00:42:29.567
- Fall.
- Autumn.

00:42:29.600 --> 00:42:31.933
- So things are going to change.

00:42:31.967 --> 00:42:33.700
That was a good question.

00:42:33.733 --> 00:42:37.133
- When I come home from school,
I see these people

00:42:37.167 --> 00:42:41.667
with signs that say,
\"Homeless, please help.\"

00:42:41.700 --> 00:42:45.433
It\'s like people don\'t care
about anyone but theirselves,

00:42:45.467 --> 00:42:49.600
and then when something bad
happens to them,

00:42:49.633 --> 00:42:51.467
then they know
why it\'s so important

00:42:51.500 --> 00:42:53.900
to care
about all these other people.

00:42:53.933 --> 00:42:56.267
- Since there\'s no people
who live in these parts,

00:42:56.300 --> 00:42:58.433
sometimes people
break into houses,

00:42:58.467 --> 00:43:01.933
and they have to board up
the houses.

00:43:01.967 --> 00:43:04.367
- Because people don\'t care
about these houses.

00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:05.500
They think, like...

00:43:05.533 --> 00:43:08.467
They treat them like trash
and throw litter on the ground.

00:43:08.500 --> 00:43:11.800
- If we, like,
get a group of people,

00:43:11.833 --> 00:43:14.300
we can start cleaning up
the neighborhoods,

00:43:14.333 --> 00:43:17.000
and we can start
fixing up houses.

00:43:17.033 --> 00:43:19.333
- What we can do
is just change the people

00:43:19.367 --> 00:43:22.733
that are trashing all these...
All these homes.

00:43:22.767 --> 00:43:25.533
We can change the people,

00:43:25.567 --> 00:43:28.567
and then we can change
the houses.

00:43:28.600 --> 00:43:34.367
- So our article today
is on page A15.

00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:36.800
African-American children

00:43:36.833 --> 00:43:42.900
comprise a disproportionate
share of fire deaths.

00:43:42.933 --> 00:43:47.867
Now, what unfamiliar vocabulary
is in that one sentence?

00:43:47.900 --> 00:43:48.867
Maya.

00:43:48.900 --> 00:43:49.967
- \"Disproportionate.\"

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:51.267
- Okay.

00:43:51.300 --> 00:43:54.167
One of the things
that I always tell my children:

00:43:54.200 --> 00:43:57.067
smart is something that you get.

00:43:57.100 --> 00:43:59.100
You\'re all intelligent,

00:43:59.133 --> 00:44:01.167
but smart is something
that you get,

00:44:01.200 --> 00:44:04.633
and you only get smart
by working hard.

00:44:04.667 --> 00:44:08.000
Proportion.
Think about math.

00:44:08.033 --> 00:44:11.667
- Your part or your slice.

00:44:11.700 --> 00:44:12.900
- Okay.

00:44:12.933 --> 00:44:16.767
So \"dis\" means what?

00:44:16.800 --> 00:44:18.867
- It means negative something.

00:44:18.900 --> 00:44:21.400
- Okay, so \"disproportionate.\"

00:44:21.433 --> 00:44:24.200
- You\'re less, you know,
into starting fires.

00:44:24.233 --> 00:44:26.067
- You think it\'s less?
- Yes.

00:44:26.100 --> 00:44:27.100
- Okay, well, let\'s see.

00:44:27.133 --> 00:44:29.833
Our unit of study this month

00:44:29.867 --> 00:44:33.067
is the history
of the black press,

00:44:33.100 --> 00:44:35.000
and the students look
at the articles,

00:44:35.033 --> 00:44:36.067
read the articles,

00:44:36.100 --> 00:44:38.467
and then compare and contrast

00:44:38.500 --> 00:44:41.567
the articles that they have read

00:44:41.600 --> 00:44:47.033
to the purpose
of the black press

00:44:47.067 --> 00:44:49.400
to uphold the community

00:44:49.433 --> 00:44:54.800
and show the black community
in a positive light, okay?

00:44:54.833 --> 00:45:00.700
So they\'re trying to show you
how to do what about fires?

00:45:00.733 --> 00:45:02.267
- Before it even comes,

00:45:02.300 --> 00:45:04.100
you should already be ready
for it.

00:45:04.133 --> 00:45:05.367
- Can you give me a word
for that?

00:45:05.400 --> 00:45:06.967
Okay, Del, you want to try?

00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:08.267
- Yes, it\'s prevention.

00:45:08.300 --> 00:45:09.767
- There you go!

00:45:09.800 --> 00:45:12.900
I\'m gonna love you always,

00:45:12.933 --> 00:45:17.300
but when I see you
falling out of line,

00:45:17.333 --> 00:45:19.100
I\'m gonna pull you back.

00:45:19.133 --> 00:45:22.767
So I guess, in a nutshell,
my philosophy is,

00:45:22.800 --> 00:45:26.067
love them
as if they came from your womb.

00:45:26.100 --> 00:45:28.167
[indistinct chatter]

00:45:28.200 --> 00:45:30.833
- Let\'s move to number five.

00:45:30.867 --> 00:45:32.600
Who\'s gonna read that one?

00:45:35.933 --> 00:45:39.000
I was blessed to graduate
from the University of Detroit

00:45:39.033 --> 00:45:41.267
on a community-based
scholarship.

00:45:41.300 --> 00:45:43.400
Essentially,
it was a group of elder women

00:45:43.433 --> 00:45:44.833
who saw me working
in the community,

00:45:44.867 --> 00:45:47.567
said, \"We\'re gonna pay your way
to college.\"

00:45:47.600 --> 00:45:48.867
At that point, I realized

00:45:48.900 --> 00:45:52.667
the importance
of using your education

00:45:52.700 --> 00:45:54.967
to empower
your own circumstances.

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:56.400
- The proper answer is B.

00:45:56.433 --> 00:45:57.500
- B.

00:45:57.533 --> 00:45:59.067
Okay, I think
that\'s what Jehal said.

00:45:59.100 --> 00:46:00.433
- It\'s A.

00:46:00.467 --> 00:46:02.267
- Okay, you believe it\'s A
because...

00:46:02.300 --> 00:46:03.867
- Because...

00:46:05.400 --> 00:46:08.733
- We know that speleologists
like caves, correct?

00:46:08.767 --> 00:46:09.900
Right?
- Yeah.

00:46:09.933 --> 00:46:11.700
- Does that mean
that people who explore caves

00:46:11.733 --> 00:46:12.700
don\'t like caves?

00:46:12.733 --> 00:46:13.700
- No!

00:46:13.733 --> 00:46:14.800
- So the proper answer,

00:46:14.833 --> 00:46:18.133
or the most closest
to the exact answer would be B.

00:46:18.167 --> 00:46:19.167
- Yeah!

00:46:19.200 --> 00:46:21.433
- Let\'s finish this last one
really quick.

00:46:21.467 --> 00:46:23.400
How do we raise children,

00:46:23.433 --> 00:46:25.867
particularly
African-American children,

00:46:25.900 --> 00:46:28.400
to have a quality education

00:46:28.433 --> 00:46:31.000
in a safe, nurturing,
loving environment

00:46:31.033 --> 00:46:33.533
which gives them
a cultural foundation

00:46:33.567 --> 00:46:36.267
so they can respect
and appreciate other cultures

00:46:36.300 --> 00:46:39.267
as well as their own

00:46:39.300 --> 00:46:42.733
and give them the responsibility
that as they matriculate

00:46:42.767 --> 00:46:45.400
or as they grow
through their academic years

00:46:45.433 --> 00:46:47.200
that they have the awareness
to come back

00:46:47.233 --> 00:46:49.633
and use those skills to help?

00:46:49.667 --> 00:46:51.800
Our curriculum,
which is African-centered,

00:46:51.833 --> 00:46:55.100
can provide our students
a better experience:

00:46:55.133 --> 00:46:57.500
the African tradition
of familyhood,

00:46:57.533 --> 00:46:59.767
the African tradition
of growing your food,

00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:04.533
the African tradition
of recognizing elders as values.

00:47:04.567 --> 00:47:07.433
We hope that more people
understand that African-centered

00:47:07.467 --> 00:47:09.800
isn\'t to the exclusion
of other people.

00:47:09.833 --> 00:47:13.067
It\'s actually
like my grandmother told me:

00:47:13.100 --> 00:47:15.367
\"You can\'t appreciate
another person\'s fruit

00:47:15.400 --> 00:47:17.467
unless you grew your own,\"
you know.

00:47:19.333 --> 00:47:21.167
[people singing]
My city, my city

00:47:21.200 --> 00:47:22.800
My city, my city

00:47:22.833 --> 00:47:24.300
313

00:47:24.333 --> 00:47:27.900
My city, my city,
my city, my city

00:47:27.933 --> 00:47:29.633
313

00:47:29.667 --> 00:47:33.000
My city, my city,
my city, my city

00:47:33.033 --> 00:47:35.000
313

00:47:35.033 --> 00:47:38.533
- One of the greatest injustices
is, we don\'t allow ourselves

00:47:38.567 --> 00:47:41.567
to be the human beings
that we truly would love to be,

00:47:41.600 --> 00:47:45.233
because it seems
like nobody else is.

00:47:45.267 --> 00:47:46.767
\"Oh, I would love
to be like this.

00:47:46.800 --> 00:47:49.233
Oh, I would love to be kind
to people, I would,\"

00:47:49.267 --> 00:47:51.133
but the world is not that way.

00:47:51.167 --> 00:47:54.867
If you would love to be that,
then be that.

00:47:54.900 --> 00:47:56.300
- Clap, clap, clap.

00:47:56.333 --> 00:47:57.400
[people singing]
- There are

00:47:57.433 --> 00:47:58.700
- Professors who care to teach

00:47:58.733 --> 00:48:01.300
- There are
- Men who raise their seeds

00:48:01.333 --> 00:48:04.533
- There are
- People who look like me

00:48:04.567 --> 00:48:07.467
- We really need to rethink
what work is,

00:48:07.500 --> 00:48:10.367
and not just jobs
but what work is.

00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:14.933
Like, how can we feel
most useful

00:48:14.967 --> 00:48:18.200
and use our talents
to be proud of what we\'re doing

00:48:18.233 --> 00:48:21.133
and not just be able
to bring home a paycheck?

00:48:21.167 --> 00:48:22.200
Which I think, you know,

00:48:22.233 --> 00:48:25.433
we\'ve kind of resigned
ourselves to as a country.

00:48:25.467 --> 00:48:28.467
[sinister rock music]

00:48:30.533 --> 00:48:37.500
- The 20th century is a century
of expanding materialism,

00:48:37.533 --> 00:48:43.433
of expanding conflicts,
of expanding consumerism,

00:48:43.467 --> 00:48:46.567
and we\'re only beginning
to understand

00:48:46.600 --> 00:48:50.533
that in the cost
of all this expansion,

00:48:50.567 --> 00:48:53.333
we have lost our souls.

00:48:53.367 --> 00:48:56.167
And this is a great opportunity

00:48:56.200 --> 00:49:02.500
to begin to see
how much we have been damaged

00:49:02.533 --> 00:49:04.667
by our affluence,

00:49:04.700 --> 00:49:10.833
how much, in pursuit
of affluence, we have

00:49:10.867 --> 00:49:14.367
exploited the Earth,
exploited other peoples,

00:49:14.400 --> 00:49:16.533
damaged ourselves.

00:49:17.667 --> 00:49:21.533
- There are some human needs
that are not met

00:49:21.567 --> 00:49:23.567
in this industrial thing,

00:49:23.600 --> 00:49:25.800
and one of them is green space.

00:49:25.833 --> 00:49:27.500
We need to be connected
to the Earth,

00:49:27.533 --> 00:49:29.533
and so I think... my hope is,

00:49:29.567 --> 00:49:32.600
when we really kind of think
about Detroit,

00:49:32.633 --> 00:49:35.500
we can rebuild it
with these human needs,

00:49:35.533 --> 00:49:38.567
like green space and growing.

00:49:38.600 --> 00:49:39.667
- There was a need.

00:49:39.700 --> 00:49:42.900
There were people
who wanted participation,

00:49:42.933 --> 00:49:45.067
neighborly participation,

00:49:45.100 --> 00:49:47.833
people who cared
about each other

00:49:47.867 --> 00:49:49.733
and what was going on.

00:49:49.767 --> 00:49:51.567
Are the streetlights working?

00:49:51.600 --> 00:49:54.733
Are the kids safe out playing?
Is anybody watching?

00:49:54.767 --> 00:49:59.633
I mean, there\'s just a lot
of support for what we do,

00:49:59.667 --> 00:50:02.367
and, for me,
it just started out with,

00:50:02.400 --> 00:50:05.967
\"We\'ll grow some collards
and some tomatoes

00:50:06.000 --> 00:50:08.167
and eat good on Sundays.\"

00:50:08.200 --> 00:50:10.000
- Romaine lettuces.

00:50:10.033 --> 00:50:12.000
Green and red
loose-leaf lettuce.

00:50:12.033 --> 00:50:14.300
No chemicals used.

00:50:14.333 --> 00:50:16.800
- We actually can
grow our own food,

00:50:16.833 --> 00:50:18.467
and so when we produce the food

00:50:18.500 --> 00:50:20.800
and we have these pounds
and pounds and tons of food,

00:50:20.833 --> 00:50:23.433
we can also use
that same kind of vigor

00:50:23.467 --> 00:50:25.933
and that same kind of enthusiasm
and resilience

00:50:25.967 --> 00:50:29.233
to produce clothes,
to produce our own schools,

00:50:29.267 --> 00:50:31.700
and to do whatever else we need
within our community.

00:50:31.733 --> 00:50:33.333
We don\'t have to be dependent

00:50:33.367 --> 00:50:35.933
upon people who don\'t have
our own best interests at heart.

00:50:37.033 --> 00:50:39.467
- Somebody got to tell them
we are not ghosts.

00:50:39.500 --> 00:50:43.033
Somebody got to tell them
we are not ghosts,

00:50:43.067 --> 00:50:46.933
that we are in this city,
and we are alive.

00:50:46.967 --> 00:50:49.967
[frantic string music playing]

00:50:59.500 --> 00:51:01.733
So don\'t write eulogies
for Detroit,

00:51:01.767 --> 00:51:03.833
no uninspired folk song
of gloom.

00:51:03.867 --> 00:51:06.267
Some of us are coming home
to show the world

00:51:06.300 --> 00:51:10.500
how we make the planet move.

00:51:10.533 --> 00:51:11.500
[applause]

00:51:11.533 --> 00:51:13.500
Thank you.
[laughs]

00:51:13.533 --> 00:51:14.767
That\'s the piece.

00:51:14.800 --> 00:51:17.000
So that\'s the finale piece
that will go with the show.

00:51:17.033 --> 00:51:18.400
[melodic R&B music]

00:51:18.433 --> 00:51:20.700
Chilling.

00:51:20.733 --> 00:51:25.100
I know.

00:51:25.133 --> 00:51:26.667
Let me tell you, man, look.

00:51:26.700 --> 00:51:27.900
[rapping]
Now my lady on my case

00:51:27.933 --> 00:51:29.033
So filling out a app

00:51:29.067 --> 00:51:31.033
All I know is how to whip dust
in a Pyrex

00:51:31.067 --> 00:51:33.233
Got a baby on the way,
damn, it\'s a mess

00:51:33.267 --> 00:51:35.733
Have you ever been convicted
of a felony

00:51:35.767 --> 00:51:37.900
Check in the box to the left,
say no

00:51:37.933 --> 00:51:40.067
Fresh out the box
with a fresh new caseload

00:51:40.100 --> 00:51:42.100
Step out the box for a sec,
think, bro

00:51:42.133 --> 00:51:43.267
They ain\'t trying to have you

00:51:43.300 --> 00:51:45.500
With jailhouse tattoos
on your left forearm

00:51:45.533 --> 00:51:47.633
Staring, looking at you
like you up to no good

00:51:47.667 --> 00:51:49.467
Scared and afraid
to look you in your eye

00:51:49.500 --> 00:51:50.900
Like the man when he thanks you

00:51:50.933 --> 00:51:51.933
Stood by the phone

00:51:51.967 --> 00:51:53.933
And you sat every day
till he gave you a call

00:51:53.967 --> 00:51:55.233
Thinking they was available

00:51:55.267 --> 00:51:56.267
Didn\'t get the job

00:51:56.300 --> 00:51:58.367
Now the rent and the cable
due the end of the month

00:51:58.400 --> 00:52:00.567
With the gas and the AOL
first of the month

00:52:00.600 --> 00:52:02.733
Fiends cashing their
welfare checks on the third

00:52:02.767 --> 00:52:05.167
I\'ll be limping on lame feet,
standing on the curb

00:52:05.200 --> 00:52:07.100
Selling cocaine
to some real close friends

00:52:07.133 --> 00:52:08.433
That I kept at long range

00:52:08.467 --> 00:52:10.600
And getting on your nerves,
telling on James

00:52:10.633 --> 00:52:12.533
I still got to work
to sell the whole thing

00:52:12.567 --> 00:52:14.567
Got bills...