Social Justice

For those who are Experiencing Homelessness

Detroit organizations, the Noah Project in particular, have served the Detroit community for years inside of a church that just so happens to be part of the district that is being redeveloped.
The Noah Project uses various organizations to serve Detroit. The Bag Lunch Program in particular has been around for over 40 years. This program serves those who are experiencing homelessness. Due to redevelopment, business owners in the vicinity no longer want the Noah Project and the churches it occupies to serve these individuals.
It is important to note that a large majority of this population who rely on this program are minorities.
Even though these people experience homelessness and are being neglected by those who want to build Detroit up, they still have a lot of pride in their city with hopes of impacting it. They are not upset or bitter about their situation. Instead they focus on the future which they believe will be better than today. FORWARD.

A Nod to the Past; Forever Part of the Future

The 8 Mile Wall was built to serve as a physical separation of the black and white neighborhoods in 1941. The FHA policies of the time called for racially homogenous neighborhoods in order to receive public funding, and so white developers built the wall to separate communities. This led to an influx of white residents into the surrounding neighborhoods and cheaper housing was made available to them, while the black neighborhoods were denied any publicly funded housing which was greatly needed as mortgages were disproportionately denied to them, only leading to more decline.

Detroit's history with segregation, redlining, and white flight are still apparent today. When more affluent white people left for the suburbs, the city fell into further decline. Now there's a huge blight problem, lack of public funding, lack of affordable housing, poor public schools, and a plethora of other issues that can be traced to the federal governments earlier policies and the differences between the black and white communities of Detroit in the past. But still, the people of Detroit remain optimistic and hopeful and have turned this reminder of segregation into a symbol of hope and perseverance. Local artists have painted the wall with different images and stories meant to uplift the community, remembering and embracing the past but looking forward to a better future.

(Pictures of the wall today)

"Being an Artist is the best excuse for being crazy" -J. Cole

Heidelberg project

Tyree Guyton along with his grandfather Sam Mackey founded the project in 1986
All started with a dot
Expanded and covered one house with dots of all colors, sizes and shapes
Gateway to using other homes nearby
Things ranging from stuffed animals, toys, and shoes were all included
While some appreciated the project, others saw it as trash
Demolition and destruction
Also faced multiple fires
Brings revenue and attention to an area that would be unknown without the project
Leaves interpretation up to the viewers
Is representation to children that they can be artists
People come from all over the world to see the project

Looking to the Future

Education is something that is in need of improvement in many Detroit communities. One program has seen the need for change and has taken the lead into establishing it.
Beyond Basics is a program that works to show young elementary school students the importance of reading and celebrating their creative minds.
Beyond Basics associates with schools with large black populations. They understand that representation is key for student success that is why with their programs they allow for the students to write their own stories and draw their own covers for their books. Their books are then published and showcased for all to enjoy.
What is also important about the work this group does is that in some of its works the pictures that are found online show black characters. These students need to be shown faces that look like there's because so many times society tells them their skin is not good enough and they are not a part of American literature.

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