Authentically Detroit
Authentically Detroit is the leading podcast in the city for candid conversations, exchanging progressive ideas, and centering resident perspectives on current events.
Hosted by Donna Givens Davidson and Orlando P. Bailey.
Produced by Sarah Johnson and Engineered by Griffin Hutchings.
Check us out on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @AuthenticallyDetroit!
Authentically Detroit
Be Well Beautiful People with Demarra West
This week, Donna and Orlando sat down with the Founder of Be Well Beautiful People Demarra West to talk about her story of overcoming trauma and building a supportive community for those who need it most!
Be Well Beautiful People is a 501c3 organization with a deep-seated commitment to bridging significant gaps in accessible healing and liberation support while disrupting systems that cause harm. The organization was founded by Demarra West, a seasoned entrepreneur, therapist, and wellness professional with more than two decades of experience.
Be Well Beautiful People envisions a world where all of us are well, no matter where we came from, or where we started in life.
They believe the only way to make that vision a reality is by ensuring those most affected by trauma including BIPOC, LGBTQI+, the low income, and those impacted by incarceration and foster care, have access to wellness solutions that are actually proven to help them rise in every area of their lives.
To learn more about Be Well Beautiful People, click here!
FOR HOT TAKES:
DETROIT REPARATIONS TASKFORCE DISAVOWS LEADER'S ROGUE POLICY REPORT
DUGGAN WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2025, SETTING UP A MAYORAL FREE-FOR-ALL
Up next. Authentically, Detroit welcomes the founder of Be Well Beautiful People, Damara West, to discuss her story of overcoming trauma and building a supportive community for those who need it most. But first this week's hot takes from Bridge Detroit. Detroit Reparations Task Force disavows leader's rogue policy report and Duggan won't seek re-election in 2025, setting up a mayoral free-for-all. Keep it locked. Authentically, Detroit starts after these messages.
Speaker 2:Founded in 2021, the Stoudemire is a membership-based community recreation and wellness center centrally located on the east side of Detroit. Membership in the Stoudemire is available on a sliding scale for up to $20 per year or 20 hours of volunteer time. The Stoudemire offers art, dance and fitness classes, community meetings and events, resource fairs, pop-up events, the Neighborhood Tech Hub and more. Members who are residents of the Eastside have access to exclusive services in the Wellness Network. Join today and live well, play well, be well. Visit ecndetroitorg.
Speaker 1:Hey y'all, it's Orlando. We just want to let you know that the views and opinions expressed during this podcast episode are those of the co-hosts and guests and not their sponsoring institutions. Now let's in the world. Welcome to another episode of Authentically Detroit, broadcasting live from Detroit's East Side at the Stoudemire inside of the East Side Community Network headquarters. I'm Orlando Bailey.
Speaker 3:And I'm Donna Givens-Davidson.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening in and supporting our efforts to build a platform of authentic voices for real people in the city of Detroit. We want you to like, rate and subscribe to our podcast on all platforms. Happy holidays everyone platforms. Happy holidays everyone. We are happy to have Donna back in the studio with us this week, as well as Damara West, the founder of Be Well Beautiful People Love that name. Damara is going to share with us her story of overcoming trauma and using that as fuel to build a supportive community for those who need it most. Damara, welcome to Authentically Detroit.
Speaker 4:Orlando Donna, I am so delighted to be here with you, Thank you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, you know the timing is so good, Let me tell you.
Speaker 1:We're in holiday season.
Speaker 3:We're in holiday season, we're coming off the heels of an election which, at the very least, tore people apart, yes, and surprised many people, and I think the combination of some people feeling a sense of loss during these holidays or not living up to anything, me just being shocked that it's already almost Thanksgiving and it's still not that cold outside.
Speaker 3:I'm like wait a minute, isn't it still September? I'm trying to. The weather's throwing me off, you know no, but seriously, it's just a really strange moment for me, and I know not just me, but other people. So I look forward to our conversation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too. So we're really excited that you are here and that we have the opportunity to talk to you. Donna, how was your weekend? How was the day finding you?
Speaker 3:It's good, you know. I finally.
Speaker 1:Well, I was off last week on a so-called vacation, but I didn't take time off, and so today is the first day I took time off. It's one of those things where Well, do it again. You got to do it this week.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm off this week and I'm not working this week. I decided that this week I'm not going to work. It's one of those things where you want to take vacation, but when you run your own nonprofit, when you're in charge and I'm talking to executive directors, you know what I mean. Sometimes, when the buck stops, it stops with you and it does not go on vacation. Okay, so, unfortunately, I had to come back out of vacation because the buck was on my desk, and so I did take a little bit of a break and I stepped back, but I didn't get the full amount of rest that I really feel like I need. And so today is the first day, and actually actually on Saturday, I had Maverick, my grandson, over, and he is so awesome. We took him out to a little birthday party. Oh, that was fun, and he is so much fun, right now.
Speaker 1:I wanted to do Friendsgiving with his parents, but I had my godchild all day. We were at the University of Michigan football game on Saturday. Oh go blue. It was a good game, Michigan football game on Saturday oh go blue.
Speaker 3:It was a good game.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, they spanked Northwestern.
Speaker 3:Oh, my goodness, I know right, that was so good to see. To be honest with you, listen, we need some good wins this year.
Speaker 1:Shout out to Donovan Edwards. And you know, braylon was there. Braylon Edwards was there because they acknowledged him for being inducted into the Hall of Fame. And being inducted into the Hall of Fame, he was there. He gave a little speech. Oh, braylon is here. It was really fun. My godson was ready to go at halftime when we got out to walk he's eight years old. Let me tell you about it. I was outside all morning and afternoon long giving out turkeys.
Speaker 1:It was cold on Saturday with the church Mountaintop Ministries International, my church and so we're giving out turkeys. And I'm like, okay, I have to go get my godchild and we have tickets to this game. And I'm like I really, really don't want to go, I don't want to go to the game. And so maybe I can convince him to do something else. And so I got him in the car. I'm like, chase, don't you want to do something else? I mean we can do anything you want to do. I mean we can go anywhere you want to go. It's cold.
Speaker 1:I'm like, you know, the football game is outside. He was like but I've been learning more about football and I want to go. I was like, but you know, we can watch it from somewhere. He was like I want to go. I've been trying to play more. And so I'm like all right, cool, we're going. So I drive to Ann Arbor and he's paying attention to the GPS. The GPS says that we have like 10 minutes to get to the stadium. But we parked because, of course, course, we can't park super close to the stadium and not endure hellish traffic. And so he was like I thought we, I thought we have 10 more minutes to go. I said, oh yeah, we're walking, we're gonna walk. And so we get out and we start walking and he said out of his mouth, I kid you not, he said eight years old. I regret this listen, it depends on if you're there on time.
Speaker 3:Depending on where you're coming from, it can be so much fun walking to the stadium.
Speaker 1:It was fun walking Because you walk through. You know all of the enjoyment.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know For me. And next time you have two tickets and you don't want to use them for at the big house, you have my number.
Speaker 1:I was trying to give him away, but I wanted to check with him first.
Speaker 3:I'm messing with you.
Speaker 1:I'm messing with you.
Speaker 3:I couldn't have gone this Saturday, but I do love being there. I went there for so many years and you know Braylon. Of course, I knew him when he was a young kid, when he was still playing for Michigan.
Speaker 1:And I remember when he got drafted Local 4. He co-hosted alongside Tati and Maria at Local 4 one week and I was there and we got to we really got to conversing.
Speaker 3:He's a really cool guy. Shout out to Coach Stan Edwards my kid's track coach to Carolyn and then his mother also, because we knew his mother and stepdad. They were all part of this family that we called track, you know, and so track and field when my kids were young. So lots, lots of love for um, all of them and good to see he's doing well, I'm glad to see he was a superstar and then to have a great sense of home like he's.
Speaker 3:This is home, I love that I mean he's got great parents, okay, and his parents his mom, elisa and chuck um are wonderful people. Stan and caro are wonderful people. He's got great siblings. So that's what I love about Detroit, though. Detroit has that magnetic power that keeps people here, because the community can't be found other places, especially when you have family members who love you. It's hard. You know, I never left and it's my people who keep me here, so I'm excited that he's still here too.
Speaker 1:I said this to somebody earlier today that I think Detroit is one of few big cities in this country that still has its soul Right. I agree with that there are so many cities. I've gone to big cities that feel soulless to me, and Detroit is holding on to it and I love that We've got to fight for it, though.
Speaker 3:So and I love that Well, we got to fight for it though.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we got to fight.
Speaker 3:So let's make no mistake, because people are trying to denude us for ourselves, but we're not going without a fight in Detroit because it's long coming.
Speaker 1:All right, it's time for Hot Takes, where we run down some of the week's top headlines in the city of Detroit. For Hot Takes Detroit Reparations Task Force Disavows Leaders' Rogue Policy Report. This is by Malachi Barrett at Bridge Detroit. Detroit's Reparations Task Force is publicly distancing itself from policy recommendations drafted by co-chair Keith Williams without their input, due to his frustrations with the perceived lack of progress from the group. Williams delivered a binder of documents outlining his proposals to City Council President Mary Sheffield this week and provided a copy to Bridge Detroit. In response, the task force issued a Wednesday statement clarifying that Williams' report does not reflect their work during the last two years and shouldn't be considered an official document from the group. It's the latest challenge for the task force formed by the city council in 2023 after Detroiters overwhelmingly backed a ballot initiative to produce reparations policies. Recommendations are due by March 31st 2025 after the city council extended the October deadline.
Speaker 1:Williams, who helped craft the ballot proposal, was appointed by Sheffield to lead a group of academics, activists and policy minds. For months, he's neglected public meetings and missed internal meetings of the task force's executive committee. Citing scheduling issues, he told Bridge Detroit he's been absent for the meetings because he no longer finds value in attending. Williams said his own recommendations were presented on behalf of the Michigan Democratic Party. Black Caucus is what he's trying to say, not as co-chair of the Reparations Task Force. He gave the task force a look at the proposal before bringing it to city council members. Here's the quote force and look at the proposal before bringing it to city council members. Here's the quote. I'm trying to help facilitate this process.
Speaker 1:Williams said We've been at this for almost two years. They're taking too long to get this done. His recommendations center on increasing access to property and economic opportunities, including financial compensation, homebuyer assistance, small business grants, scholarships, workforce training and neighborhood investments. Williams estimated it will cost at least $2 million annually to staff a new reparations office, with additional costs for programs. Task Force co-chair Sidney Calloway said Williams is undermining the group and sowing unnecessary confusion about the direction of their work. Callaway said the task force is hiring a professional writer to draft official policy recommendations and is on track to meet the October I'm sorry, the March 2025 deadline. Donna, what say you?
Speaker 3:You might recall that I was approached after a couple people dropped off of the task force because they could not work with him.
Speaker 1:I do recall.
Speaker 3:To join the task force, and my first response was how could I say no, this is my life's work, I care about reparations. And then my second thought was I can't work with him. And so I at that point said you know what? I'm not doing that to myself. You have people who know how to work with other people and you have people who don't. And you can't change a person who is so clear on their own ideas that they don't listen to anybody else, and you know and double speak.
Speaker 1:You double speak. So you're doing this as the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus chair, but you also, on the other end, say I'm frustrated with this process, so that's why I did it. Well, let's double speak.
Speaker 3:Well, first of all, he's the chair of the Michigan Democratic Black Party Caucus and that in itself is an indictment of his leadership, because the Michigan Democratic Party is not connected to most black people in Michigan in the way it should be, and you can tell that by voter turnout. You can tell that by people saying these are not my issues. You know, I think that he is a person who is pushing an agenda of black capitalism and also a very male centered, you know, masculine kind of thing that we need to put the man back in the home and we need to make strong businesses and we're going to lift our community by building strong black businesses, that kind of Booker T Washington agenda. And it speaks nothing about the mass incarceration problems that we have, homelessness problems that we have and so many other problems are so deeply rooted in our community. And then, you know, I have to say this as a black woman. Somebody introduced me to the term misogynoir and it really it resonates with me because as black women, we have some very specific challenges that we're dealing with and we shouldn't be right.
Speaker 3:We have men who are still telling us we need to put a black woman in charge of all of these homes, even as so many homes don't have I mean, black men in charge of these homes, even as so many homes don't have men.
Speaker 3:And I'm not indicting men, I'm saying we need to do some things to heal our people and I know we're going to talk to you about that and I can't wait to have that conversation. But I don't think you can weaponize one group of black folks against the other. And unfortunately, as James Brown said, this is a man's world. It's still a man's world and you know they can't do anything without a woman or a girl. But you know women. It's a woman's world too and it's about time we recognize that. If you look at the composition of that task force, it's him and a bunch of women, and part of that is the explanation for the lack of respect. I'm not saying there's no men, because I don't know everybody on the task force, but I do believe that there's a bunch of women who I know who sit on the task force and he's not going to listen to women period.
Speaker 1:Well, it is disappointing. There's also some language in the article that says that. The critique, I think from the task force, was that a lot of it was also written by artificial intelligence software.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I did hear about that part.
Speaker 1:And so I, you know, come on guy, you know what Come on man.
Speaker 3:I had a student write an AI paper and turned it in a couple weeks ago and I read the paper and I immediately knew it was AI. And the good news is AI cannot replace the human brain. You don't even need an AI decoder when you are dealing with complex issues to notice that things are a little garbled and don't make sense. You know how AI pictures have six or seven fingers on people's hands or whatever the hands are in the wrong place on the body. There's something about human intelligence that cannot be duplicated by computers. Yet you can tell when it's AI Now, maybe not all the time, Maybe not AI-assisted. Help me with a little grammarly right, but maybe help me with a little research. When AI writes things, inevitably they turn out wrong. Yeah, Get it together please.
Speaker 1:All right for Hot Takes. Duggan won't seek re-election in 2025, setting up a mayoral free-for-all. This is also by Malachi at Bridge Detroit. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will not seek re-election to a fourth term, setting up a major political shift in Michigan's largest city. Duggan, first elected in 2013 as Detroit's 75th mayor, thanked city leaders and employees for their efforts and support at the Irma Henderson Auditorium last Wednesday. He outlined a vision for his final year in office, committing to staying focused on sustaining the city's progress, expanding neighborhood opportunities and attracting young talent. The mayor's decision to leave office after his term expires in 2025 clears the field for an open race to succeed him. Several figures have already expressed interest in running, including Council President Mary Sheffield, council Member Fred Durhall III, non-profit CEO Santil Jenkins and businessman Joel Hashim. Other potential candidates include Reverend Solomon Kinloch Y'all know him at Triumph Church and former police chief James Craig Y'all know Hollywood Craig. Democratic officials expect Duggan, who is 66, will launch a campaign for Michigan governor later this year. Governor Gretchen Whitmer cannot run again due to term limits. Voters won't decide on her replacement until 2026.
Speaker 1:Duggan took office five months after Detroit's bankruptcy was filed, while a state-appointed emergency manager was overseeing the city's restructuring. Duggan touted the city's transformation from bankruptcy to financial stability, boasting $500 million in reserves today and an investment-grade credit rating A decade after taking office. Duggan argues he's made significant progress to stabilize the city and take neighborhoods from blight to beauty Sheffield. A possible mayoral candidate, said Duggan has been a steadfast advocate for Detroit during a critical era and oversaw new economic development, improved city services and the revitalization of neighborhoods. Durhall, a city council member exploring a run for mayor in 2025, said Duggan's plan to step aside after his term ends was probably one of the worst-kept secrets in Detroit. This is on a new page. We'll see a continuation of our city's growth, maintaining what we have and ensuring we don't lose the momentum. Durhall said the next mayor of Detroit has to bring folks together. End quote. Donna, what?
Speaker 3:say you, I think it's time for a change. I think it's an interesting political season. I you know he touts all the things he touts every time that he has a state of the city address. The truth is far more complex than that, and I think we have to look at the fact that we've had the influx.
Speaker 1:Far more complex than that.
Speaker 3:You know. I mean you have to look at the fact that we've had the influx Far more complex than that, you know. I mean you have to look at, you know just the way that we've spent our money and how it's been so-called invested. Even though you know spending public dollars, we're not really investing them because investment would suggest there is a financial return and the folks that are getting the money are not returning them back to the community in the way that they're stating. But I think that if you look at the well-being of average Detroiters, I think we need to evaluate is it better than it was before he took office? I know that maybe garbage is picked up on time and that's important and streetlights are on and that's important.
Speaker 3:But when you look at the state of housing, when you look at the average income, when you look at the pollution that's going on inside of our community unchecked, my question is whether or not we've had an effective leader and advocate acting on our behalf at City Hall. And my interest coming forward in the next year is whether or not we can find somebody, identify somebody running for office who's going to act on behalf of the least of us, because it doesn't take much for somebody to act on behalf of the rich and well-moneyed in our community, but really good mayors are the ones who figure out how to promote inclusive social well-being inside of their cities, and that's not what mayors have been doing in the 21st century. Increasingly, the cities have taken on the same trickle-down model that we have for our federal government, and that is, let's build wealth at the top and then eventually it's going to trickle down to people at the bottom, but we don't spend money on them directly because it's a bad and here's that term again investment.
Speaker 1:So some interests of folks who want to maybe succeed him Sheffield Councilmember Fred Durr-Hall, former Council President Santel Jenkins and businessman Joe Hashim and Solomon Kinloch, who's been in the ether he hasn't said that he was running or exploring a run and former Police Chief James Craig. What do you think of that very early pool of candidates?
Speaker 3:Well, one of them has actually reached out to me, so I'll say that I will say that when I look at what their track records have been, I will say that there's one of those people who has a track record of standing up for Detroiters, sometimes Not all of the time when I want it. But when you look at the poverty package, when you look at inclusive housing, when you look at the efforts to address some of the issues around the people's bills the people's bills but also the property tax it's been Mary Sheffield, not Fred Durhall, who's been at the forefront of that. In fact, fred Durhall voted against some of these measures and I remember that Sontill left public office the moment that the city declared bankruptcy, and to me that's kind of abandoning ship when needed and so she has not been here over the past decade fighting any of the good fights with the people on the ground. She may be a very intelligent woman and may be very passionate, but if you're not here in these streets, why should I trust you?
Speaker 1:What would she say differently? She's been running thaw for the last several years.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and she's very good at running thaw. I suppose Several years Absolutely, and she's very good at running THAW, I suppose. But that's not the same thing as being here during COVID when people were having their lives lost, and figuring out a way for THAW to weigh in on people's well-being. That's not the same thing as being here when you have protesters being arrested. That's not the same thing as being here to address homelessness, or even speaking out at public meetings and saying I'm concerned about this. My question is this where is your voice? Because I run a nonprofit, but you don't have to ask where my voice is and, by the way, I'll never run for mayor, but I just want to be clear.
Speaker 3:Are you sure? Oh, absolutely. But what? I'm saying is just because you're running a nonprofit does not mean you don't have a voice when you choose not to use your voice. Bankruptcy was horrible. How many water shutoffs did we have 80,000 water shutoffs in the first year. How many tax closures have we had One?
Speaker 1:out of every three homes.
Speaker 3:Well, where has Santil Jenkins been? Where has her voice been, as people have been suffering in our community other than doing the job that she's paid very well to do and that is run thought? And I'm not mad at her for being paid thaw, and I'm not mad at her for being paid very well, and I'm not mad at her at all. I just feel as though the question what have you done for me lately rings significant and, I think, one of the reasons why she's running.
Speaker 3:I honestly believe that there is a political calculation that Mary Sheffield is a threat to the power structure establishment and I think that Santel Jenkins is a much more the power structure establishment and I think that Santel Jenkins is a much more friendly person in those circles. So I did a little research into campaign contributions and we'll talk about that in the future and it's just a very interesting thing that I found. I'm going to keep tracking that.
Speaker 3:And I encourage if you listen to Authentically Detroit. Reach out to everybody like us. Reach out to Orlando, reach out to me, reach out to Authentically Detroit. Reach out to everybody like us. Reach out to Orlando, reach out to me, reach out to Authentically Detroit and make your voice heard on the record.
Speaker 1:I think it is up to each of these candidates to make their case. And it's still very early, and so I have friends asking or friends saying I'm going to support this person. I'm like it's so early, I mean we need to. Are you having? You know the necessary conversations? Are you carrying you know a set of questions? You know like what's, you know what's going on? You know?
Speaker 3:I think that neutrality plays a role. I think a whole lot of people aren't neutral, first of all. I think a lot of people have weighed in. I think a whole lot of people aren't neutral first of all. I think a lot of people have weighed in and I think that you run the risk, when you're being overly neutral, of not having influence over the candidates you want to support. Whatever it is you're doing, because trust and believe corporate America has already figured out who they're going to put their money behind. They're already putting it there. They're already building some task force and working behind the scenes. It's not that early. In less than a year we have elections for mayor and nine city council seats. We don't have all the time in the world.
Speaker 1:So I'm not suggesting that people choose a side. I'm not trying to suggest that either.
Speaker 3:No, I know, and as a journalist, you can't choose a side right, and I get that I can, and what I'm saying is this I'm putting my criteria out there. If you are fighting for the people, show me. If you show me, don't show me what you will do. Show me what you have done. That's what I'm saying Make the case, but make the case not based on future promises.
Speaker 3:I want you to make the case based on your current record, because the best indication of what somebody will do in the future is what they've done in the past. Here's what I'm also going to say and I'm going to close this out past. Here's what I'm also going to say and I'm going to close this out there is no perfect candidate for public office. Perfect people do not want to be mayor, no offense. But I mean you have to have a certain level of political calculation and a willingness. I'm not perfect at all.
Speaker 2:But what I mean you? Know that's not at all what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:What I'm saying is that people who are perfectly aligned with justice cannot be in these political positions, because you have to make compromises, you have to do things that you otherwise would not do. I have the privilege of being able to act on my values most of the time, because I don't have that role. When people have that role, we also have to understand that what we're getting is people who are willing to work a certain kind of way to make things happen, and that means that the people we vote for are not going to be necessarily always aligned with everything we believe in, and so we have to figure out which of these people, which of these problems, which of these omissions can I live with, and which of these issues that they're pushing are the most aligned with my thinking, and right now I have a thought about that. Other people might get in the race, right, but right now, based on the people whose names have been mentioned, my thought is there.
Speaker 1:All right, we are going to take a quick break and we will be right back with Tamara West. Keep it locked.
Speaker 5:Have you always dreamed of being on the airwaves? Well, the Detroit Eastside Engaged Podcast Network, or DEET for short, is here to make that dream a reality. Located inside the Stoudemire, the DEEP network offers studio space and production staff to help get your podcast idea off the ground. Doesn't take a whole lot of work to get started. Just visit the Authentically Detroit page at ecn-detroitorg or call Sarah at 313-948-0344.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to Authentically Detroit, everyone. Be Well Beautiful People is a 501c3 organization with a deep-seated commitment to bridging significant gaps in accessible healing and liberation support, while disrupting systems that cause harm. The organization was founded by Damara West, a seasoned entrepreneur, therapist and wellness professional with more than two decades of experience. Damara has an incredibly inspiring story of overcoming trauma and building a supportive community dedicated to providing healing and liberation support to those who need it most within Wayne County and beyond. Liberation support to those who need it most within Wayne County and beyond. Be Well Beautiful People envisions a world where all of us are well, no matter where we came from or where we started in life. The only way to make that vision a reality is by ensuring those most affected by trauma, including BIPOC and LGBTQI, plus the low-income and those impacted by incarceration and foster care, have access to wellness solutions that are actually proven to help them rise in every area of their life. Damara, we are so excited to get into this conversation.
Speaker 3:Can we get a standing ovation? Oh my gosh, this vision resonates so deeply with me. That's why I know you're not running from me, all right, but this vision resonates completely with me, and so I know. Orlando had a question. I just had to say that I am really really excited because people keep talking about crime and how to deal with crime and I say we always talk about crime, we don't talk about trauma. Come on, so can you talk?
Speaker 4:about it. Yeah, no, no. And so, first and foremost, I just want to say like y'all are giving truth to the people. This is so beautiful to hear like y'all pushing for all the things that you're pushing for in terms of people being educated before they make decisions about what's actually on the ground.
Speaker 1:And I love that you all are bringing these issues to the forefront, so thank you for having me.
Speaker 4:I'm looking forward to getting deep into this topic.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I'm really interested to know from you what was the impetus for you to start. Be Well, Beautiful People. How did it start? What's the story?
Speaker 4:So my journey in the healing space started when I became a therapist about 14 years ago and at that time, even though I knew that I had come from trauma, we weren't naming it trauma at that time, not in a very progressive way. Right, we're naming trauma in a way where we're having more universal conversations about it, where we're embracing the ideology a little bit more and even focusing on things like community trauma. And we know that a place like Detroit has experienced a lot of that right and a lot of brilliance, and Detroit keeps rising in spite of the ways that the city has been harmed. And so as I matriculated through my work as a therapist, and so as I matriculated through my work as a therapist, I found myself being drawn to the holistic healing space. And it was actually through holistic healing modalities that I realized that Me Too and that's actually the title of my book Me Too A Therapist's Journey to Heal, find Liberation and Joy that although I knew I had the knowledge right, I could help other people that had experienced many things that I had experienced with that.
Speaker 4:But I was carrying a lot of my own trauma and there were remnants of how that trauma was manifesting and so things like being overweight. Now, we can't always say that being overweight is connected to trauma, but a lot of times, if someone has sexual trauma, for example, they can be overweight because it's a way for them to keep themselves protected. It's a way so that no one really pays too much attention to them, right? So we can become hyperactive, underactive as a result of having traumatic experiences in our lives, and I think that for many people that become therapists and or enter into the helping profession in fact, about 70% of people that go into the helping profession have trauma themselves, right? But a lot of times, even though we're told as practitioners, you need to work on yourself, no one really knows what that looks like.
Speaker 4:No one really has a blueprint, and I believe that most people believe, particularly if you come from poverty, like I did, when you have poverty coupled with trauma, you're really focused on getting out of poverty, right?
Speaker 4:So my only focus was really about getting my education so that I could have enough means, and I really connected money to having a quality of life, which I think that so many people do, and that's the fallacy that we have.
Speaker 4:And so, as James Baldwin said, whatever we don't face, we can't change. And so as I found myself immersed into holistic healing modalities, thinking that I was going out to heal the world, I realized that I was actually being put on this pathway to heal myself, and so I went, spent about five years doing a lot of energy, work and meditation and spending time in nature and really getting to know myself in profound ways and getting to the dark before oftentimes we can get to the light, and so there's so much more that I can say about that, and there's no arrival right, because I have a background of trauma, having eight out of 10 adverse childhood experiences, and if we're talking about the expanded version, I have 13 out of 15, where we're thinking about things like witnessing community violence, oppression that comes along with a racialized identity being bullied. These are all things that are connected to trauma as well.
Speaker 3:You know, right now we're in a particular space for women, right Black women. We're in our own little thing, right, and I think it's on so many levels, right. So you have the reproductive health issues and the fact that Black women are dying because we cannot get adequate health care anyway. We know that we're more likely to die from maternal after giving birth and we know that, you know, black women are more vulnerable to doctors not listening to us, that kind of thing. And then you hear about this.
Speaker 3:Michelle Obama spoke so eloquently about this during the campaign, and so that's one level of trauma, right. Another level is now we have a president who is a sexual assaulter. We know who he is, and just about everybody he has appointed has some level of abuse of women somewhere in there, and it just looks like women don't matter. And then, to add to it, I'm going to add a trigger for me was when that big fight happened with Mike Tyson. All I could think about was my trauma related to sexual violence, when that triggered me emotionally and other women I know had that same trigger.
Speaker 3:And so we think we've worked our way through trauma therapy and everything, and then all of these things happen and it feels like you never really work your way out of trauma. You just learn how to manage it better, and it gets triggered. Is that true? Yeah, work your way out of trauma, you just learn how to manage it better, and it gets triggered. Is that true? Yeah, and also, can you talk about what's happening with women right now, especially Black women, in this traumatic moment? Absolutely.
Speaker 4:I mean, you're right. I think that oftentimes people think that they arrive in healing, but healing is something that we continue to cultivate, and what we don't know is how life is going to trigger us, and there's going to be a multitude of triggers that happen across our lifespan and, depending on how deep the wound is, we may be triggered across our lifespan irrespective to it. And so when I talk about trauma, I do it in connection to, like an onion right. And so when you sit down and you begin, you acknowledge it, because some people won't even acknowledge it right To anyone. You acknowledge it, because some people won't even acknowledge it right to anyone. You acknowledge it. That's the first step to begin doing the work. And then, when you start talking about it, I remember when I was I'll give you this example really quickly I remember when I was editing my book. No matter how many times I would sit down and edit this book, I mean I wrote about the same things. I was very clear about what I was writing about Every single time. It triggered something different every single time, and so there's a re-traumatization that oftentimes happen as we're going through the healing process. But what I tell people is is that you can either suffer with what you know, but what I tell people is is that you can either suffer with what you know or you can find liberation by facing the ways that you're suffering right now so that you can discover the fullness of essentially who we were created to be, because we have taken on, you know, certain identities that are not ours to take on because of the lies that we have taken on as a result of the stories we've told ourselves. Irrespective to that trauma, which is where shame comes in, and shame keeps that cycle going, which is why many people won't face trauma. They'll take it to the grave with them, right? And so what I'll say about Black women?
Speaker 4:There's so much that I can say about Black women and trauma. I think that, particularly right now, in light of the election and knowing that so much of the work that happens in movements falls on the backs of women, we are in the front lines. We are oftentimes holding it down for our partners, our children, our faith communities, our communities as a whole. And I think that Black women are tired, and they have a right to be tired, and I think that many of them feel, and rightfully so, that dues have not adequately been paid for the labor that we have oftentimes taken on in pursuit of transforming our families, our communities and, quite honestly, the world. And when we look at the track record of Black women again, and who came out to the polls and who voted the way that they did, we are always at the forefront of everything and I think that it's unfortunate that we're seeing in many ways that we're going back in time and it's deeply disturbing.
Speaker 4:And although, as I'm doing my work, I focus on what's in the realm of our control, right, because if we focus on things that we can't control, it will cause suffering. Right, there's a saying why suffer on top of the suffering? And so accepting things as they are and then saying from that place what power do I have, from this place to activate change, even though in these ways I can do nothing? The serenity prayer, in other words, yes, yes, but in these ways I can, because something like you know the political climate that we're in now. How do people feel? Many people feel apathy, many people feel powerless, but the fight is really just beginning in many ways, I mean and when I say just beginning, I'm talking about irrespective to where we are right now you know, I think, how a lot of Black women felt, and I could be wrong about this, I'll just speak for myself.
Speaker 3:We watched Kamala Harris being attacked in many ways and some of them are fair right.
Speaker 3:If I don't like your policies, that's fair right. But this is the least qualified person to ever run for office, or Trump versus the tramp, and these are coming from black men or other women, and it feels like, well, who's defending us? I mean because, even though she's not me and I have my own policy disagreements with her, she's a black woman out there and I, most of us felt I think many of us felt like the reason she was subject to the kind of attack she was is because she was a black woman, and contrast that with Barack Obama. When people attacked him, the community came together to support him. Instead, I think we felt an absence of black men being verbal, verbally, in support in many instances and I'm not going to discount the fact that she got many votes, but there were some really high profile dudes who were out there agreeing with some really horrendous takes on her personhood and that felt personal to some of us 100%, and I have been a part of a lot of the black women win calls.
Speaker 4:I have been a part of a lot of the black women win calls and the number of people that have come out in droves and support right of Kamala Harris, and I think that, as you talked about, something like this helps to illuminate the realities around gender bias that still exists in this country, right, and so this whole idea that we're in this together. A lot of times we don't even see glaring things until we're in the fire. We've been in the fire and so what's beautiful about this is that, if we choose to, we have an opportunity to create greater solidarity between Black men and Black women because, in part, what's been illuminated, but it's going to take Black men right, really speaking up and acknowledging the ways in which that things are divisive right now for healing to occur, so that we're not working in opposition with one another. Because Black women if you talk to any Black woman, she will say she's fighting for the people, right, but I'm curious if you talk to you know many of these Black men that have come on and said really horrific things.
Speaker 4:Who are they fighting for? Right? And this whole question around, I mean, when we think about the women's movement, white women were not fighting for women, they were fighting for white women, right, as long as they had rights. Right, then everything would be fine. And I think that we've got to ask ourselves in what ways? As a result of our own oppression, in what ways are we now acting as the oppressor? Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:On that note, we're going to take the last break of the show. We will be right back with more from Damara West.
Speaker 2:Founded in 2021, the Stoudemire is a membership based community recreation and wellness center centrally located on the east side of Detroit. Membership in the Stoudemire is available on a sliding scale for up to $20 per year or 20 hours of volunteer time. The Stoudemire offers art, dance and fitness classes, community meetings and events, resource fairs, pop-up events, the Neighborhood Tech Hub and more. Members who are residents of the Eastside have access to exclusive services in the Wellness Network. Join today and live well, play well, be well. Visit ecndetroitorg and Detroitorg.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to Authentically Detroit. We have Damara West here with us and we were having a really interesting conversation about the oppressed sort of perpetuating the same kind of oppression that we suffer from. Talk about the psychology in it, what happens in our minds and in our brains and our psyche that we do that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's a really great question. I think that, whatever it is that we don't heal from because we have felt powerless, oftentimes we will exert power over people that we perceive as having less power than we have right. There's something in our psychology and the Four Agreements talks about this really beautifully that some of us have this need to oppress and some of us have this need to be oppressed. And this is why doing internal work is so critical, because if we heal and liberate to the point where we're supposed to, where our design is, then it doesn't matter what people say about us right, whether they affirm us or not, because we know the truth of who we are, and it might feel good for somebody to say we're great, but in one minute somebody can say we're great and in the next minute they can say we're not right, and we get to decide ultimately what's truth. But oftentimes, when people are hurt, we're looking.
Speaker 4:You know, there's a saying that we all have this need to be seen, to be heard, to be valued. Why do we have this need to be seen, to be heard and to be valued? And why is it that we can't see ourselves? Why is it that we don't value ourselves? Why is it that we have to look outside of ourselves to do that? Well, a lot it that we have to look outside of ourselves to do that?
Speaker 4:Well, a lot of times we have to look outside of ourselves to do that is because when a child is being raised and they're not getting a positive sense of self from their environment, where do we get it? We've got to go somewhere to get it right. Higher learning, I think, is a great depiction of this. Where we're going, you know people will go anywhere and go to great limits to be accepted by people, right? And so a lot of times, if we're talking about the oppressor oppressors usually oppress other people because they have them, they've been oppressed themselves, and if they believe that that's the only way they can exert power and feel like they have a sense of power within themselves by exerting it elsewhere, then of course you're going to continue to feed that.
Speaker 3:Does it also sometimes feel safer to align yourself with an oppressor? I?
Speaker 4:think that it feels normal and it can fuel and it can make you feel powerful. Normal and it can fuel and it can make you feel powerful.
Speaker 1:That's the part, and that was the part in the follow-up that I wanted to just name especially. You know, if we, if we localize it, I think white supremacy looks different in Detroit, because we're a majority black city. White supremacy has black faces and black actors within the city of Detroit and nobody really talks about it. I try to talk about it a lot because I think we have to name it in order to overcome it. And it is that adjacency in my observation, it is that adjacency to power, because you ain't really that powerful. You are adjacent to the man or the person or the entity that has the power, but yet we see the same kind of oppression inflicted on the least of us by Black elites in this city and in other cities. And so I think the psychology that you explain it makes sense. How do we fix it?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean. So the way that we fix it is by first acknowledging that it's here, right? We can't, you know, even what you just named, which I think is so important, and we need to be having more conversations about this. About internalized racial oppression and the way in which that we operate in alignment with white supremacy. Right, because many we perceive power in proximity to whiteness right.
Speaker 4:Versus that power is something that comes from within and it comes from the collective, Because if people when I think about the magic and the brilliance of Detroit, the 80% of us that exists here imagine if every single person here knew that they were powerful, what do you think could happen from that place?
Speaker 3:You know I have a. I agree with all what you said, but I also look at you know white supremacy, white male supremacy, as being the operating system of our culture. It's how things run. All of our institutions, everything is rooted in that and you have to start unlearning some of that stuff. You know, having been raised in this culture, that you're talking about the black elites.
Speaker 3:Right, when do you go to school? That makes you better than other people. Right, where you live makes you better than other people. Your parents' profession makes you better than other people. Those are learned beliefs and behaviors.
Speaker 3:And even if you are not and you talked about this earlier even if you're not there, you're thinking I'm going to be there and I'm going to be all right, because that's going to make me into the right kind of person. Right, I'm going to go to college and I'm going to get my degrees and I'm going to and then I'll be this right kind of person. I think we have to understand the extent to which we have been conditioned to believe these false narratives around what's right, and also to understand that these things don't really make people happy. Right, because you are dealing with a lot of people who have pursued all of this and believe all of these things and don't understand why they're unhappy. Can you talk a little bit about sort of re, because you talk about it, but I'm interested in like this concept of finding yourself inside of all of that and that, and what does that mean about unlearning some other things that were the false self? Maybe that's the question.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's such a powerful question and I mean I think, first and foremost, that we have to understand that we're worthy because we're here on this planet Right. And anytime that we're externalizing our worth, whether it's in alignment with white supremacy or in alignment with our family's ideas of who we should be, or in alignment with society's ideas of who we should be, then we're giving our power away every single time. So it's one thing to be in pursuit of education, because your education is connected to the bigger picture of the vision that you have for your life and the impact that you're supposed to make in the world. But I think, if we're talking about our design, our human design is to be creative, is to be precocious, is to be connected, is to be loving.
Speaker 1:That's really black folk.
Speaker 3:But you know, I always ask myself when you look at things like that, like we come from, we're descended from people who had no education. Many people could not read, and a lot of them were great, amazing, brilliant, creative people that we would not even see as being that because they didn't go to this university or they didn't go to this high school. And so I think my question is are we better than our ancestors or do we just have more privilege? Question is, are we better than our ancestors or do we just have more privilege? And I think I'm not disagreeing with pursuing education, but I think this idea that me going to this kind of school makes me better. There are people who have never gone to college still, who are operating right now in this city, who are brilliant people doing great things, and I think we have to sometimes get over ourselves and these notions we have about our worth that are tied to institutions that excluded our people in the past and are used to exclude people every way.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and actually and I love what you're saying because I'm saying exactly the same thing, right I think that part of our the way we undo is understanding that we are interconnected with everyone.
Speaker 4:I'm not separate from anyone, regardless of the money I have, the education I have, where I live, the car I drive. The question really is about do we know who we are? Are we actively working in pursuit of who we are? And that work should involve changing the trajectory of people's lives and of the world. And if we're not doing that right and many of us are not because if we were all doing light work right, if we all knew who we were, the state of the world would look very different than what it is, because we would not be working just for self, we would be working for the greater good of humanity. That's really what our human design is, right. We uplift ourselves, we curate light for self first and then it's for the world, over and over and over again. But many times, particularly going back to the white supremacy model, we're talking about me, right how much money I can make.
Speaker 4:Isn't individualism built into that it only works with individualism, yeah, right.
Speaker 4:And so then, when we think about, right, the prison industrial complex and the question that you asked earlier about Black leaders, right, and really confronting our own stuff, we're always talking about the ways in which systems need to change. The way that the white man quote unquote needs to change. But how do we need to change? How do we need to heal, how do we need to be proactive about making sure that, when we need support, that we are supporting, that, if we need somebody to come and do work at our house, that we're calling a Black contractor, that we're. And to what extent does our life represent the very values that we're calling a black contractor? And to what extent does our life represent the very values that we claim to espouse? Because who we really are and you said this earlier, right? Don't tell me what you're going to do. Tell me what you've already done, because that tells me who you are.
Speaker 4:Now I know that life can happen in something devastating, right? That can happen in a near death experience, and so maybe you were not a great person and you had a near death experience, and now you're like the greatest person ever, and you understand because you had this close breeze with death, that you have to go out and do all of this work now right, but most people are who they are in this moment, and unless something happens to unlearn that shakes our world, then we're going to be who we are right until we decide that we want to do something different. And so I always believe that we need to be talking about systems changing. But let's not talk about systems changing without understanding that individuals have to heal, because systems can change. But if individuals aren't ready to take advantage of the systemic changes, then all we've got is systemic changes.
Speaker 3:So the first system you have to change is your thinking system, or something like that. It's got to start inside and then resonate outwards. When you look at Detroit I think Orlando's alluded to this when you look at Detroit, do you see what kind of trauma do you see we need to resolve in our community as a community, in order to move forward in the way that you're recommending?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so one of the main things that I see in Detroit, and let me just say I think Detroit is a magical place in many, many ways Me too and I think it's a very unique microcosm. There's nowhere else in this country, in the world, like Detroit.
Speaker 1:I believe that to my core.
Speaker 4:Yes, and there is deep apathy here. I believe there are many people and when I you've got, of course, tons of people who are doing very creative things, doing impactful work in the world many, many people. But if we're talking about the masses, I think the masses of people here, because of the community trauma that they've endured, there is deep apathy and acceptance that this is just the way things are. And as long as we believe that things are just the way they are, then we will never see our own power and we will never move through the world different. We're always going to move in tandem with how we see the world and and we will never move through the world different. We're always going to move in tandem with how we see the world and how we see ourselves.
Speaker 4:We can't go beyond that. It's impossible to right. So the lack of hope, right. And when apathy is present, hope is not present, right. So people are just accepting whatever is doled out to them, as if that's all there's ever going to be. Well, if we believe that that's all there's ever going to be, then we can't actually position ourselves to fight for change.
Speaker 3:So we have to restore hope in our community. Is that what I'm hearing you say?
Speaker 4:100%, and we have to help people to understand that what they've endured is categorized as trauma, that what they've endured is categorized as trauma, and we have to provide pathways for people to enter into healing in a way that is their language, that's culturally appropriate, that's meeting them where they are. Because someone once said that language is one of the most inequitable things that exists. Right, because if I can't see myself reflected in it, if you can't articulate it in a way where I say and your articulation and your written word, all of it. Everything.
Speaker 1:All of it. You know, one of the things that I'm hearing that brings up something else for me is okay, we tackle the lack of interest, we tackle the apathy, we get folks healed and we get folks interested and engaged again. How do we keep? How is that sustainable when there is still a systemic force that contributes to the lack of material change in the lives of people, in the aesthetic, in the lives of their neighborhoods? Right, I think people have great reason to be apathetic in this city, especially depending upon where you live, and so if we get them hopeful, if we get them healed, how do we sustain that if the material change is lagging?
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's a great question. I think that the way we do that is what happens typically is that as people begin to face themselves and as they heal, then they get to see the ways in which they're being called to heal the world. So when we see, that, then it becomes clear that part of my work is about transforming, so one of my thoughts is around.
Speaker 3:That is that part of the healing around hopelessness is showing people where they do have power and having them exercise power where they can. So even if the city's not fixing up my block, if I fix up this lot next to me, that gives me the sense that I have power to make that some change. Like I'm going back to your change which you can peace, and when people figure out what they can change and they start changing that, do you think that that is part of the healing that is necessary in the city?
Speaker 4:I do, and I don't think that any amount of systemic change can get people there. I want to say that again, I don't think any amount of systemic change can get people to a place of not being apathetic.
Speaker 3:We've got to do that in our own communities. Is that what I'm hearing you?
Speaker 4:say it's much, 100%, it's much like what happens. You can have someone who starts to sympathize with their abuser because they become conditioned. How do you uncondition someone? You don't just say snap out of it. How do you uncondition someone? You don't just say snap out of it. That person actually has to do work to undo all of the thinking that made them align with the attacker to begin with.
Speaker 3:The unlearning that we talked about earlier, and so when you talk about that, it seems to me as though systems change after people change. Yes, that people change and people demand systems change and also, if I'm hearing you correctly, that when the systems change, people maintain these change systems because they've changed.
Speaker 1:Is that what you mean? But also what you said is when you are healed, you recognize the calling within yourself to become an actor for change. Right, 100%? That was so good.
Speaker 4:Because, if you think about it, many people that come from environments where they've been harmed by the environment. One of two things will happen Either people participate in continued harm in that environment or people will leave. Three things will happen or people will leave the environment if they make it out, and then you have a select few that will work to try to change that environment and Orlando.
Speaker 3:You've seen that firsthand. You've helped make it firsthand right In community organizing work. You've seen giving grants to people and seeing how not only they change a physical thing, but how they change as leaders, as people, and all of a sudden they get more involved. You have been a witness and also a person to help facilitate that. And so I'm hearing you say this and I'm thinking wow, what are your connections to community development where we're doing this kind of work on the ground level?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so this is why my mission is what it is. I mean, I think wellness is important for all of us, but it's more important for people that have been impacted by trauma, right, because their ability to self-actualize, right that's. You know, maslow's Hierarchy of Needs talks about self-actualization. Most of us never get to that point of self-actualization. It's because you can't get there without having your basic needs met, and then it's like you have to move up. Now, somehow we still do, because we're residual people. We make stuff happen, right, and most people aren't going to be able to rise out of nothing or out of very little Most people are not and not rise to the point to where they see themselves connected to community. So then back to your question around community development. If we're talking about sustainable community development, it has to be something that is built from the inside out. No person can come as an outsider to Detroit unless they're moving into a community.
Speaker 1:They're immersing themselves deeply in community and unless you are Submitting to the leadership in that community.
Speaker 3:So you know what I'm just feeling like. I just formed a new partner on this show, everything you're saying, because everything you're saying resonates so deeply, not only with me, on a person, but us organizationally. We're in our 40th year and this has been the system that we've been operating on at some level. This is wonderful to hear you say it.
Speaker 4:I'm so glad and in connection with this, we've got to this. Stuff is not rocket science, as y'all know. If we want to change communities, we have to talk to the people and the people have to play a part in changing the community, because if the people don't play a part in it, they're not going to own it. They're not. This is where you go into a neighborhood and let's say you see garbage everywhere. We can go from seeing garbage everywhere to the next year. You see no garbage anywhere. Why? Because you have neighbors who own this neighborhood. It's mine and I have great pride in this place.
Speaker 4:People don't just wake up with pride in a place. Right, you have pride in a place. Right, you have pride in a place because that's been cultivated over time. You've been socialized to have pride. But if that's never been a part of your trajectory, if every time you leave your house there's nothing beautiful in your mind that you're looking at, if you feel the world is against you, what do you do from that place? Where do you go from that place? And then, and the last thing I'll say, I think also we oftentimes talk about the like people have to stay in community.
Speaker 4:We do want people to stay in community. We do want people from Detroit to stay in Detroit and to build Detroit, but let's say they leave. Part of what we need to be promoting is that when you leave, you are pouring back into this place no matter where you go, that we want people to feel so connected to their city, to this great city of Detroit, that, as they, if they decide to move on, for whatever reason, they never really move on in terms of their impact. But a lot of times we're not even talking about economic development in that way. All we're focusing on is the fact that people need to stay or the fact that people left, and I think we've got to expand the conversation around how we really really help to support investment, regardless of people stay in a place or not.
Speaker 3:I mean, you know, in a great world people can leave and come back and do other things right. I teach online and I have a student at Columbia University whose mother grew up in Detroit. He's never been to Detroit and I thought what had to have happened for him to never set foot in Detroit. She went to Cass Tech, graduated I'm sure she was successful he seems like he came from a successful family, but she never came to Detroit and so he was curious about Detroit because he couldn't learn about it from his mother. And you hear about people leaving the South during the Great Migration and never telling their children what happened when they were sharecroppers. It feels as though some people leave with unhealed scars and that's why they don't give back.
Speaker 4:And you just said it, and this is anecdotal. I know many people from Detroit who went to Western. That's my. They don't give back. And you just said it and this is anecdotal. You know, I know many people from Detroit who went to Western. That's my alma mater.
Speaker 4:And many times people will say I'm not going back to Detroit because of the pain that I experienced when I was here in Detroit, and that is a travesty. And I think that the outside world has a narrative about Detroit that is inaccurate, that's imbalanced, because that's how we are. So we have to be able to tell the real stories about the truth. You know, I've been saying this a lot lately how do you tell the truth about a place and also do it with a level of humility, how do you tell the full truth about something and who gets to tell that story and how is that story told? And these are the questions that I think we have to ask ourselves, irrespective to our own lives, irrespective to taking accountability for our own healing, our own liberation and having a stake in place, because if we're not impacting the world in some way as a result of our own healing and having a stake in place, because if we're not impacting the world in some way as a result of our own healing and liberation, then we're missing it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think sometimes that loving Detroit is a reflection of privilege, that Detroit is easy to love when you have the kind of privilege that you can live well in the city. But for people who are struggling a lot of times, loving Detroit makes no sense when Detroit is evictions, mass foreclosures, water shutoffs, crime, just abandonment of your neighborhood and this feeling of not mattering here, and sometimes we turn it into this. It reminds me of when Eric Thomas wrote that column why I Hate Detroit, and he was kind of speaking to the fact that Detroit means different things to different people. What I'm hearing you say, I think, is that when we help people deal with the trauma around loss in Detroit, then they can begin recognizing and experiencing some of the good things that also exist here, so that they can benefit from this beautiful Detroit that we are privileged to love because we're not living under it. You know what I mean. It's like living at the bottom of whatever the pecking order is in our city.
Speaker 4:And 100 percent. I love that you articulated it the way that you did, because there's so much beauty here that can aid us in our liberation, that can aid us in our healing. There are beautiful green spaces here. Many times we don't even know these green spaces exist right, not to mention not even realizing what nature does to help the body to heal itself, right. So everything that we know, how we see the world, is going to be based on our socialization, which is why, in urban environments, I think it's one of the biggest travesties that we do is not exposing young people to all of the beauty of a place. But it's not a separate conversation, but it's a longer conversation.
Speaker 1:Damari West, we want to thank you so much for coming on with us. I mean we can continue. I mean this was such a great, great conversation. Thank you so much for being willing to share with us.
Speaker 4:Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 3:Oh, absolutely, this will not be the last conversation that we have, I think, on Authentically Detroit, but certainly not we have at Eastside Community Network.
Speaker 1:There's great alignment here, excellent, all right If you have topics that you want discussed on Authentically Detroit, you can hit us up on our socials at Authentically Detroit, on Facebook, instagram and Twitter, or you can email us at authenticallydetroit at gmailcom. All right, it's time for shout outs, donna, let's start with you. You have any shout outs?
Speaker 3:I do no-transcript people re-engaged in our government and understanding you have the power to really decide what's happening here. People speak of voter apathy, as though that is something that happens when people don't vote. I think a lot of people who do vote are just as apathetic as the people who don't, because they're not voting to change the world. They're voting to keep the world as it is, even though they know it's not what they like, and so I think that what we're trying to do is stop demonizing non-voters, stop demonizing politically disengaged people. So I'm really, really proud of them, and I do also want to put on a plug. I don't know if we were planning on doing this for our book club on Monday, but Jessica Karen Moore is going to be here for a book club to talk about we Want Our Bodies Back, which is her book of poetry. That's the name of it, right? Yes, okay, yeah, I got it right, but anyway. So it's going to be Monday from 6 to 7.30. I want to thank people Monday December 2nd.
Speaker 1:December 2nd.
Speaker 3:Thank you. You know I've been taking a little bit of a break and I really do appreciate when people show up and join us and help make this community work, because it's not going to work because of the people who work here, but it's the people who come here and join with us. So thanks to everybody for being involved.
Speaker 1:Damara, do you have any shout-outs?
Speaker 4:I just want to give y'all a shout-out. Y'allall the real deal.
Speaker 1:You are. Thank you, you're the real deal.
Speaker 4:We, we are, yeah, we are, we are yes.
Speaker 1:Thank you for coming on. I would like to shout out Jer Stays and Norris over at the Daily Detroit for having me on last week to talk about any and all things Detroit. It was a good time and you know, jer has been a fan of our show since we got started and we've never been able to have each other on each other's shows, and so I hope what we were able to kick off is a start for a lot of us just transitioning. So Jer got to come on here and Donna got to go over there and it's going to be good and I really do appreciate the space and the conversation. All right, everybody that's going to do it for this episode of Authentically Detroit. We thank you so much for listening and until next time, love on somebody and allow yourself to be loved. On To the east side we can see lots of heartbeats in the sky. To the east side. We finally got a piece of love. It's so bright in the kitchen. I've seen some burns on the grill. Took a whole lot of trying. I just forget.
