“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows” // Epictetus

The words of a Greek Stoic philosopher have never echoed as loudly, and clearly as my time in Detroit. An individuals ability to silence their pride in an effort to redefine a prior judgment, and learn the truth is the definition of true strength, not weakness. Detroit is a quintessential American city with an unprecedented history. A city that is not defined by its expertise in the automotive industry, but define(D) by the people who comprise the landscape of the city, both downtown and sparling into the neighboring districts.

While its importance to the cities staggering growth in the early to mid 1900’s is unquestioned, the automobile industry is merely a metonym for Detroit but not a definition or who or what this city is. A definition I have only begun to Re(D)fine, a definition that is as open and unanswered as significant geographical areas utterly unoccupied.

The story of Detroit is not one you can convey on paper alone, you must become part of the story, part of the community, to understand its full capacity and the cities journey from inception to modern day. As difficult as it is to define Detroit, the way the city defines you will be evident. Detroit is not New York, Atlanta or Chicago. And, if you ask anywhere who resides here, most couldn’t be happier than that to be the truth. There is certain pride the residents of this great city have that is not found anywhere else, locally nor nationally. A pride that is both a product of who Detroit is, and a factor in defining what Detroit will always be.

You can casually walk through the streets of Detroit and notice sectors of abandoned buildings, foreclosed business, and an absence of street lighting. Anyone can, frankly, and the city has more than enough people searching to push Detroit further beyond the ”non-existent” line. You can join the ever-growing line of outsiders trying to ”knock-out” Detroit. But, a city that is both a reflection of and influenced by the great Joe Louis; it, and we, will never bow out or stay down. I challenge you to open you eyes, and mind, to look beyond the signs of any major American city. Here, you can board up the façade of any decaying house but the walls will always tell the story of first family who owned it, a story that is a small piece of the greater story of Detroit.

And that story is…. Unfinished.