Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things make it unique and exciting?

I live Downtown in Lafayette Park in a complex small enough that my roommate and I know everyone in our building by name! (There are 6 people in our building including us) We get great sunlight and we’re close to our friends and our jobs, so it’s cool.

What’s interesting about living in Lafayette Park right now is that the neighborhood is the diversity of housing. It wasn’t until I ventured out of my neighborhood that I realized most of the houses in Detroit were single family homes. It also seems to me that the population density in Lafayette Park is unique compared to the rest of the city; Between the high rise buildings, townhouses, and cozy apartment complexes like ours, Lafayette Park has something for everyone.

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far?

Challenge Detroit has opened my eyes to the complexity of issues afflicting urban areas like Detroit. Through this fellowship, I am able to better understand the importance of inclusionary participation when it comes to revitalizing this city. The Challenge Detroit fellowship is also part of a larger collective of those dedicated people working hard to rebuild the city by combating poverty, pushing for education reform, and uplifting businesses who’ve weathered the storms and remained pillars in their communities. Unfortunately, the media doesn’t always do a good job in portraying that, so I’m grateful to have the chance to form my own opinions about what’s really going on here.

Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization.

The Detroit Future City Implementation Office is a newly formed 501c3 organization, and I’m thrilled to have joined the team during our time of transition because I get to be part of shaping what our organization looks like moving forward. We place community engagement and partnerships at the heart of everything we do at DFC, which means I get to work on exciting projects that involve building relationships with communities and organizations all over the City.

What kind of impact do you hope to have with your host company and within the city?

I hope that in my time with DFC I am able to support Detroiters in understanding how the Detroit Future City Strategic Framework can help to better our overall quality of life. I also want to pave the way for younger people to get involved in stewarding The Framework through creative projects that engage and empower them as they become the next leaders of their city.

What is one meaningful connection /one realization have you had about Detroit since becoming a Challenge Detroit Fellow?

The most meaningful and empowering realization that I’ve has thus far (and I’ve had quite a few), is that I am not the only millennial who believes in making Detroit and metro-Detroit a live-able, thrive-able, equitable, eat-able, drink-able(!!!), honorable place for the people who live here.

That’s all I have to say about that.

What compelled you to apply to Challenge Detroit and what advice would you share with someone who is considering applying? 

Challenge Detroit interested me for a number of reasons; I was drawn to a professional development program centered on community engagement. Sometime in the winter of 2015, I realized I was finally ready to face my childhood demons; the issues related to growing up in a “poor community”.

There are those who don’t grow up poor at all!

Those who grow up poor and stay poor

Those who grow up poor, flee from their “impoverished” neighborhood the first chance they get never to return

And those who grow up poor, get educated, and choose to go back to their neighborhoods to make them a better place.

I read this in a book somewhere… It was written better in the book, but the sentiment remains true. In college, I was somewhere in the middle. It wasn’t until after college that I realized perhaps I could do more good facing my demons than running from them. So I’m here to understand the history of my people as it pertains to Detroit, and to understand the issues facing our communities so that I may be a better informed citizen and leader.

What advice do I have to give? Just Do it. Bring your friends.

But do it because you’ve found a personal connection to the city and/or its people. Trust me; Challenge Detroit is too much work for it to be just a job for you. You have to want to go above and beyond.

Plus, I’ve always liked the sound of “fellow.

To learn more about Imani’s time in Detroit, check out her spotlight video!