At Brilliant Detroit being in tune with and cognizant of the culture around us is so important. Providing culturally relevant programming is a huge part of our model. We want the communities that we are in to feel as though we are a part of them. We do this by learning about our neighborhoods and getting ourselves immersed in their culture in order to learn how to best serve them.The communities in each of the neighborhoods that we have homes in are all completely different culture wise, which makes my job so interesting. Everyday I am learning something new about the culture first hand from the people who create it and live it everyday.
Flora and I spend most of our time in the southwest location where most of the participants are hispanic. Most only speak spanish and would like to see programming done in spanish. The participants also want special programs put in place so that they can practice their english, which is an idea that is unique to this site. Music and dancing is very important in the hispanic community, so participants really love to come out to the Zumba classes we offer to socialize and pick up some new dancing tips!
At the Cody Rouge location, the demographic is completely different. The Cody Rouge neighborhood is mostly African American and most of the people in the neighborhood are working class professionals.We planned a community barbecue that neighbors are very excited about.
In the newest location in the North End neighborhood, the community culture is very rich, vibrant, and community oriented. This culture we have really loved because it gives us so much energy and we can count on the community to help spread the word about Brilliant Detroit. Everyone around there feels like family.
Another culture that I have had the opportunity to get acquainted with is the midtown/downtown culture in Detroit. In this area the culture in the area is definitely younger, livelier, and newer than I have seen in any other location around Detroit. There are definitely more Caucasian people in this area and there is definitely a lot of urban development going on that you don’t necessarily see in many other areas around Detroit.
Being able to experience each of these different neighborhoods has been very interesting and eye-opening to me. I feel like a have a better understanding of Detroit on a whole knowing about the different cultures that exist within the city and how those different cultures combine to make the city what it is today.
It’s really interesting to read about how much you get to interact with the community, sounds like you’re doing a lot of cool things in southwest.
I think that it is really cool that you got to see so many different aspects of culture within the city of Detroit. Many people are quick to judge Detroit by what they see on the new, but you are actually able to get an in-depth look at the different people, and cultures that exist within the city.