Week 2

Hello again!

A little bit of a recap, I get the opportunity to work within the Dream of Detroit organization and community, also with the Muslim Center they are currently based out of. And, like I introduced them last week, DREAM is a non-profit organization that focuses on neighborhood revitalization, community engagement, aiding the formerly incarcerated and more while building all of this in tandem with the Islamic faith but also welcoming people from any and all backgrounds. In addition to working on community projects within DREAM, I am also working with Dr. Alisa Perkins from Western Michigan University on the Storytelling Project through DREAM for interviews and their documentary.

Just to highlight a couple of the services Dream gives back to the community, I’ll start with the Storytelling Project. The Storytelling Project is ran by Dr. Alisa Perkins and gives youth in the community an opportunity to interview the elders in the Muslim Community, and this summer I’ve been asked to come to at least two of these interviews which is very exciting. The videos of the interviews and the synopsis of each interview are posted on a website through Western Michigan University, where Dr. Perkins works. They have also published a book called “At Their Feet”, which Dr. Perkins was nice enough to send a free copy of to me before the fellowship even started. The biggest part of this project I’ve been working on actually intersects with another program they have called Project Homecoming.

Project Homecoming is a house through Dream of Detroit for formerly incarcerated Muslim men to help them reintegrate into society with structure, help with basic needs, and most importantly provides an Islamic environment as I’ve heard from transcription work from house manager Brother Dawud Clark’s interviews that they are basing a documentary off of (which is how it intersects with the Storytelling Project). Brother Dawud is a former resident of the house and the documentary will follow his life, his story, and the roles Dream and the Masjid played. I think the most educational and engaging part of my fellowship thus far has been transcribing and listening to his story, perspective, and ideas. They’re even planning on expanding Project Homecoming for returning sisters and to aid with children.

Dream also handles neighborhood clean ups, runs a soup kitchen through the Muslim Center, and remodels homes and sells them at a non-inflated price to families. The other project I am on, though, is their annual street fair happening August 12th. I have gone to a few meetings now and they will have food, A-list entertainment, art, and vendors to help engage the community and bring all people from all walks of life together. It’s still early on in the process for volunteers and the fellows, but those in charge have done so much planning and I’m excited to see how it all comes together!

I haven’t had much of a chance to interact with many of the other fellows but those I have talked to seem to have equally as interesting projects happening and I look forward to getting to know them more!