Liaya Blueford
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Alisa Perkins
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Dream of Detroit / 0
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 5 – 3:40pm – 4:30 pm
Room: Breakout Room 6
Authors: Liaya Blueford, Alisa Perkins
Presenter: 3
Abstract
As time elapses, we run the risk as a society of forgetting the details of our past, especially those that are centered around marginalized groups. However, some parts of our history are too important to be forgotten. Detroit was once a place of opportunity for a great proportion of its residents, with flourishing industries, businesses, and public life. Since the city’s deindustrialization in the 1960s and 70s, there has been a dramatic increase in urban poverty which has disproportionately disadvantaged the same Black populations who originally built up the city. The Detroit Muslim Storytelling Project aims to document the history and revitalization of a marginalized neighborhood on Detroit’s west side that is over 90% Black and significantly low income. The project’s efforts will help educate the wider public about the leadership and history of African American American Muslims in Detroit historically and today who have helped contribute to the neighborhood’s revitalization. Initiated by a Black Muslim-led neighborhood revitalization organization called Dream of Detroit, the Storytelling project aims to increase awareness about the rich history and culture of it’s target neighborhood and its supporting institutions by collecting 100 video recorded oral history interviews and sharing these publicly on a website and archive. Through collaboration with my mentor, Dr. Alisa Perkins, I contribute to the process that refines and edits these clips using Adobe Premiere Pro. The interviews focus on Black Muslim and other community leaders involved in both the neighborhood itself and the institutions within it, including Dream of Detroit; The Muslim Center, a 35-year-old, primarily African American mosque and community center and a fifteen-year-old Muslim-led free clinic. Because this is an ongoing project, the results have yet to be found. We hope that documenting the importance of these and other Black Muslim institutions historically and today will raise awareness about the work of Dream of Detroit and related Black Muslim-led institutions, increasing the chances of others to better understand and support their efforts. We hope this project’s outputs may inspire others to spread Dream of Detroit’s message and perhaps even to volunteer in its neighborhood’s revitalization, eventually leading to the desired growth.
Arts and Humanities, Interdisciplinary, Social Sciences
