The 17th annual ARISE Detroit Neighborhoods Day arrives on Saturday, August 5th.

More than 100 events are gonna take place across the city including community improvement projects, school supply giveaways, art and music festivals, and resource fairs.

The events are organized by block clubs, community groups, and churches.

Hundreds of volunteers take place in this massive community service day.

I spoke with the man who came up with the idea for Neighborhoods Day, ARISE Detroit executive director, Luther Keith.

Luther Keith, I look forward every year to talking to you about Neighborhoods Day and the work that you're doing at ARISE Detroit.

Welcome back to "American Black Journal."

- Great to be back.

Thanks for having me, Steve.

- Yeah, so exciting event coming up again.

Remind me what year this is for Neighborhoods Day.

- This is the 17th consecutive year for Neighborhoods Day in Detroit.

We started in 2007, and a lot of people don't know this, Steve, but actually in 2007, then Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick issued a proclamation, officially making the first Saturday of every August, henceforth, as ARISE Detroit Neighborhoods Day.

So, it's actually a observable date for the City of Detroit and its residents.

- Yeah, yeah.

So let's talk about, for people who maybe don't know, what Neighborhoods Day is and why it's become so important.

- Well, Neighborhoods Day is a community-wide, city-wide community service day like any in the nation.

What's unique about it is that it involves literally more than 100 events, churches, block clubs, (indistinct) having events in their own neighborhoods, not at Belle Isle, not at Hart Plaza, not at a big golf tournament.

Nothing wrong with that, but this day was created strictly to appreciate the people in the neighborhoods, so they can feel appreciated and respected.

And so this day we ask all the churches and block clubs and community groups, which this day it'll be August the 5th, to have their own event to show how they're making a difference in their neighborhood.

Some people do clean-ups, some people have festivals, some people have school supply giveaways, resource fairs, job fairs, concerts, things for kids and activities for kids, old-fashioned block parties, meet and greets.

So each group does its own thing.

One of the unique things about this, Stephen, we started Neighborhoods Day, when you hear about it, the first thing that he says, "Where is it?"

Well, it's where you want it to be.

- It's everywhere.

(laughs) - What do you wanna do?

How long should we do it?

How long you wanna do it?

So it's totally...

The neighborhood people are empowering.

It's not coming down on high from some executive's office or some foundation or some corporation.

People in the neighborhoods, the little block clubs all over the City of Detroit and the churches, and we have many churches involved and businesses as well.

So that's what's unique about us.

So, you can get in your car, ride, as I do every Neighborhoods Day, all over the city and see all these incredible events.

The thing that I see wherever I go, people are smiling and they're happy.

And there's so much other type of news that (indistinct) with that this is a day to take a break, but I want to emphasize Neighborhoods Day is not about one day because this day people do this work all year long, but on this day, and I think I've used this with you, Steve, and it's a good one, so I'll use it again, your parents love you every day, but on your birthday you get the chocolate cake, and Neighborhoods Day is a chocolate cake for all the people and the neighbors of Detroit who do all this work this day, but we put the spotlight, and you and media play a very important part because this media coverage, again, is inspiring (indistinct) to get involved.

We have hundreds and hundreds of volunteers involved in these good old neighborhood groups all over the city.

And so somebody do something, they'll say, "Oh, why aren't we doing that?

"Why can't we do that?

"How can we get involved?"

And so the whole idea is to motivate people to not just sit on the sidelines, but to get involved.

And I think I've said this, I've used this analogy a lot, you know, Jesus is coming, but He's probably not coming tonight.

Okay, that means we have to be the calvary.

And so, the amazing things that hundreds of people, thousands of people, all of the Detroit believe in this every year.

So, by this Neighborhoods Day, we're there marketing over 3,000, think about it, over 3,000 community events since we started in 2007.

- Wow.

- Over 3,000.

You know, sometimes why aren't people do anything about the neighbors, the neighbors this.

Well, this is the day four people in the neighborhoods if you're serious about the neighborhoods.

Some groups form block clubs, you know, as a result of Neighborhoods Day.

And even if you don't have a block club, you can register as an individual by going to our website arisedetroit.org.

And for the $50 registration fee, you're gonna get banners, t-shirts, we've got a sponsor, we'll underwrite $100 of supplies for your cleanup and beautification projects.

All the events are posted on our website arisedetroit.org.

You can go right now and see each of it in real time, and the list is growing every day.

So that's a long way of answering your question, Steve, but this really is a special day, and we look forward.

I like to call it an iconic day, an iconic day because they aren't doing this in New York.

They are not doing this in Chicago.

They are not doing this in Los Angeles.

In Detroit and only Detroit like this.

- So one of the things that I think is really important, the message that's really important about Neighborhoods Day is when we're organized in Detroit, when we organize with each other, when we decide for ourselves what our neighborhoods are gonna be like and how they're gonna function, things go much better than when we're not doing that or when we let other people do that.

And Neighborhoods Day is really a celebration of that, I feel like, almost more than anything else.

- Yes, absolutely.

People ask me, "Well, Luther, what's a good neighborhood?"

Nine times outta 10, it's a organized neighborhood.

There's somebody there driving that car.

It doesn't have to be a big neighborhood association.

Sometimes it's a small little neighborhood, one little block.

But somebody has to say, "This is our block, and this is not even, "but we're gonna love it, "and we're gonna form a committee.

"We're gonna have (indistinct) coffee "and figure out what we need to "about the garbage pile up here "or a car driving too fast through the neighborhood "or public safety issues."

And one of the things we like is that we got a lot of cooperation from the city of Detroit.

Ron Brundidge who's head of the City Department of Public Works, he arranged for special pickups after the people who are doing beautification and cleaning projects.

They arrange for special pickups to drive through and pick...

Some people think we're the city of Detroit.

I have to remind them we are not the city of Detroit.

We don't have trucks to do that, but we have a good relationship with the city of Detroit and been very helpful with us in terms of making this day possible.

But you're absolutely right.

It's about taking kind of control of your destiny and not just saying, "Why don't they, why?"

You listen to the radio sometimes, "Why don't they, "why don't they, why don't they?"

Well, why don't you?

And so you don't have to do a big huge project.

You can do something small.

One of our board members, Toni McIlwain, who for years ran Ravendale Community Detroit, has an expression I think is very true.

She says, "Most people are waiting to be led."

Most people are waiting to be led.

So if you get up and start doing something, somebody else will start doing something.

And the whole idea is to be actively involved and engaged.

And that's the most important thing we want to happen happen on Neighborhoods Day, people say we are going to take control of this work.

Now we can't do everything, but we can do a lot.

You know, the mayor's not coming to my block, the governor's not coming, the president's not coming, my congressman is not coming, most cases.

So we're there.

So we had to take some ownership of that.

And the most inspiring thing is, Steve, to see these people, and I've made so many great friends all over the city, and you never know how you're touching people.

I can be in a grocery market and somebody will come say, "You're that community guy.

"What's that thing you do?"

And I say, "Really?"

People are paying attention.

So for me, it's very heartfelt and rewarding for me just to know that in some small way I can with all these other people out here 'cause it's really not on me.

And ARISE Detroit, you know, we are a very small organization, and we had the NAACP or (indistinct), we've got a paid staff of two people and some volunteers and the board of directors.

And all of us, strategically, we have put together this formula where we are motivating other people.

We are not trying to reinvent the wheel.

We don't have to create a literacy program because there's literacy programs all over Detroit that we can support and help.

You know, we don't have to create a gardening program 'cause there's gardening programs.

If we could give more visibility, more volunteers, and through exposure like this with you, then it helps raise all boats.

- Yeah, yeah.

- So we really are all in this together, and our thing is just, you know, you want a better Detroit, I want a better Detroit.

How can we work together to make it happen?

And that's all we are concerned with.

We aren't concerned about politics or, you know, who you vote for, all that.

We're concerned about one thing, better Detroit.

And if your heart is open to a better Detroit, that's how this happens.

And so, this day tells you that Detroit is full of good hearts all over this neighborhood.

People you may have never heard of or never will hear of, but out in their neighborhoods they're doing things.

What this day tells them, say, you are special, what you doing is special, and we wanna recognize it.

And we've been very blessed that the sponsors have come forward every year.

The people have come forward every year, and it's worked every year.

Now every year there's challenges.

Like even through the pandemic, we had people stay in your house and do something on your front porch.

Even with that, we still had over 100 events in the pandemic year.

So then we'll have over 100 again this year.

So, it's an amazing thing that Detroit should celebrate and be proud of.

I call it a day of neighborhood pride and neighborhood power because work's getting done.

There's parties and picnics, but also a lot of work too.

And it's like the old days of... We had old fancy barn raising, and they raised the barn, and then after the barn is raised, everybody sits around, has a good meal and (indistinct).

And that's gonna be happening all over Detroit on August 1st.

Now registration deadline is July the 15th.

But you can go to our website arisedetroit.org.

There's a $50 registration fee.

For that, you're gonna get your custom made banner with the name of your organization.

You're gonna get some nice t-shirts.

If you're doing a cleanup project, you're gonna get a voucher worth $100.

You can walk into a store, say, "Give me my $100 of supplies," and all the events are on our website, and we work with the local media.

I hire a video team.

I hire reporters, and I hire photographers.

So we chronicle all those things.

If you go through our website arisedetroit.org, you can find videos and everything of past Neighborhoods Days, so, it's a day where the work is done and also the work is celebrated, and the work is seen, shown, and heard.

- Yeah, yeah.

Luther, it's always great to have you here with us on "American Black Journal."

Congratulations on 17 years of Neighborhoods Day, and we'll hope to see you around the city.

- Okay, thank you, Steve.

Thank you supporting, and thank you everybody else out there viewing this, all your support to make this day possible.