“When you share your story in the presence of a community, you have the power to change lives.”
TEDxDetroit speaker Satori Shakoor
Thank you, TEDxDetroit for shining your light on the greatness of this city and our people.
There is nothing like being among a group of Detroiters with good ideas and good intentions who show up by the thousands to support each other. We found ourselves, jaws open, nodding our heads at the people and ideas we heard during TEDxDetroit.
It was an inspiring day, but nothing was more inspiring than the people. Our people. Detroiters.
We talked to so many, or I should say so many talked to us. We set up a TEDx lab on the concourse of Comerica Park with a backdrop of the city and handed out notebooks and stickers that said “Detroit Inspires Me.” We asked one question: “How does Detroit inspire you?” and the floodgates opened. People were so excited to tell us all they love about this city.
They talked about the art, the architecture, the nonprofit community, the restaurants, the schools – yes, the schools – many schools bring students to TEDxDetroit by the busload and a great many of them are doing fabulous things. We heard about start-ups and sports, parks, the TEDx speakers, the “revitalization,” the innovation, the music scene, the nightlife, the walkability downtown, the theaters, the initiatives and more.
Far and away the thing most said was, “What inspires me about Detroit is the people.”
We heard about tenacity, grit, ambition, the underdog spirit, pride, entrepreneurship, determination, work ethic, adaptability and more. We have to agree.
Every day at Franco we’re working in this city and finding more stories of innovation, creativity and determination that inspire us. “Detroit Inspires Me” is our way to share what makes us proud to be Detroiters.
Our Detroit community has a lot of good ideas, but more than that we have a lot of good people making it great.
So, tell us, how does Detroit inspire you?
