Joe Louis Greenway Voices
Resident Stories from around the Joe Louis Greenway
Collecting community stories is essential for preserving cultural heritage, amplifying marginalized voices, building community cohesion, informing urban planning, and promoting intergenerational dialogue. JLG Voices is a collection of words, images, audio and video launched originally with content gathered through the Joe Louis Greenway Neighborhood Planning process. More specifically, the JLG Community Leadership Team, a cohort of 13 community members from neighborhoods within the 5 JLG Planning Areas, conducted individual interviews with community members exploring topics of personal and neighborhood history, people, place and memory. These stories help ground the themes and priorities of the JLG Neighborhood Planning Study in the voices of residents
“I used to love the summers over here because everybody was outside, because it was homes in every spot... being with my friends on the street, you didn’t have to go very far."
JUNE ROBERTS HENDERSON, WESTSIDE RESIDENT
"A lot of my neighbors have grown up here, have been here their entire lives... Residents fight back, which instills accountability. "
ROSS HARRIS, WESTSIDE RESIDENT
“ I can think back in time when we had lots of trees on the block and fruit trees in the neighbors’ yards. The trees are not here anymore and we are looking to bring that back.”
CARLTON DYON BALLARD, WESTSIDE RESIDENT
“It was very lively because the community was full of people. We had plenty of neighbors and children to play with”.
SHARLENE BURRIS, DEQUINDRE CUT EXTENSION RESIDENT
"More spaces where people come together”.
PAUL MORONCZYK, SOUTHWEST RESIDENT
"There were lots of stores on Vernor or Fort Street. We could walk to them, not like today"
CATHY REYES, SOUTHWEST RESIDENT
"The unity that the Southwest had in the 80s and 90s where elders who weren’t family watched out for the kids in the neighborhoods”
NICOLE FISHER, SOUTHWEST RESIDENT
"We used to go to the theatre on Grand River and Oakman... We would use the park across the street to have organized baseball and softball games.”
CAROL PICKENS, NORTHWEST RESIDENT
"The greenway is going to be in my backyard. I’m excited about the possibility of what it can do in all of the communities along its route.”
JULIE RICE, NORTHWEST RESIDENT
"At the time, Sears and Roebuck, you were able to get to on foot.... That was one of the best things about the neighborhood: most of the things you needed were right there.”
RACHEL FRANKLIN, NORTHWEST RESIDENT