Detroit

Barry Sanders is a retired Running Back, who played for the Detroit Lions. He played for the Lions for 10 years and is considered one of the best NFL running backs of all time. He attended Oklahoma State University where he was a unanimous All-American and won a Heisman Trophy. He was voted MVP of the NFL in 1997, was 2x Offensive Player of the Year, 6x First-team All-Pro, 4x NFL rushing leader, was voted as part of the NFL 90s all-decade team, and as a part of the NFL 100, 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

On encountering a memorial to World War II heroes in Denmark during the mid-twentieth century, Detroit-based obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Charles H. Wright felt inspired—inspired to create a repository for African American history and culture, a space for celebration and remembrance that would inspire generations of visitors. Dr. Wright defined that important task as "ensuring that generations, especially young African Americans, are made aware of and take pride in the history of their forebears and their remarkable struggle for freedom." Over half a century since Dr. Wright first opened the International Afro-American Museum in January of 1966, The Wright has expanded significantly in size and ambition.

Courtney B. Vance is an actor, born in Detroit, who graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and later attended Yale School of Drama, where he met his wife Angela Bassett. He has stared on stage, on small and big screens. He has nominations for Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, and has earned a Tony Award (for his role in the orignal Broadway production of August Wilson’s Fences), and two Primetime Emmys(for both The People v. O.J. Simpson: America Crime Story and for Lovecraft Country).

S. Epatha Merkerson is an actress, born in Saginaw, and raised in Detroit, and is a graduate of famed Cooley High. She earned her BA in theatre from Wayne State University and her MFA from NYU. She has received accolades for her work, including an Emmy, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, 4 NAACP Image Awards, two Obies, and two Tony nominations. Best known for her 17-year turn on Law & Order as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, she currently plays Sharon Goodwin on the medical drama Chicago Med.

Dwayne McDuffie was a comic book and television writer. Born in Detroit, he attended the University of Michigan, earning a BA in English and a Masters in Physics. He later moved to NYC to attend NYU. Starting his career at Marvel, he was best known for co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic book company Milestone Media, which focused on underrepresented communities in American comics, creating and co-creating characters such as Icon, Rocket, Static, and Hardware. McDuffie was also known as a writer and producer for animated series such as Static Shock, Damage Control, Justice League Unlimited, and the Ben 10 franchise.

Harold Neal created some of the most forceful artistic statements of the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Arts Movements. At that time Neal rose to prominence, Detroit was the fifth largest city in the country with a large African American population and a vibrant Black arts scene. Neal, like other artists of the Black Arts Movement, felt that art should speak directly to the experience of African Americans using African American figurative subjects.

Ian Finkelstein began studying classical piano at age four, focusing solely on jazz from age 12 and gigging professionally from age 14. He received mentorship from many of Detroit’s jazz luminaries including Rodney Whitaker, Marcus Belgrave, and Tad Weed. Finkelstein went on to study with Geri Allen at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, graduating in 2013 with BFAs in jazz piano performance and performing arts technology. Upon returning to the Detroit area, he began performing and recording regularly while continuing to advance his studies in piano and music production.

McKinley Thompson Jr. was the first African American automotive designer, and he was the first African American Designer to work at Ford. His career at the Ford Motor Company spanned 28 years, from 1956 to 1984. Thompson was a designer on the first generation Ford Bronco, and also was a designer on the frist generation Ford Mustang,, Ford Thunderbird, and Ford GT40.

Motown was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Gordy, who started as a songwriter for Jackie Wilson, used his money earned writing and an $800 family loan, to distribute a song for The Miracles, who would then become the first artist signed to his label.

The Movement Electronic Music Festival is an annual EDM event held in the birthplace of Techno, Detroit, each Memorial Day weekend since 2006. Techno music has wildly been credited to its creator, Juan Atkins, a DJ and producer born and raised in Detroit. His father being a concert promoter, he grew up around music learning to play guitar at an early age, and at the age of 15, he bought his first synthesizer.

Based in the Historic Detroit Neighborhood of Rosedale Park, NORWEST GALLERY OF ART is dedicated to Contemporary Art specializing in African and African-American works. As Detroit's newest art gallery and museum, we are committed to promoting artistic work that provides an engaging and explosive voice, providing our collectors with access to the hottest artists from around the globe.

Dr. Violet Temple Lewis was a pioneer in the development of Black secretaries in the Midwest. Throughout her career, she observed the lack of Black women secretaries and after securing a $50 loan from a local bank opened up the Lewis Business College in 1928 in Indianapolis. The school’s mission was to provide Black women with the same secretarial skills she had acquired in college. In 1938 Lewis opened a branch of the school in Detroit, which would go on to outgrow the original location. in 1987, the school officially became an HBCU, unfortunately closing its doors in 2015. It was revitalized by Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, after hearing about the history of the school in 2020, a footwear designer for LA Gear, soon became the majority stakeholder in the Lewis College of Business. On October 7, 2021, he submitted a Certificate of Assumed Name to the State of Michigan to allow the Lewis College of Business to operate under a new name: Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design.

Tracy Reese is a Detroit-born fashion designer who specializes in women's ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, and home fashions such as linens. She is a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, having been inducted in 2007. Reese started sewing at a young age, and she moved to NYC to pursue her education at Parsons School of Design. After graduating with an accelerated degree in 1984, Reese worked under Martine Sitbon at the firm Arlequin. She worked at several top fashion design houses and eventually became head of the Women's Portfolio for Perry Ellis before launching her own label.

The Detroit Mural Project is an online guide to Detroit’s murals and sculptures, the archive housing more than 1,000 and 300 listings respectively. Search by artist, location or year, and you’ll be offered a photo of the mural and available information like who commissioned the work and within which district it lives. Viranel Clerard is the mind behind the project, which started as a city guide for his Ann Arbor friends but has since evolved into an agent for art-conscious Detroiters. “I just figured a lot of Detroiters don’t realize all the art that’s in their environment.”