Tucked away in a nondescript building in the Bagley neighborhood, a collective of mothers is fighting to break down barriers and biases. 

A month after opening his gym on the west side, owner John Smith already had a waiting list of potential new members.

Tucked away in a black and red building on Wyoming Avenue, Smith and his team at the newly opened Grindtime Fitness have already outgrown this space. Four years ago, Smith only had one client. Today, he and his team are helping more than 300 Detroiters get in shape. 

Unless you’ve been living under a vibranium rock, you already know this weekend brings the cinematic premiere of Black Panther. Set in the fictitious African country of Wakanda, Black Panther is the highlight of Black History Month 2018, or maybe all of 2018 as its already the highest-grossing film of the year thus far. 

All hail this day of gluttony, otherwise known as Paczki Day here in the Motor City. 

The Polish tradition of Fat Tuesday, carried over to this side of the pond by Poles who settled on the east side and in Hamtramck, stems from families who rushed to rid their homes of baked goods ahead of Lenten season. Most people refer to them as jelly doughnuts but they are so much more. (And please, please don’t forget that paczek is the singular and paczki is plural.)

“I’m old enough to remember going Down South to visit my grandparents and there being, you know, ‘white only’ water fountains and ‘white only’ bathrooms,” Mandisa Smith, co-founder of Detroit Fiber Works, tells The Neighborhoods. “Seeing what happened in Charlottesville recently and all the deaths of people at the hands of law enforcement, it’s important that we think about it and that we take action and I think this particular workshop is a way to get people to think.”

At The Neighborhoods, we’re interested in hearing from everybody in Detroit about what matters most to you.

Do you have a story to tell about what your community group is doing in the neighborhood? Tell us.

Do you have a story to tell about a home that needs to come down in your neighborhood? Tell us.