Hello guys, gals, and Gannon pals!
Settle in folks! This day was jammed packed with everything Detroit!
Our day started with coffee, conversations of weird noises heard by Kylie and Kristen throughout the night (both thought it was the others phone going off--still unsure of what it actually was), and Sarah deciding to put a questionable white powder into her coffee (don't worry, we confirmed it was actually powdered coffee creamer.)
First on our list was On The Rise Bakery for cinnamon rolls as big as our faces! (See the pictures below for reference!) On The Rise Bakery is a local bakery that hires individuals just out of prison or substance abuse treatment programs. Their goal is to give these individuals a second chance and an opportunity to work and get back on their feet. When we walked in we were greeted with warmth, kindness, and the incredible smell of fresh bread!
Following the bakery we headed to the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor museum-like exhibit on Heidelberg Street. Tyree Guyton created the Heidelberg Project after he returned to his family's neighborhood from the army and found that his neighborhood had deteriorated since his childhood following the 1967 race riots. In protest of the aftermath of these riots, Tyree began creating exhibits that reflected the loss of childhood innocence and the shift to corruption and division.
Driving past the street, it may just look like large piles of trash everywhere. However, each item has a message, a story, and a purpose. Throughout the entire exhibit are clocks and specific times. We learned that the use of clocks and time symbolize how it is time for change. One house, Dotty Wotty, was painted by Tyree and is filled with circles that represent the circle of life, the sun, the moon, the cell, and how all things in life are connected and repeat. The equation "2+2=8" could be found in multiple places along the exhibit to represent creating your own reality. Shoes were hanging from the trees symbolizing the souls of those who were lynched. An entire lot of land was piled with household items in place of one of the nine houses on the street that were destroyed by arson during this time. This powerful outdoor museum touched our entire group, leaving us all curious to learn more about the project and the history of Detroit during the time of racial protests. We reflected on how events leading to the creation of this project are eerily similar to events we have witnessed within the past year.
After the Heidelberg Project, we went to the Henry Ford Museum where we were immersed into the world of planes, trains, cars, and American industrialization. We walked exhibits looking at the evolution of Presidential cars, saw the actual bus Rosa Parks sat on when she was arrested for not moving seats, and learned so much about how the automobile industry changed throughout our history.
We finished our day with intense games of UNO, spaghetti, and Italian ice! We almost witnessed a man propose to his significant other downtown, but he left before we could could witness the event. And afterwards we went to a lookout and looked at Canada from across the river (during which we came to a consensus that Rachel is not allowed to take panoramas anymore...long story on that one) We are all looking forward to sleeping and then starting our service at Earthworks tomorrow!
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