S7E52 -Delivering Justice: How a Detroit Son Reconnects, Joe Drew-Hundley

"My father used to say, ‘If you’re gonna deliver mail, own the block you walk on.’ That stuck with me.” Joe Drew-Hundley, Deputy Director of the Michigan Roundtable for Just Communities, sat down with Detroit is Different to trace his family’s Detroit roots from Waynesboro, Mississippi to the east side post routes that built Black stability and ownership. In this powerful and personal conversation, Joe shares how his family’s migration story mirrors Detroit’s — the grind, the grief, and the genius of making something out of what others overlook. He breaks down the journey from Ford Motor Company to the military to the post office, the lessons of growing up in Detroit then navigating suburban schools, and how those experiences shaped his work building just and beloved communities today. “My mom worked to finance small Black businesses, my dad bought homes on his mail route — community work was our inheritance.” From the Great Migration to today’s movement for racial and economic justice, Joe’s story bridges the past and future of Legacy Black Detroit: how we moved, how we built, and how we keep giving back.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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