Before I boarded my flight this morning to go see the Detroit screening on of my latest projects, Urban Roots, I thought I should touch upon some of the other artists working to help the city through the latest phase of the painful 30 year decline of the US industrial era. And since Urban Roots, an inspiring documentary about urban farming movement in Detroit, is ultimately a story of empowerment and locals taking action, it makes sense to highlight other local heroes making a difference.
While Eminem has been drawing some much needed attention to the city on a global media stage, Kid Rock has been contributing directly to countless causes. In addition to the $50,000 in checks he cut for Detroit-based charities at an NAACP dinner last week, his new Made in Detroit clothing line will help provide college scholarships for local music students. Kid Rock has long been known as a philantrophic artist, but it is great to see him and others who have had such an amazing reach taking real action in Detroit – the country’s worst national disaster that has somehow missed the media radar for most of the past 3 decades.
I personally want to thank him for his support of the film and the timely topics we are trying to inform the world about through Urban Roots. In his words: “Urban Roots is a very uplifting documentary about a much needed “thinking outside the box’ approach to helping save our city of Detroit. It shines a light on a grassroots movement that is helping solve several major problems in our city – literally from the ground up.”
