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Curtis Jones Park, Detroit Michigan 2022

For this project I worked along side the great team at NW Goldeberg Cares adding my energy to their latest addition to the Detroit neighborhood of NW Goldberg, an NBA size basketball court, playground, and community space. To see what the organization is doing for their community, one park and one program at a time was inspiring and humbling. There is some very special energy in Detroit and the NW Goldberg team are clear examples of what love, care, and real community energy can do. I'm grateful to be a part of it all!

Curtis “The Magician” Jones’ story as one of this city’s brightest basketball stars is also a cautionary tale. The teenage hoops prodigy grew up in the neighborhood, attended Northwestern High School and was set to play at the University of Michigan, but didn’t have the grades. Curtis was passed through school because of his basketball talent but was never taught how to read and write proficiently. He was sent to a community college in New Mexico, where he faced racism and was ridiculed. Jones spent most of his adult life battling mental illness and drug abuse.

NW Goldberg Cares, a community development corporation located in the heart of Detroit’s NW Goldberg neighborhood, aims to improve upon the lives of residents in the predominantly African American community by incubating neighborhood businesses, building a strong community and ensuring a family friendly neighborhood.