In Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, transformation doesn’t come from the top down. It comes from the grit of everyday people, from seniors tending flower beds to parents building childcare networks, from youth programs to sidewalk cleanups. It comes from a place where optimism is tested but not extinguished. Once home to 30,000 residents, the Brightmoor area—made up of multiple neighborhoods in northwest Detroit—is now closer to 22,000. And yet its people are still shaping the future.
At the heart of this work is the Brightmoor Alliance, lead by Pastor Larry Simmons. Since 2000, the Alliance has supported grassroots organizations and community-driven change across a wide spectrum—from early childhood development to food access to workforce development.
Detroitisit spoke with Pastor Larry about what makes Brightmoor unique, what’s working, what’s not, and what keeps this community moving forward.
Q: How would you describe Brightmoor today—its spirit, its challenges, and what makes it different from other Detroit neighborhoods?
A: Brightmoor isn’t one thing—it’s many communities in one. But if you average it all out, this is a low-income area. The median income is around $27,000 for a family of three, while the metro average is about $70,000. It’s primarily African American, with a lot of children and a strong senior presence.
But here’s the thing—Brightmoor is an innovative community. Because of the income challenge, people are constantly inventing ways to meet basic needs. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it is heartbreaking. But it never stops being creative. People here believe they can do better. They want life to be better. They don’t give up.
Q: How has the neighborhood changed since the Brightmoor Alliance began its work?
A: When we started, there were about 30,000 people living here. Now there are about 22,000. Some parts of the community have grown wealthier. Others have grown poorer. Some census tracts are gaining population. Others have seen dramatic decline. So again—it’s not one story.
The Alliance formally partnered with the Skillman Foundation’s “Good Neighborhoods” initiative from 2006 to 2016. That affiliation helped build momentum, but the community has been driving the change.
Q: What have been some of the biggest catalysts for revitalization?
A: The energy of the people. We’ve become a bit of a “darling” lately because of the Restore the ’Moor plan, but the work has always been here.
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I don’t believe buildings or bike paths transform communities—people do. The revitalization is because people here started doing things: urban farming, community gardening, renovating houses that were slated for demolition. A group of women who babysat each other’s kids eventually became premiere childcare providers, with support from the Fisher Foundation. Today, Brightmoor has eight of the city’s top-rated providers.
There have been struggles, too. Chronic absenteeism in schools is still a serious issue. But we’ve contributed to the understanding of what it will take to change that. We’ve got community members who maintain parks, organize food distribution, build greenhouses. Even in the drug trade, there’s entrepreneurial energy—young people trying to find a way. It’s all part of the story.
Q: What does collaboration look like among the many groups that make up the Alliance?
A: It looks different in every case. We’ve worked with City Covenant Church to provide food distribution with DPS and Forgotten Harvest. We partnered with Motor City Java and Sweet Potato Sensations to tear down an abandoned building and turn it into a business center.
We’re about to launch a major initiative with Developing K.I.D.S. to provide cradle-to-grave wraparound services for families, especially those with young children. It’s about the whole household, not just the kids. That’s what it takes.
Q: What progress has been made on the Restore the ’Moor plan—and what still needs work?
A: We’ve made tremendous progress, especially around reducing blight. With the Duggan administration, we’ve demolished a lot of vacant buildings. Of the 15,000 parcels in Brightmoor, about 10,000 are now vacant land. But we’ve also seen dozens of families buying and renovating the remaining homes.
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We’ve built up local organizations like Flower Power and Nexus Detroit, who distribute food every week. But we haven’t turned around school performance the way we’d like. And we haven’t built as much new housing as we need. There’s still a long way to go.
Q: How do you balance urgent neighborhood needs—like housing and food—with long-term goals like equity and economic opportunity?
A: That’s the biggest challenge we face. If you’re poor, your first concern every day is food. Not what kind of food, just whether you’ll eat. That changes how you approach everything.
So we do food distribution twice a month. Nexus does it every day. We can’t meet every need, but we’re part of a larger network of helpers. And on the long-term side, we’ve got the Brightmoor Come uP program, which helps families with young children build skills to enter the workforce. We’ve partnered with the city and other groups to recruit for skilled trades. That’s the future.
Q: What role has philanthropic support played in Brightmoor’s progress—and what kind of support has made the biggest impact?
A: We’ve had tremendous support from philanthropy, and it’s made a real difference. The Fisher Foundation, Skillman, Kellogg, Kresge, and AAA Scholarship Foundations have all stood with us and helped fund the work in big and small ways. They’ve supported everything from childcare to community organizing.
And then you have support like what we’ve seen from the Detroit Pistons. They didn’t just write a check—they adopted local schools. They brought coats, backpacks, even opened a free store right inside one school where kids and families could get food and daily essentials. The players came and met with the kids. That’s the kind of support that’s transformational. It shows up in real, human ways.
Q: What advice would you offer to other neighborhood leaders trying to spark grassroots change?
A: First, look around. We’re not the only ones doing this. Groups on the east side, in southwest Detroit, in Central—there’s good work happening all over.
Second, be patient. There’s a lot of trauma in our communities. You have to believe in the work even when it feels like it’s not working.
It took me 25 years to graduate from Wayne State. I raised a child, worked, went to school. Sometimes I failed. But I got back up. That’s what it takes. A belief that hope is not hopeless.
I think of a woman who used her husband’s life insurance to build a healing center. That’s the spirit we need.
Q: Looking ten years ahead, what do you hope Brightmoor looks like?
A: In ten years, I hope the children of Brightmoor are living in homes that are comfortable, abundant, full of joy. This is a country where we have the resources. There’s no reason everyone shouldn’t have what they need—and a little more, so they don’t have to live in fear of the future.
And I hope we can remember: unless you’re Native American, we are all immigrants. Whether you’re in Brightmoor or Bloomfield Hills, we’ve got to find a way to be here together.
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