August has been a busy month for DJC so far, and we’re just getting started!
Arise Detroit’s Neighborhoods Day
On August 1st, we participated in Arise Detroit’s Neighborhoods Day and invited Detroiters to visit the Love Building and learn more about the resources available to them from DJC, Detroit Disability Power, Allied Media Projects, and the Love Building itself. On Arise Detroit’s website it says, “Neighborhoods Day celebrates all the great work block clubs, churches, schools, community groups and local businesses do throughout the year in the effort to create a better Detroit. Neighborhoods Day events are held all over the city on the same day, from midtown to downtown, from the west side to the east side.”
We had the grill going, music filled the air, and we had games, art and activities for kids. We also had a table from Spokescouncill Detroit so folks could learn more about the fight against police surveillance in Detroit, and a Detroit Disability Power table to learn more about disability justice in the city.
It was an honor for us to celebrate the legacy of Luther Keith and participate in the citywide event. We were thrilled to lead tours for our neighbors from around Core City who had never been to the building and always wondered what took place inside. We even received a visit from DJC alum Erin Keith and her beautiful family. Arise’s work of bringing neighbors together across Detroit is truly inspiring, and we were glad to take part!
Black August: A Celebration of Liberation
On August 6th, we hosted our Black August Celebration at the Love Building, led by our incomparable Community Legal Advocate, Lauren Thomas. During Black August, we honor the political prisoners and freedom fighters who’ve carried the torch toward liberation. This year, we wanted to bring folks together the way our movement ancestors always have: dancing, breaking bread, and building together. Joy has always been part of the resistance, and we wanted to spotlight the Black Detroit movement leaders who make that resistance possible.
There was a gallery walk of DJC’s work, and a letter-writing station where people were invited to write letters to currently incarcerated political prisoners, sourced by our comrades at Detroit Jericho. We had incredible Black-owned food trucks available from Good Food Truck and Rosebud from Fork Around Find Out. with hibachi and soul food, as well as refreshing drinks from Vonna Tonics and mocktails from DJC’s Tiffany Jones and her partner Jordan, who served as our brilliant bartender.
Our friend Allison from the Source Booksellers picked out some incredible literature in the spirit of Black August, encouraging us to fast, train, fight and study. We had the Official DJ Fatz, who is a consummate professional at 16 years young, on the ones and twos. Our partners at Alkebu-lan Village gave a talk about discipline and martial arts training, and we also had an incredible tutorial from Detroit Jit Masters. We rounded out a fabulous evening of intergenerational communion with some Detroit trivia with prizes from several local Black-owned businesses.
Jenin Yaseen’s Artist Residency Showcase
If you couldn’t make it out to either of these events (or if you could and want to come back) we’ve still got plenty planned for the rest of August.
Join Us! Wednesday, August 19th, from 6:30-8pm at the LOVE Building (4731 Grand River Ave. Detroit, MI 48208). We will be unveiling new work from Jenin Yaseen, our 2025-26 Artist in Residence, and we will be announcing our 2026-27 artist in residence as well. We’ll have refreshments, music from DJ Bernan Bush, and we’ll be talking about the fight to end surveillance in Detroit and Palestine. We truly hope to see you there!
If you can make it, please register at this link before next Wednesday.
About the project:
We Stitch What We Were Denied uses illustration, painting, and embroidery on reclaimed police and military fabrics to tell abolitionist stories rooted in resistance, grief, and collective imagination. Working on decommissioned police uniforms, correctional officer garments, military fatigues, and canvas, Yaseen transforms the materials of state violence into surfaces for community memory, solidarity, and freedom.
The centerpiece of the project is a three-panel fabric mural. The left panel centers Palestine, depicting surveillance, checkpoints, incarceration, and the technology used to police and cage Palestinians. The right panel reflects Detroit, highlighting surveillance towers, environmental harm, and the criminalization of poverty. The center panel, stitched into the rips and seams of the reclaimed materials, represents the 2024 student encampments at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan — scenes of mutual aid, protection, and cross-border solidarity. Throughout the mural, holes and seams reveal glimpses of a liberated future: land returned in Palestine, technology repurposed for care, and former carceral sites reimagined as gardens, libraries, and gathering spaces.
Yaseen is a Palestinian artist and organizer whose practice is rooted in storytelling, memory, and survival. She facilitates tatreez (Palestinian embroidery) circles that have brought together more than 60 community members over three years, many of whom have contributed to this project.