Detroit supporting youth-organized gathering at Hart Plaza in wake of "Teen Takeovers"
Detroit teens gathered downtown on Saturday night, and it looked much different than the teen takeovers residents have seen recently.
The event, called Teen Kickback, happened at Hart Plaza. It was organized and promoted by Detroit youth, and it got the stamp of approval from city leaders.
"There were so many people that had their hands on this event, so it was a success," Mayor Mary Sheffield said at Saturday's gathering.
The event came out of conversations from the city with its youth to give them what they want while also keeping it safe.
"I think so often we forget about when we were kids. We also didn't want to be sitting at home necessarily. We want fun, safe, engaging spaces," said Detroit Youth and Education Senior Director Chanel Hampton.
That's what Detroit leaders say they're letting their youth create.
"Activities, sports, different outdoor activations, music, free food, a DJ, an MC, a host, and so we listened to them and really helped them bring all those resources together," Hampton said.
The event is completely organized and promoted by the same teens who will be attending it. The city says the community just helped them pay for it.
"Not a teen takeover, a teen kickback. I got a lot of youth that watch my videos and stuff. They love who I am, so I'm coming out, and I'm going to bring a surprise couple of guests too to talk to the kids and just have a great time," said Teen Kickback host Tay Crispy.
Police officers and adults were around to keep things safe, but they also say this was an approach to the teen takeover trend that isn't happening anywhere else.
"What's really unique about here, in addition to we're not having violent teen takeovers, but we're doing teen kickbacks, which they really framed and branded. We listen to our young people. It's not, let's pop up with an idea; this was [inviting them to] come to the table with us. We want to hear from you, and they're leading these teen kickbacks in a way that frankly we actually don't see across the country," Hampton said.
The kickback ran from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and marked the first in what could be several other events of its kind throughout the summer and beyond.