New Era Detroit brings back "Brothas on the Block" community walks to promote unity

Dozens of Black men of all ages gathered Thursday afternoon to set a positive example in Detroit.

It's finally starting to get warm outside, and New Era Detroit is doing what it can to ensure that Black men of all ages are setting a good example in every neighborhood of the city, as violence typically rises in the summer months.

"You build relationships with the community, we build relationships with each other. And then once again, the community, especially the kids, get to see us out in unity and then our boots on the ground to show that we really care," said Zeke Williams with New Era Detroit.

The organization, which has been around for over a decade, began its "Brothas on the Block" walks about two years ago to help more Black men feel comfortable being visible, positive presences in the city.

"Our goal is to bring everybody out the neighborhood to come outside to engage with each other. So as we walk the blocks, we pick up trash, we engage with the neighbors," said Parellee with New Era Detroit.

As we move into the warmer season, the community group says this outreach is more important than ever. They say that when younger people spend more time outside, conflict resolution is especially important, whether it arises from neighborhood disagreements or the so-called "teen takeovers" in the downtown area.

"As you know, in Michigan, there's a lotta winter months where everybody is in the house, and it's a lot of tension that goes on over the winter months with the younger crowd, and so as those tensions grow and as summer comes, they see each other and tensions might happen," said Parallee.

The group says these walks are a positive way to engage with their own communities, rather than waiting for another tragedy to get involved. 

New Era says it will hold a different walk in a different Detroit neighborhood every other Thursday.