This world we live in, can you imagine being a kid in it?  Compound that by being a kid in an area that has a lot less than most.  Back about 1979, when I was 9, they called us “Latch Key Kids”.  We might have had a key on a string or in our book back that we could unlock the house and wait for that parent who might get home an hour of two later.  In 1979….we had “Gilligan’s Island” re-runs to occupy us, and probably a threat looming that if we left the house before a parent got home…there would be hell to pay.  Today, coming home….that parent might be out working job 2 or 3.  The food insecurity could very well be something unspoken.  The dangers…they are coming right into the home online.  Kids need someone betting on them.  Rolling with Dice Clark. it’s a safe bet. 

The first thing you’ll notice about Dice and I are the striking similarities.  If I grew my beard out, you’d never know the difference.  Seriously tho, meeting Dice was like staring at a mirror.  Deep inside Dice is the realization of one thing.  Children are the most valuable resource that we all have in any community, anywhere.  I live “a couple towns over” in Muskegon.  I have spoken to 8th graders about my career in media for decades.  23 out of the last 25 years, addressing 8th grade classes and above, I ask the opening question.  “When you hear or see something about Muskegon on the news, what is it?”  23 out of 25 years….these kids have told me that “Someone got murdered”.  Next question.  “Ya?  How many bodies did your bus run over on the way here today?”  Blank stare.  “None?  Well, maybe Muskegon isn’t being shown in the proper light then is it?”  We are here working in Detroit now based on changing that narrative just down the road from you, and finding people like DIce…it’s our mission and purpose.  Change agents.  Those who do something with nothing.  Those who’s lived experience have given them life skills that far exceed anything a book could ever teach and then give it back.  Give it back out of the understanding that they might have missed something and no one has to.

The Love Our Kids Project: Focuses on youth mentorship, family resources, and safe spaces in underserved Detroit neighborhoods.  Senior Knockout Feast: An annual Thanksgiving dinner initiative serving hundreds of senior citizens across Detroit, Highland Park, and Pontiac.  Seasonal Givebacks: Regular grassroots events including back-to-school drives, holiday support, and the annual Father’s Day Give Back.  Media & Advocacy: Co-owner of the What Up Doe podcast and co-host of Spectrum Talk, amplifying local culture and important conversations around autism awareness and community resilience.  The work is 24/7-365 and to help move it along, you my fid Dice out making some deliveries to keep it all going and you will certainly find him on social media showing you day by day the work he’s doing for kids who’s life at home might be not so easy having to navigate things we all took for granted when we were younger.  His work too, much like mine, includes getting into learning about and working with kids on the Autism Spectrum and realizing just how remarkable and filled with love….with no strings attached can be once you come to earn the trust of Spectrum kids.

The message is simple and straightforward.  It’s really no different than what’s been taught going back a few years.  “Do on to others as you’ve had done to you.”  Where somethings may have been a serious struggle for both Dice, and myself…surprisingly both at about the same age when it all kinda began…realizing that the cycle need not repeat and that dedicating time and effort toward bettering the life of one kid….just one…brings a ripple effect that lasts generations.  Those bad ripples.  The ones that began so long ago when communities started losing dads, grandfathers and uncles…over things like “drug wars” in some neighborhoods while others had “opioid crisis”….those ripples are going to take a while to smooth out.  It’s about the men with dignity and honor….in every neighborhood who can be that positive influence in a life early on, shifting the view of those kids and polishing up that treasure before they have to deal with life on their own….those are the treasure keepers.  Dice, it’s our greatest honor to make you our very first feature on the Motor City Channel!

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