2.22 BLACKOUT

The Gateway was covered. The history wasn't.

WE ARE BLACK HISTORY.

Saturday, February 22, 2025, we gathered at Nike Detroit for BLACKOUT—a special Saturday Community Run + Walk in honor of Black History Month.

I am grateful for the skin that I live in and the blood that runs through my veins. For the history that came before me and the people who walked, fought, sacrificed, created, served, built, and kept moving so that we could.

This was my way of putting that gratitude into motion.

City Sweat Club has been running Wednesday nights from the front porch of Nike Detroit, through every season, since June 26, 2024. Melany Silva-Gonzalez, Cody Contratto, and Richelle Hawkins have played an instrumental role in supporting our programming and creating space for our community to continue showing up and moving together.

For BLACKOUT, I wanted our miles to carry some of our history with them.

I brought the Black American flag with me, along with small Pan-African flags to share with anyone who wanted one. While we were inside the store, a group of kids came in to shop, saw the flags and immediately wanted their own.

They weren't there for our run. They just walked in, saw the flags, and wanted to carry one too.

Our route was intentional, taking us past the Gateway to Freedom, also known as the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad.

Overlooking the Detroit River, the monument is a reminder of the role Detroit and the Detroit River played in the Underground Railroad's path to freedom. Its figures face and point toward Canada, where freedom waited on the other side of the river.

The history here runs deep. Slavery was practiced in Detroit dating back to its founding in 1701. Generations later, Detroit became one of the final stops for freedom seekers escaping the United States through the Underground Railroad.

The Gateway to Freedom captures part of that story. Eight freedom seekers stand alongside an Underground Railroad conductor, modeled after George DeBaptiste, a free Black man who came to Detroit in 1846 and became instrumental in helping others cross the river to freedom.

So yes, we ran by it on purpose.

And before heading back, we stopped at the Monument to Joe Louis—the Fist—and snapped a picture together underneath one of Detroit's most recognizable symbols of Black strength.

Our route was carrying the story right along with us. Before we took off that morning, I stood outside the store and shared a poem I wrote for the run, Peaceful Paces. Then we put our feet to the pavement.

Nike Marketplace EKIN Dan Eastland joined us for the day's activities too, hosting an in-store shoe demo and giving our group an opportunity to lace up a Nike Running release and take it out for a trial run.

But our run was much bigger than celebrating Black History Month.

Just five days earlier, on February 17, a 54-inch water transmission main ruptured in Southwest Detroit in the middle of freezing temperatures. Water poured into streets, homes, basements, and vehicles. Roughly 400 homes were impacted and more than 90 people had to be rescued. Families were displaced and left figuring out what came next after water and ice took over their neighborhood.

Santos Church, located in Southwest Detroit, opened its doors and became a place for neighbors to find warmth, food, clothing, supplies, and support.

So while we were gathered at Nike Detroit, we collected items in the store to donate to Santos Church and the families affected by the flooding. We came together that morning to honor Black history while history was still being written around us.

And I think that's what made this day so special to me.

I can be grateful for the skin that I live in. Grateful for the blood that runs through my veins. Proud of the people who came before me and intentional about honoring what they endured, what they built, and what they made possible.

And then I can move. Move my feet, move people, move resources, and absolutely move for someone else. That's the kind of history I want to be a part of.

Before we took off that morning, I shared this:

peaceful paces: A Tribute In Motion

“Let us not forget—let us not erase,
The footsteps that paved this place,
Ancestors who walked so we could run,
Who faced the night but reached the sun.

Their strides echo beneath our feet,
Breaking chains, as we run up and down these streets,
In every breath, their fight remains,
In every mile, we carry their names.

Built on faith and endless hope,
Roots that taught us how to cope.

Peaceful pace, powerful flow,
Their legacy is why we go,
Forward, onward—never back,
Their spirit keeps us on the right track.

We run to remember, to uplift,

To walk in their footsteps, a priceless gift,

To carry dreams they dared to sow,

Marching onward to help our community grow.

We don’t just run; we carry dreams,
Strength laced and stitched into our seams,

To move for change, to rise above,
Peaceful paces fueled by love.

Blackout run, but the vision’s clear—
Their past, our path, the future’s here.”