Eric Thomas, who was hired as Detroit’s Chief Storyteller, resigned from his position, Metro Times reported on Monday.
Thomas took on the role in 2020. One of his first storytelling duties was to inform Detroiters about COVID-19. Part of that campaign was Thomas assisting with organizing the “Everybody vs. COVID” online concert. During his tenure, the Chief Storyteller’s platform shifted from the TheNeighborhoods.org website to the more popular @storiesfromdet on Instagram.
Thomas became famous for his “Why I Hate Detroit” post on LinkedIn in 2016 and his TEDxDetroit talk “How Storytelling Can Give a Community Back Its Voice” in 2017.
On Thomas’ LinkedIn page yesterday Thomas said, “For three years and three months, I had the coolest job in any city government. I told over 120 stories, creating beautiful images and videos elevating the look and feel of the city on our neighborhoods platform. On and off I ran city social media, shifting the focus to show the faces of Detroiters. See Detroit like we do, if you will.”
“I came to this job to tell stories about Detroiters, from Detroiters to Detroiters. I got to do a lot more than I bargained for. But, now there are systems we put in place and talented people to run them so I think my job is done.”
