Featuring Renowned Author and Journalist Desiree Cooper
This Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21, from 2 – 4 p.m. Detroit is Different and Source Booksellers will host Black Summers: A Father’s Day Live Podcast Conversation. This free community celebration features author and Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Desiree Cooper in conversation with Detroit Is Different Founder and Host Khary Frazier for a live podcast experience. Source Booksellers is located at 4240 Cass Avenue in Detroit.
At the center of this gathering is Black Summers: Growing Up in the Urban Outdoors, edited by Cooper. Black Summers is a literary collection of essays, poetry, and graphic stories exploring what shapes life in the urban outdoors. The anthology brings together African American writers ages 16 to 74, including Kresge Artist Fellows, journalists, poets, youth voices, LGBTQ, Afro-Latinx contributors, and nationally recognized literary leaders such as Tommye Blount, Nandi Comer, Stephen Henderson, and Kahn Santori. Alongside established writers, the book also uplifts emerging voices and young writers connected to InsideOut Literary Arts, making the collection a powerful portrait of Detroit memory, summer joy, racial truth, resilience, and reinvention.
“We are inviting Detroit to experience the power of Black storytelling and step into the sunshine of memory, joy, books, food, and family, says Frazier. “This event is rooted in warmth, laughter, audience engagement, and the cultural rhythm of Black Detroit.”
Guests attending the live podcast conversation will experience a lively Father’s Day celebration, opportunities for audience reflections, and a chance to explore the most impactful, inspiring, funny, and unforgettable stories of classic Black Summers in Detroit. Registration is encouraged, food will be available for early guests, and the event is open to fathers, families, readers, writers, elders, youth, and everyone who values Black stories told in community. To register visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/detroit-summersdesiree-coopers-live-on-detroit-is-different-tickets-1989881863219
Detroit is Different, founded by Khary Frazier in 2014, seeks to amplify Black Detroit culture through media, podcasts, storytelling, and events.
Source Booksellers is the beloved Black-owned Detroit bookstore and cultural anchor carrying forward the legacy of Black literary spaces as places for learning, gathering, and imagination.
Desiree Cooper, a 2015 Kresge Artist Fellow, Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist, former attorney, and editor of this groundbreaking 2026 anthology, brings a rich literary legacy to a joyful free event designed to honor Black family, Black memory, Black books, and Black Detroit sunshine.
