DETROIT – What happens when young minds with a passion for reform come together? Cornetta Lane sees it as an opportunity to start talking.
"Detroiters have a hard time accessing fresh water and fresh food, and I saw all of these controversies going on, and so I started Detroit Dialogues, a platform for people like me to really engage with what is happening in the city," Lane said.
The members of Detroit Dialogues meet once a month to discuss topics including tax foreclosure and race relations, things that typical 20-somethings ignore.
"I ask the group, 'Hey, what do you guys want to talk about for the month?' and then the group actually votes on a topic," Lane said.
After the vote, Lane invites a subject matter expert and an artist to the meeting to guide the Dialoguers in expressing their thoughts through skits or other forms of art.
"Have you grown since you started this?" asked Mitch Albom.
"Tremendously, I have grown tremendously. As a young millennial, we think we are right about everything," Lane said.
The eager minds are a testament to what a little face-to-face conversation can do.
"I love seeing when information gets dropped in the middle of a group and seeing a light bulb go off. That is probably one of the most rewarding things, is that some even walk away with a changed perspective," Lane said.
"Whoever thought that talking would be a concept?" Albom said.
"Yes," Lane said, laughing.
Popping up at venues all over the city, Lane and Detroit Dialogues are stirring up chatter for change in the heart of Detroit.
Heart of Detroit