Detroit Is Different

“‘You got to love your way through this’ is more than a quote in this Detroit is Different conversation with Terry Campbell—it’s the thread connecting a life built through Detroit legacy, Black migration, industry, policy, and purpose.” In this rich episode, Terry traces her family’s journey from Alabama, Florida, the West Indies, and Windsor into five generations of Detroit life, reflecting on Black Bottom, Northwest Detroit, Cass, Henry Ford, and the neighborhood values that shaped her. She shares how growing up in an engineering-minded household led to a career at General Motors, where years of building management and leadership skills in Flint factories and the GM Tech Center taught her how systems work, how communities are affected, and why “at some point, it wasn’t fun anymore” watching industry decline. That experience became a gateway to transformative public service—first helping lead Eastern Market, then stepping into U.S. Senate offices to advocate for urban agriculture, food justice, transit, infr