Detroit Is Different

“I didn’t think if I stayed, I’d be alive’—that electrifying moment, when Konstance Patton revealed how everything changed the moment she stepped out of Detroit, sets the tone for this compelling episode. In a deeply resonant conversation with Khary Frazier, Patton weaves together the threads of her Black Detroit legacy—from ancestral roots in the Carolinas, Virginia, and New Orleans to intergenerational artistry that stretches back to her grandmother’s kiln in Brightmoor and massive bead‑worked Last Supper in a Petoskey museum. She reflects on formative childhood memories riding a bike past seven‑mile gravesites, the comfort of her grandmother’s quilts and pottery, and how early encounters with classical violin and swimming taught discipline and collaboration. Through her travels—from a shocking culinary awakening in London to soulful inspirations in Egypt, India, Italy—Patton found her voice in visual storytelling. Now, drenched in paint at her annual ‘potluck’ gatherings at Detroit’s Talking Doll Studios,