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Even from Los Angeles, former Detroiter Keegan-Michael Key knows the city where he lived until age 22 is more jewel than jungle.
"It's not the wild, wild West," the producer, actor and writer tells Sara Boboltz, entertainment editor at Huffington Post. "There aren't bullets flying everywhere. It just isn't that place anymore."
Hometown hugs and optimism fill the interview, posted Monday. "There's a lot of culture in this city. We are one of the grand cities of the United States," says Key, describing the Detroit Institute of Arts as "one of the greatest art institutes on planet Earth . . . the diamond that is the biggest piece of our civic pride."
It’s unbelievable. I think everybody should take the opportunity, if they’re going to the Midwest, go to Detroit, Michigan, and go to the crown jewel of our city.
Michael-Keegan Key: "Let’s put some of the paint on that canvas away from downtown."
He also voices a remember-the-neighborhoods message for politicians, investors and business owners:
It's the infrastructure of the neighborhoods that I think now we need to pay more attention to.Lots of people are spending lots of money and paying lots of attention to the downtown area. And that’s all well and good. I think that’s great.
There's this kind of central column in the downtown area and in our northern downtown area. But once you get about a quarter of a mile away from that downtown area, we still have some of the challenges we had even when I was a kid. I think that's something we need to address. . . .
Let's put some of the paint on that canvas away from downtown, somewhere more out in the neighborhoods.
Suburban and out-of-town visitors also should look beyond Greektown, Corktown, Midtown and downtown for dining and shopping, suggests the 46-year-old, who was born in Southfield before his family moved to Detroit.
"We still have some of the challenges we had even when I was a kid."
Here's what he tells HuffPost about "places to venture out in the city:"
You can go to the West side and find a really cool Middle Eastern restaurant, or go downtown and find really great soul food. . . . But I also want people to explore places that they can find out in the neighborhoods. We need more of that. . . .
It's weird that in this country, the way you denote there’s some form of progress is if there’s a Starbucks in your neighborhood. I'll go to Starbucks and get my coffee, but I'd love to go to Tommy and Tanisha's coffee shop on Griswold so I'm supporting local people.
Key graduated from Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak (1989) and the University of Detroit Mercy (1993), when he left his hometown to earn a master of fine arts in theater at Pennsylvania State University. He gained wide attention in "Key & Peele," a 2012-15 Comedy Central sketch series he created with Jordan Peele, and co-stars since 2014 in the USA Network comedy series "Playing House."
"It's really lovely to go home and see the people you grew up with, and see how it's changed for the better," he tells Boboltz, who's based in New York City
The wide-ranging interview is a prelude to a Detroit visit Oct. 3 by HuffPost as part of a 23-city, six-week "Listen to America" reporting tour that starts Sept. 12. "We believe there’s still so much that unites us as citizens. We aim to discover and highlight all that, and show what Americans have in common.storytelling that showcases what we share as Americans, rather than what divides us," says Lydia Polgreen, editor-in-chief.
