Local Belleville Business Owner Dedicates Store Display Windows For Black History Month

A local Belleville business owner has dedicated the display windows of his business to honor Black History Month. I happened to see a post by Kenn Sanford at the Nextdoor website asking folks for ideas that maybe he hadn't already thought of, and that led me to a phone conversation with him. I found him to be an incredible guy, well spoken, and very thoughtful and deliberate. Instead of a standard interview with him about what led him to this moment, I asked him if he would be kind enough to share his memories, and share his story in his own words. Thankfully, he accepted, because this story is incredible. So here is Kenn Sanford's story in his own words.

There’s something definitely different about me in a unique kind of way(s).

My earliest recollection of dividing lines goes as far back as Kindergarten. I grew up in Northwest
Detroit from 1961 until 1974. The elementary school I went to had a “portable” building in the back half of the playground. I now realize that it was called the portable because what it was, was an
“onsite construction trailer” that could be moved if necessary but afforded the kindergarten classes to be housed in this structure as the elementary classrooms were all in use with 1st through 8th graders at the time. My exposure to segregation of students ( or people for that matter ) was not
immediately apparent to me. What was apparent to me was there were only specific bathrooms and drinking fountains that I was allowed to use. I distinctly remember at 6 years old wanting to drink from a specific fountain and was not allowed to. I remember the sign above it being pointed out to me from my teacher and it said “COLORED .” I questioned what that meant and she stated to me that It was chocolate and I could not have it and would not like it. I was then led over to the other drinking fountain that had the sign above it “WHITES ONLY”. Little did I know then that this would impact me
as strongly as it has over the years.

My Dad was a Detroit Police Officer. Fast forward to about 1966 or so when the construction of the I96
freeway was expanding further into Detroit from the west. I vividly remember me and my buddies playing in the empty houses that were being physically moved to make room for the expressway and the overpass at Evergreen Road which was being built. (right near the old Farmer Jack distribution center) We played on the railroad tracks and went sledding in the winter down the hill onto the service road that led into FJ rail yards and the city’s incinerator location. We made “friends” with the hobos under the overpass construction and didn’t think twice about it…the encampments were comprised of both Black and White men.

I vividly remember my Dad picking me up early from school to take me to a dentist appointment down at the Penobscot building. He apparently decided to take the stretch of "I 96" that was completed over to the Lodge Fwy. At some point he slammed on the brakes as a Garbage truck had apparently cut him off. My Dad was FURIOUS and sped up to catch the driver ..He fumbled in his pocket for his badge and pulled up along side of the truck and “ordered” me to roll down my window as I was riding shot gun. My dad was laying on the horn and cussing up a storm and flashing his badge at the Driver of the truck and was screaming at him that he was a “stupid ass N*****” and to pull over NOW. Needless to say I was not only shocked but I was terrified at this point. My Dad got out of the car and had some words with the driver… When he got back in the car he found me blubbering like an idiot crying uncontrollably. He asked me what I was crying about and I told him I was scared because he was so mean. I didn’t fully comprehend everything at the time but I made sure that I told him he didn’t have to call him a “N*****”. He stopped speaking and said to me, someday you will understand. {I’m still waiting for that day to come so I can “understand”}

Those two particular incidents are still so fresh in my mind all these years later.

I also have a distinct memory of my grandmother coming to pick me and my youngest sister up to take us to her house on the first or second night of the Detroit Riots. At the time, I believe she lived on West Philadelphia. I remember her being stopped by the National Guard as she was traveling after curfew hours. She was trying to explain to whoever stopped us that she was only trying to get home after picking up her grandbabies and wanted to get them to safety. At that time a Detroit Police officer was in the area and walked up on us. She explained to him as well what she was doing out and that she was in possession of another Detroit Police officer's Children and trying to get all of us to a safe haven and she misunderstood the curfew time ( I believe she was past it by about 30 minutes). Between the two of them they gave her an expedient route to get us to her house and not put us in any danger. What I remember the most about that trip is the orange Glow in the sky and the smoke everywhere along with loud voices yelling and screaming. We made it to her house shortly thereafter after being told to “hunker down” in the car and don’t come up for anything until we got to her house.

My uncle took me and a couple of my friends to see the Detroit Tigers play in the World Series at Tiger Stadium in 1968 = I had such admiration for Willie Horton because to me he was a superstar in the field of baseball and it wasn’t obvious to me that he was different because he was black, in my eyes he was a pivotal part of the Tigers team.

We moved from Northwest Detroit to Southwest Detroit in 1974. I spent many days hanging out at Patton Park, Clark Park, and on the weekends would ride my bike back to the old neighborhood, meet up with my best friend at the time and we would find ourselves at Brennan Pools in Rouge Park. We were warned to be careful and heard the “horror stories” of the white kid who was almost murdered near the pools by gangs of blacks. Those warnings came from other white people at the park, not from my Parents because had I told them where I was going, I'm sure I would have been told
that was a hard NO and I would be grounded.

Being exposed to so many ethnicities in the 70s apparently cemented my beliefs in what equality should be like because I seemed to get along with just about anyone. I recall the black power movement involving the black panthers and the stories that came out of California. Didn’t phase me, I accepted it for what it was. There must be a reason, I reckoned.

In 1979 I moved out of Michigan after getting married and I moved by myself to Houston, TX. Experiencing the “Yankee” shunning brought back memories of the division of the 60s of my early childhood. I spent until early 1982 in Houston and moved back to MI to salvage my marriage. ( Didn’t work out to be salvageable)

From 1982 until 2009 I worked for the JCPenney Co. I can honestly say that the best years I spent there were from 1982 until 2004 where I spent my time at the Northland Mall Location. My ties to the urban environment were strong at the time and further solidified when a group of us decided to do a Dr Martin Luther King Jr Celebration in 1984. This was two years before it was recognized as a Federal Holiday. The celebration included gospel choirs, church clergy and community speakers. Working closely with the Michigan Chronicle and Detroit News/Free Press garnered the exposure that was needed for the event and still provokes warm memories for me now when I look back on it and how it came to be.

Seeing so much in my life in the society of which we live, really is mind boggling at times. Blood ,
Sweat and Tears hold true meaning as I think of the things that I have witnessed, been a part of, and triumphantly been through. From the ending of the Polio crisis, assassinations, segregation issues,
boycotts, AIDS , Covid 19, and so much more.

There are so many forms of bigotry, racism, prejudices, and the like that still separate us from being
equal as a race: THE HUMAN RACE.

In 2021 I retired early from my retail career in management. I became a silent partner in a women owned thrift and gift store. In 2025 I took over ownership completely, and in doing so, renamed and restructured it to what it is today; Hometown Thrift and Gift. One of the early phone calls I received at
the store was from a local resident who wanted to let me know that she had been a long time resident of the community, and up until she saw the Gay Pride flags in our front window in June she felt
comfortable living there, but seeing those made her feel accepted and cherished not just for her, but for the community as a whole.

In 2025 when the transfer of ownership was settled, I made the commitment to myself and to my volunteer staff that one of the windows in February would be devoted to Black History Month. Commitment honored, Mission accomplished and Shared with everyone!!!

You can see this display at:

Hometown Thrift And Gift

430 Main Street, Belleville, MI