Lansing-ites on Lansing

“I’m a transplant to Lansing from Indiana, but this city is absolutely home. I would ride my bike around and always feel safe from the time I got up in the morning to when the streetlights came on. It is not a big city, yet you always have something going on here. Lansing is about community. I love how the city always has free things going on for all income levels. Especially when I was little, they had so many community events. We’d go to Foster Park, and for summertime, there were a lot of arts and crafts. I was exposed to the arts from those park events.”

— Twyla Birdsong, blues and soul songstress, east side resident

“Lansing is a very diverse town with strong labor and union roots. We’re used to banding together and sticking up for one another. You’ll find an abundance of formal and informal civil rights groups actively meeting and planning actions. Casa de Rosado is proud to host many community meetings and events — Suits and the City, Voces de La Comunidad, Labor Council For Latin American Advancement, and poetry and cultural events for the LGBTQIA community. Our doors are open if you need a table. You’ll find many small meeting and cultural centers ready to provide a haven from the rest of the world, and make life time neighbors and friends in the process.”

— Theresa Rosado, owner of Casa de Rosado gallery

“I think that Lansing has a unique situation, where there are enough people rolling in the same direction to capitalize on creative energy, with what’s best for the future in mind. There is also a lot happening at once, which is quite different than 15 years ago. If you are looking for something specific, you may find it. If not, there’s room to build it.” 

— Ozay Moore, hip-hop artist and founder of Lansing’s All of the Above Hip Hop Academy

“I’ve traveled to 70 countries and hundreds of cities around the world, and always wanted to come home to Lansing. This is the place where I was born and a place I always base my life around. Lansing is starting to come into our own. We are not just Detroit’s little brother. Lansing has all of the ingredients and talent and competency to be a significant player in the future of this world. Michigan State University is a tech engine, and we have yet to see what secrets FRIB holds for the future. We’re not just here to talk about screwed up roads, bad weather and unions. We have our future to talk about, and a rare opportunity, where we are at the raw material stage of that. I don’t want to buy the future other people are selling, I want to be building it.”

— Jerry Norris, owner of The Fledge 

“I grew up in Lansing and thought the education system was excellent and provided me a great basis for being successful for college at Harvard Law School. It’s a great family location and we have an excellent culture in Lansing, focusing on the importance of commitment to family and outstanding work ethic. With Michigan State University and Lansing Community College, we have great opportunities for being outstanding in cultural development. It’s not that much different from living in a major metropolitan area, but it’s much more economical and family friendly.”

— Jack Davis, Loomis Law attorney and philanthropist