One afternoon in the late 1980s, longtime Southwest Detroit resident Deb Sumner and her neighbors in Hubbard Farms gathered at Clark Park to discuss community improvements. Their meeting was interrupted by a gunshot overhead, forcing them to crawl through the park and take cover in the YMCA building. For Sumner, it was a pivotal moment.

“I said, ‘This is not going to happen again,’” Sumner recalls. “We’ll take it into our own hands.”

For decades, the park on Vernor Highway has reflected both the challenges and triumphs of the surrounding neighborhood. Once plagued by drug activity, violence, and neglect, the park is now a thriving community hub thanks to grassroots efforts.

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