Detroit African bead museum gets demolition reprieve – for now

Bryce Detroit remembers when he first met Olayami Dabls almost 15 years ago. 

Back in 2010, one of his friends had invited the artist and activist over to Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum at the request of an elder needing help putting up boards on the building. That elder would be Dabls, founder of the museum. And those boards were the first part of Dabls’ African Language Wall mural. 

The two have kept in touch ever since, with Bryce Detroit affectionately calling him Baba. 

“Dabls is like the wise learning tree. He’s the baobab tree that we go sit under and soak up all the wisdom,” Bryce Detroit said. “He’s the elder storyteller that tells stories to all of the children, all of the adults, everybody in between, to remind us where we came from and to help us where we want to go.”

That’s why he felt compelled to save one of the museum’s buildings that was set for an emergency demolition. 

Bryce Detroit and a coalition of artists, musicians and other creative types in Detroit’s art scene came together at the museum, 6559 Grand River Avenue, to rally against the demolition, which was scheduled for Tuesday morning. The building, which sits on the corner of Grand River and Vinewood Street, has a collapsed roof and wall, and city officials deemed it a safety hazard. 

However, crews eventually left the site, with Detroit’s building department deciding to pause demolition for now. A hearing set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the city’s Department of Appeals and Hearings. 

“It was really important to me to organize this action because this cultural institution is important to a number of us,” Bryce Detroit said. “To me personally it means a lot, yet it’s me acknowledging that this holds value for so many people in Detroit and so many people around the world and the reality is, Dabls operates as one man a lot of the time. It’s a sense of duty to actually step up and support as fully as possible.” 

Last month, Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) Director David Bell said that the building on the corner of Grand River and Vinewood Street needed to be taken down immediately. 

The damaged building is separate from the museum’s retail store and 18 outdoor installations, which is not under the demolition order. 

“The building has deteriorated to the point it is no longer salvageable and poses an immediate threat to public safety. Our primary concern is the health, safety and welfare of residents and the public who may visit the area,” Bell said in a statement. 

Dabls told BridgeDetroit at the time that the cost to repair the building would have come with a hefty price tag – $400,000. He also said he received a $500 blight ticket. 

Before the demolition order, Dabls set up a GoFundMe page in an attempt to stop the city from demolishing the building. As of Tuesday afternoon, $5,885 has been raised. 

Dabls said Tuesday that he was surprised to see so many people show up to support him. 

“It was overwhelming,” he said. “There were people who just showed up because they had heard about it. They were so upset about what was taking place.” 

‘More than just a brick and mortar’ 

Bryce Detroit said the next steps for him and Dabls will be planning a meeting with City Council President Mary Sheffield and Bell on the museum’s development plan, which has been in place since 2017. According to Dabl’s GoFundMe page, the museum raised $200,000 for Phase 1 renovations and is now in phase two of its fundraising campaign, which includes renovating the corner building. 

Dabls said Sheffield and the community in her district have shown him support since the news broke about the demolition. 

“I don’t even know the city council (members) by name and that’s deliberate because I didn’t want to get into the politics of this city,” he said. “And now, I find myself smack dab in it because I’m making the headlines.” 

Dabls hopes all of the attention leads to his building staying up and eventually getting renovated. 

“This project appears to be something the community wants,” he said. 

Other notable people at the rally included Detroit poet laureate jessica Care moore. She has known Dabls for years and often brings visitors from out of town to the museum, saying the institution represents Detroit in a “holistic, spiritual way.” She even featured Dabls and his museum in her feature film, “He Looked Like a Postcard.” 

Moore said the building, which is adorned with colorful tiles, polka dots and intricate designs, is more than just a brick and mortar space. 

“This is ancestral work and spirit energy. I mean, this is the power of an artist,” she said. “It’s not a building, it’s a piece of art.” 

Moore didn’t understand the city’s rush to demolish the building and that officials should find ways to fix the roof and make the other needed repairs. 

“He’s an elderly, Black man who at one point had given up because he felt like he had no power,” she said. “And so, we wanted to show him that he has the power.” 

Krystelle Hill, who worked on production design for moore’s film, was also in attendance. She said when she walks in the museum, she can feel her ancestors.

“It’s not anything that you should ever want to tear, rip or shred from somebody’s existence,” she said. “It’s something that should be explored. If anything, we should open it up as an educational facility to our neighborhood so that we understand the meaning behind the colors of the beads, the vibrations of them. I just want us to be able to add the same type of respect for Dabls as we have for Michigan Central.”