Black Father Builds Outdoor Theater, Go-Kart Track For Children In Detroit

Dan Davis with his two daughters

Reported by Nigel Boys

Dan Davis, who grew up in the Washburn community of Detroit, Michigan, got into trouble with the law when he was younger for theft, but when he became a father of two daughters, ages 5 and 4, he changed his ways to provide a better life for his kids. However, what Davis did not only benefited his children, it uplifted the whole community where he lives.

The fifty-year-old dad decided that the west side neighborhood where he resides needed cleaning up and something worthwhile to give to the residents. So he spent days clearing the streets of garbage before he set out on his project to build a place where his children and others could have fun and live.

Davis built a homemade movie screen on the vacant lot next to his home, a bonfire pit and barbeque grill where the community can gather to eat, a swing set for the children to play on, and weights for the adults.

But that wasn’t enough for the thoughtful dad, because he then went across the street from his home and built a go-kart track and athletic field, complete with ringed wall of tires, on several vacant lots.

According to fifty-one-year old Michael Knight, one of Davis’ friends, people in the community look up to him because he has cleaned up their streets and given them something to do as a community. He adds that even now Davis is the only one to mow the grass at the go-cart track and surrounding area, he refuses to let anyone else do it.

Reportedly, when he was growing up, Davis had always been known as something of a fixer and his mother had taught him to be tidy by cleaning up the trash around their home.

To build the space for his go-kart track, Davis collected over 500 old rubber tires from junkyards and tire shops. Kids and adults alike now enjoy racing each other, if they’re not sitting around the outdoor movie screen watching kid-friendly movies.

The field is also used for flag football, among other things, and Davis hopes to build a paintball area there someday.

Demetrius Grand, a neighbor living on the block, which features many empty lots and vacant houses, said that Davis has given the kids something worthwhile to do because he teaches them how to fix go-karts. He added that before this, the children didn’t know what to do with themselves, because they had no leadership and no respect.

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