Over the past weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about the “teen takeovers” that have been going on downtown.
On two recent weekends in downtown Detroit, teenagers gathered for a teen takeover, an event that’s similar to a flash mob. Responding to posts on social media, dozens of young people gathered in Campus Martius, and went into businesses, occasionally causing havoc. Most of the teens engaged in harmless fun, but a few took it too far and were detained on curfew violations.
Most of the conversation has been about whether teenagers have had the right to hang out downtown, and whether or not they were causing trouble.
Clearly, teenagers should not be vandalizing or causing any type of unruly behavior, as I’ve written before. Given the action of some teens in previous years, the city needs to get in front of the issue before there is a major incident.
But very few alternatives have been shared. So I turned to Ambra Redrick of Teen Hype to further discuss the poignant thoughts she posted on social media.
We haven’t figured out what to do with teenagers
In our conversation last week, Redrick advocated for intentional planning with Detroit teenagers in mind. Simply put, there aren’t many options for teenagers, and the teen takeovers are really an expression of teens figuring out their place in the world.
“Adolescence is a unique time, and it takes a lot of time just to acknowledge them,” says Redrick, the CEO and Co-founder of Teen Hype, who added some of her young people were involved, and called it fun.
“I was just talking to somebody the other day who was like ‘teenagers are loud.’ They are loud and cantankerous, and part of their development is to challenge the status quo because they are discovering who they are.”
That means when young people use their voices for good, great things can happen, but if they aren’t engaged in activities it comes out in other ways, Redrick adds.
“It takes a lot more time to design things with them in mind because they also have a voice,” Redrick says. “And so you got to slow the bus down long enough to take in their perspective. But if we were honest, we also have to acknowledge the fact that when you take all those things into consideration, we haven’t figured out exactly what to do with (young people).”
That struck a nerve. I’ve been writing about issues with teens a lot, but I’ve never given a solution, or really advocated a place or activity for teens to go, and what it would look like. As a parent, I should have. But I also take for granted that my children can go to plays or spend time with their friends at restaurants.
Other cities, bigger problems
The teen takeover events are in most major cities in the country, with more incidents of crime, or overwhelming an area with their chaos, compared to relatively tame gatherings in Detroit.
In Atlanta, a teen takeover led to the arrest of 14 people on the Beltline. Police footage also shows dozens of teens running through the Gwinnett County Mall, leading to the arrest of two adults and seven young people.
In Jacksonville, law enforcement shut down an event at Blue Cypress Park where about 200 teenagers began fighting. Three teenage girls were arrested and there was a report of gunfire, but no one was hurt, media reports show.
In Chicago, a March 30 event spotted young people running across the tops of cars, causing about $3,000 in damage to one car, media reports say.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield’s administration launched a plan to deal with the issue head on. It includes creating a youth cabinet of 50 teenagers to ensure young people can be heard, and to propose ideas for safe spaces for them in the city. Other activities include a youth-centered event at Hart Plaza featuring DJs, basketball courts, games and more. The Sheffield administration says it will announce plans for her “Occupy the Summer” event in May, which will include expanded recreation center hours until 11 p.m. and the return of Midnight Basketball at city recreation centers.
Issues with block parties, and gatherings downtown have plagued the city in recent years. That included a mass shooting where 27 people were shot at six block parties during the Fourth of July weekend in 2024.
We have to check ourselves as adults. It’s a bit judgmental when we fuss at young people about getting off their devices to go outside, and when they do it and we get mad that they gather downtown.
Campus Martius is theirs too, whether we like it or not. And teen takeovers, if done correctly, don’t cost much money and shouldn’t cause any trouble. For some Detroit teens, that’s the appeal: It’s just fun showing up in large numbers.
Today’s teens want good old days, too
Remember how fun it was to gather at Fairlane or Oakland Mall, not buying clothes, but just hanging out trying to get phone numbers?
We also are hypocritical when we don’t acknowledge the after-effects of the pandemic when it comes out in teens who don’t know how to socialize with each other.
“Teenagers have also come with this negative narrative (in that) we make the assumption that they are a nuisance or that some are intimidating,” Redrick says. “When you think of all those things, and this beautiful riverfront, these two things don’t go together.”
Redrick wants to be clear: It takes the full weight of the community to solve this issue, including City Hall, those in the Community Violence Intervention space and nonprofits.
Her call is for activities for young adults to gather downtown and in neighborhoods with guardrails around the programming. Long term, there needs to be development centered around places for teenagers. That includes attractions in suburban areas such as arcades like Dave & Busters, Troy TreeRunner adventure park, CJ Barrymore in Clinton Township and movie theaters.
“It’s gonna take collective energy. Bringing young people to the table is an important step,” Redrick says. “This isn’t going away. We can’t solve it in one day because we didn’t get here in one day. We can do things to kind of redirect their behavior and can point them in a different direction.
“The vast majority of teenagers are really good. We hold a really big responsibility to change and shape the narrative about when we see them, there’s a sense that says when a child walks in the room, your eyes light up.”
Young people do need to be seen with a smile instead of a smirk. Maybe we’ll get more if there’s safe spaces for them to hang out.
Darren A. Nichols, named one of Michigan’s most recognized media figures, is a contributing columnist at the Free Press. He can be reached at darren@dnick-media.com or his X (formerly Twitter) handle @dnick12. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online or in print.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit ‘teen takeovers’ aren’t a problem. Lack of options is. | Opinion
Reporting by Darren A. Nichols, Contributing columnist / Detroit Free Press
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