Detroit Volume 1 Issue 1 by AMPS Magazine

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This is the first issue of AMP Magazine, Detroit Edition. I wanted to take this time to congraulate A.M.P.S. (American-Minority People Succeeding) Cleveland franchise on a great job they are doing in the community in providing good stories and educating the community.

This is where Substance and Style Meets Supreme Standards. Our mission is “superior application development through dedicated professionalism while maintaining a customer-centered focus to lead the industry in ideas and creative solutions”. Our events marketing and promotions department is designed to present positive entertainment and events that the Michigan communities deserve.

We specialize in helping brands create a unique connection with consumers at our events as well as create an opportunity for you to meet other business owners, executives, present and future customers, and other socialites. Simply put, “We’re Accomplished By Making You Successful.”

Gerald D. Wright, CEO

about the publisher

Welcome to the first issue of AMPS (American Minority People Succeeding) Michigan Magazine. I am ecstatic to bring you this new and exciting publication that I know will be informative as well as entertaining. I want to take a moment to thank those that helped to put this issue together and thank everyone for their continued support.

Michigan, here at AMPS we look to highlight your cities and all the wonderful melanated people, organizations, businesses, and history. Every issue of AMPS Michigan Magazine will introduce you to Legendary Greats, a Living Legend, and we will put a spotlight on missing Michigan Children. Every issue will contain local advertisements, events and more.

In this first issue, several of your missing youth have been spotlighted, there is a spotlight on Detroit’s actress Latoya Belue, Flints; Claressa Shields, the historic Hitsville, and more. February is the month of Black History but here at AMPS Michigan Magazine we will celebrate Black History in every issue.

AMPS Michigan Magazine is available in hard copy and digital form. Please be sure to download the AMPS App to get the full benefit of AMPS Magazine and the other AMPS publications for other cities.

AMPS Michigan Magazine Publisher Romeo Barnes

Thank you for your support.

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The Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are thrilling fans this seasons with their performance and their chance to be headed to the 2025 Super Bowl. With the Detroit Lions being one of only 4 teams in the league to have never been to the Super Bowl, Detroit is brimming over with anticipation. Having played in the playoffs 20 times, this year the Detroit Lions are a favorite for winning the Super Bowl. The Detroit Lions are on an all time high. After their epic win against the Viking they are the NFC North Champions, this is their 2nd NFC North Championship in a row. This win also gained them their 1st Number 1 seed giving them home field advantage in the playoffs.

Originally named the Portsmouth Spartans based in Portsmouth Ohio the team was founded in 1928. Then in 1934 the Team was sold and the new owner relocated the team to Detroit and renamed the team the Detroit Lions.

Nailah Ellis Brown

Nailah Ellis Brown is the founder and CEO of Ellis Isle Teas. Which is the most profitable Melanated woman-owned beverage company in the country. Based in Detroit this Jamaican Blend Ice Tea is an all natural product that contains sugar cane, hibiscus, honey, peppermint, rosehips, ginger root and lemon juice…no artificial ingredients found here.

Nailah started Ellis Isle Teas in 2008. The recipe for the tea is a family recipe that was handed down by Nailah’s great grandfather Cyril Byron, who came to America from Jamaica over 100 years ago. He arrived at Ellis Island…which is where Nailah got the name for her company.

Nailah was very determined to grow her company which started from the trunk of her car. Never a quitter, never afraid to be bold and take a chance. Her product soon was noticed by Beyonce who posted it on her website and former COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg also took notice of Nailah’s product. Kevin Hart became a fan of the product and soon partnered with Nailah which helped to take the company to new heights. Nailah started her own manufacturing plant to produce Ellis Isle Tea and this created many local jobs in Detroit. Nailah’s desire to help others achieve their dreams, gives back to the community in many ways. Her company is melanated and female lead she believes in giving people a chance.

Nailah wants to educate people on the benefits of natural products. The newest product from Ellis Isle is Cold Pressed Sugar Cane Juice, which is a lemonade. There seems to be no limit on what Nailah and Ellis Isle Teas will do.

Ellis Isle products can be found at Whole Foods, Meijer, Amazon, Target and more. The brand is now globally known. Nailah’s goal “To have a positive impact on people that look like me.”

Claressa Shields

I AM THE GWOAT…says it all. Michigan female boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields proclaimed that is who she is “The Greatest Woman Of All Time”. This female boxer from an early age believed in herself, no matter what anyone said. Claressa’s grandmother always told her to believe in herself. Coming from a very traumatic childhood. Claressa over came many obstacles, through the love of boxing.

Boxing helped Claressa cope with her anger. Clarresa has stated she didn’t know where she would have been without boxing.

Claressa love of boxing started when her father introduced her to the sport but did not let her start training until she was 11 years old. Claressa set her sights on the OLYMPICS…and won gold medals in both the 2012 and the 2016 Olympics. This fearless boxer became the 1st American to win gold in boxing and the first to win gold in the sport in back to back Olympics.

In 2015 a documentary on Claressa was released called T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold, This film documented her road to that point in her life. Determined to not let her family nor the children in her family go through what she had she continues to help and to fight. Claressa currently has custody of her sister’s children.

Clarressa’s love of boxing shows in her smile when she speaks on the sport. Some of her fights have been filling up arenas in Detroit and in Atlantic City. Today Claressa has won boxing titles in five weight classes and holds eight belts. Claressa is the first female boxer to win five titles. She’s also the only woman to be the undisputed champion in two different divisions. Claressa is one of only four boxers in history, female or male, to hold all four major world titles in boxing. In 2018, Claressa was inducted into the USA Boxing Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame. The Boxing Writers Association of America gave Claressa the 2018 Christy Martin Award - Female Fighter of the Year. In 2023, Claressa became the first woman to win the Best Boxer ESPY Award. Claressa is also a professional MMA Fighter.

This Flint, Michigan athlete is on fire. The release of the movie “The Fire Inside” Is about Clarressa’s life and journey in boxing.

This is a must see movie. Her idol Mohammad Ali would be proud….because we are. Claressa is the GWOAT.

SCAN WITH PHONE

Legendary Great

Aaliyah

This Legendary Great was born Aaliyah Dana Haughton in Brooklyn, New York in 1979. At the age of 5 years old her parents moved the family to Michigan. Aaliyah always loved dancing and singing, her parents supported her in her dreams and desires by enrolling her in dance and voice lessons. When Aaliyah was 10 she appeared on Star Search…a star was emerging. She soon got a record deal with her Uncle’s label, Jive Records and Black Ground Records…this was the start of Aaliyah becoming one of biggest talents of her time.

Aaliyah’s first album Age ain’t nothing but a number, propelled her to stardom. For her next album Aaliyah left Jive Records

and her 2nd album One in a Million was released on Atlantic Records. This album also shot up the charts. Aaliyah’s 3rd album titled Aaliyah, like her others was gaining momentum. It was after the filming of the video Rock the Boat in 2001, that Aaliyah’s plane crashed. No one on board survived.

This Legendary Great was only 22 years old and left a legacy that consisted of music, videos and movies lying Her talent helped shaped, R&B, Hip Hop and pop music. This Legendary Great will live on through her work.

Legendary Great Elijah McCoy

This Legendary Great was born in Canada in 1884 his parents were runaway slaves who settled in Canada for their freedom. Elijah’s family relocated to Michigan. Elijah who was one of 11 children, went to college in Scotland at 15 years old where he thrived. Elijah earned a degree for Mechanical Engineering.

Elijah is considered the first Melanated inventor he invented the automatic lubrication oil drip cup that lubricates the mechanical parts of a train to help them run smoothly and faster. There were many copies of his invention, so when companies ordered the part for their trains they would ask for the Real McCoy…and that is how that phrase got started. Over the years this legendary Great would invent other inventions and many were similar to his automatic lubricator. The McCoy lubricator was in use on almost all North American railroads.

Elijah had other inventions such as the folding ironing board and the lawn sprinkler. This Legendary Great had over 57 patents. Elijah passed away in 1929 but his legacy carries on. Historical Markers have been placed at his home, his gravesite as well as his first workshop. There have been streets named after him and Elijah was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007. Then in 2017 the patent office was renamed The Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

HITSVILLE USA

Motown also known as Hitsville USA is the legendary recording studio that was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in the 60’s. Motown was know for the Motown Sound and making hit after hit after hit. Detroit became know for Automobiles and Motown. Motown helped to reshape the music industry by not only producing iconic number 1 hits but also for developing artists and creating stars.

The first artist that signed with Motown was Smokey Robinson. Berry once stated that without Smokey there would be no Motown. What is the Motown sound? It is soul music infused with gospel, jazz and pop. Berry Gordy Jr. had a team of song writers and producers in 60’s, 70’s that consisted of Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland who wrote and produced over 25 number 1 hits. Smokey Robinson, Norman Whitefield, Stevie Wonder, Ashford and Simpson, Marvin Gaye, The Corporation which consisted of Berry Gordy and several other song writers (that wrote the hits for the Jackson 5) and Lionel Ritchie just to name a few.

Motown became the place that all of the melanated talent wanted to be. With singers and groups like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Jackson 5 and hundreds more…Motown was what dreams were made of. This hit machine became the most profitable African American business of its time.

Over time the business of Motown out grew the small studio and after some changes within the company and the Detroit Riots, Berry Gordy moved to his second location in Los Angeles. Here he continued to make hits and branched off into film and television production. Artists that have signed with Motown through the years include Erykah Badu, Ne-yo, Lil Baby and more….

Today over 60 years later the legacy of Motown aka Hitsville is still going strong. The Detroit based Hitsville is still standing and is now The Motown Museum. Motown changed the music industry and opened doors for melanated artists around the globe.

Kymaletha Brown LLPC Latoya Belue

Founder of THE GREAT FIVINE CENTER and the Goddess Great Maternal Infant Health Program

Kymaletha Brown grew up in Detroit, Michigan and this is where she wanted to make the most impact. Kymaletha started her business in 2019. Which was K.Breastfeeding Gifted Milk. However plans changed when Kymaletha went through a program called Prosper Us, Kymaletha found she could add more services to what she had already begun. In 2021 Kymaletha changed the center’s name to The Great Divine Center, and the rest is history. The Center offers support for breastfeeding, therapy, doula services, placenta encapsulation, dance, yoga, meditation and hypnobirthing. The center offers classes in dance, yoga and meditation for youth as well as adults that are taught by instructors from the community.

Kymaletha is a Pro Doula and a Licensed Professional Counselor, LLPC and also has her own practice where she has therapy to help with Self Esteem, Trauma and PTSD, Stress and more.

Kymaletha other program; The Goddess Great Program has a mission to build programs in the neighborhoods that promote community engagement. They offer community events, childbirth education baby shower, family fun night, hydro birthing work shops and more.

The positive impact that Kymaletha wanted to bring to the neighbors is amazing and Kymaletha did this by offering an alternative to the norm and realizing her purpose.

Detroit has a multitude of talent but there is one that stands out, Latoya Belue. Latoya is multi talented actress and entrepreneur. A Michigan native Latoya can be seen in several films playing on Tubi. Her movies include: Fatal Secret, Bound by Blood, Tea Street and Cam’s Story to name a few. Latoya ‘s work on film exhibits her talents as an outstanding actress but she is also an entrepreneur.

Latoya is the CEO of Belue Fight Management. In 2024 Latoya start her management company that promotes and manages fighters across the city. With a love for boxing Latoya has turned another of her passions in to business. The sports world does not have a large number of melanated female sports promoters or management companies, there is no doubt that Latoya’s drive and resilient with give her the tools she needs to take her management company to the next level. Latoya’s groundbreaking company will open a number of doors for melanated women. We are looking forward to seeing what 2025 has in store for Latoya Belue. Tune into Tubi and watch this amazing actress work on film.

MISSING CHILDREN

Let’s continue to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to finding our missing children Children across the nation continues to disappear. It takes all of us to bring them home safely. Let’s do our part.

Bring Them Home

Help us to bring our youth back home. In every issue of AMPS Magazine we will feature missing children from the Michigan area. We aim to fight human trafficking, and find our missing and exploited children. Every child that is missing is not a run away. As adults it is up to us to keep our eyes and ears open and report when we see something that does not look right. In our communities we need to be aware of any strange activities. There are thousands of missing children across the United States. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 31% of reported missing children are melanated. This is higher than normal. Michigan is a hub for human trafficking and it has been stated that our melanated youth are more likely to be trafficked than any other race. Please help to bring our missing youth home.