Community organization 517 Living (517Living.com) has been promoting goodness in the Greater Lansing (517) Michigan Area since 2014. Founded by Sarah Pierce, the website and social platform uses its ONE Calendar to build awareness of the Best Events happening throughout the year.
In 2022 Pierce introduced the prestigious merit 517 Living Community Member of the Month, bestowing the honor to award-winning writer and THISENT.com co-founder Mr. Joe Walker in July of that year.
In this interview Walker shares details about who he is, what he does, and what he loves about living in the Greater Lansing Michigan Area.
Who are you?
Like most people, who I am is a work in progress. My daily development includes being a husband, father, a good neighbor, an increasingly active community member, and a person who genuinely cares about how we affect one another. I try to find the best way to apply the equation of “communication + unity = community”.
I’ve been blessed to be an entertainment writer and journalist for 24 years. And because I write stuff, I get to do stuff; stuff like be an event host (Note: Book me. I’m dope at it.), manage websites and blogs, judge competitions, attend theaters and conferences, interview remarkable people, and…use words.
My career started online in 1998 with The Groove Spot Online Hip Hop Magazine aka TheGrooveSpot.com; it’s a pioneering and award-nominated e-zine born in Muskegon, MI. Since then, I’ve been a Senior Writer for SoulTrain.com (yes, that Soul Train), an event writer for Benzinga.com, a blogger for National Museum of African American Music, wrote John Cena’s only urban lifestyle magazine cover story, wrote Keyshia Cole’s first ever cover story, and grinded to have my interviews, columns, reviews, and feature articles published in Grand Rapids Press Newspaper, Metro Times, Notion Magazine, Kalamazoo Gazette, Lansing City Pulse, Revue Magazine, Lansing State Journal, The Jackson Citizen Patriot, Arizona Weekly Magazine, Concrete Magazine, REVIVED Magazine, Urban Magazine, Groov Magazine, AllHipHop.com, WrestlingInc.com, PWMania.com, EURweb.com, Beyondish.com, and MLive.com.
If you own or represent a business or organization, tell us about it (or them).
I, along with my 517 brothers Alex Malone, Eric McClain, John Richard Hopkins, and our brother Ryan Evans of Battle Creek (he’s the creator for Hip Hop for charity event Project Cypher) founded and launched THISENT.com. It’s a web publication that features “fun podcasts, honest discussions, unique columns, exciting esports & gaming coverage, celebrity interviews that matter, and impressive special features and videos. THISENT is all things entertainment.” We love using this platform to inspire, encourage, and share the work of other creative people like us with our 517 community and beyond.
I also write and maintain the blog for All of the Above Hip Hop Academy on the organization’s official website AlloftheAboveHipHop.org. AOTA is a nonprofit organization made up of incredible artists, educators, and advocates that mentor youth, support artistic expression, and serve the community as a Hip Hop cultural resource for the purpose of youth development. They provide a variety of workshops, performance experiences, and classes that support local artistry and provide opportunities for artistic development. I love AOTA. My youngest son is in their Breaking program. A few months ago, he, his instructor Young Yi, and AOTA board member Rashad Muhammad were featured on FOX 47’s Good Neighbor’s segment with Bob Hoffman!
My last endeavor that I’ll note is my own website MrJoeWalker.com. I’m currently rebuilding it, and when it’s back up and running it’s a hub for people to contact me for press release and bio writing services. It’s also home to my column “Shining Example”. In each edition I feature a remarkable person sharing an inspiring personal story about an act of kindness.
Tell us about a recent uplifting experience you had in the Greater Lansing Area.
The great Michael Austin aka MikeyyAustin blessed me with the honor of being his 517 Juneteenth Festival stage manager. With my role came some hosting duties which included officially kicking off the day’s event by welcoming and thanking everyone.
From the stage I could see my wife and youngest son amongst the crowd visiting the vendors. I could see families stopping to participate in a hand painting project at the ASPIRE booth which was manned by my niece Lhauren Singleton and artist Christina Castilla. I saw lines forming for food, especially at the TANTAY truck and Mr. Leslie’s Cheesecakes tent. I watched people stroll from Sleepwalker Spirits and Ale to the selfie booth built and designed by artist Mila Lynn, to everywhere in between and beyond.
On that stage I witnessed thousands of people enjoy each other’s company at a community attraction celebrating freedom.
What’s the most recent “new” (to you) local business you’ve enjoyed discovering?
On Father’s Day my oldest son and his girlfriend took me to The People’s Kitchen for brunch. I had their Pork and Grits; aged white cheddar, braised pork belly, mole rojo … It was so good I ate the entrée, the bowl it was served in, silverware, place setting and all like I was Scooby-Doo!
What is one thing (big or small) that you love about living in the Greater Lansing Area?
This was a challenging question to answer because the size of any perspective, vantage, or outlook, that thing that I’m going to be opinionated about, is ultimately subjective. This is a question about how and what I feel, but in our social networking society it could easily spark dissension when I only want my response to stoke togetherness. After some thought, I’ve decided that what I love about the Lansing area is that it’s made from a culturally diverse population who, for infinite personal and shared reasons, want to see it be greater. | By Sarah Pierce
Sarah Pierce is the founder of the website and social platform 517Living. Promoting goodness and the best events in the Greater Lansing (517) Michigan Area, the process of building the platform helped Pierce overcome social anxiety, gave her a more purposeful life, and introduced her to the fascinating behind-the-scenes movers and shakers of her community who are much more “walk” than talk! 517 Living has enriched Pierce’s life, and she hopes it does the same for you.
