PONTIAC, Mich. — A Pontiac man is on a mission to run every street in his city — all 765 of them — and he's using each mile to shine a light on the history many residents never knew existed.
Aaron Barnett, a veteran of 11 marathons including the New York City and Chicago marathons, started his street-by-street journey in June. He is now more than halfway through his self-described personal project, with a goal of finishing in October.
"I felt like this was the right time to take on a challenge like this," Barnett said.
7 News Detroit reporter Jolie Sherman has more on Barnett's mission in the video below:
As he runs, Barnett records videos about the city's history — how a street got its name, or what a neighborhood looked like decades ago — and shares them on social media.
"Pontiac has such a rich history, and I feel like it's not as well known, and it's also to put more stories about the city of Pontiac. A lot of times we see negative things related to the city," Barnett said.
Barnett, who found running in 2017, says he can complete 20 to 25 streets in an hour, and the community has taken notice. Lifelong Pontiac resident DaQuavay Wellons said Barnett has become a familiar face on the streets.
"He's the track star of Pontiac," Wellons said. "I think it's kind of important because he's giving history to the kids who understand none of this stuff and seeing these things and understanding why is it still there," Wellons said.
One location stopped Barnett in his tracks: A place known as "The Corner". Once a thriving community hub in downtown Pontiac, The Corner was home to churches, residences, businesses, musicians, and community advocates. Barnett said he had never heard of it before his run took him there.
"It was a cultural hub from the black community from the early 1900s to around the 1960s, and I had never heard of it," Barnett said.
Leona Patterson, chairperson for the Friends of the Library, is part of a committee currently working to identify and interview people who lived in the area located near Bagley and Wessen.
"It was a neighborhood. It had housing, it had service organizations, and it was primary Black-owned and operated," Patterson said.
Patterson said The Corner grew as a result of discriminatory housing policies that restricted where Black workers could live.
"When General Motors started bringing in people that worked in the plants, they were not allowed to live in certain areas of the city of Pontiac, so they all migrated in this area," Patterson said.
For Barnett, the project is as much about community as it is about running.
"It's really cool to be able to show our love for the city that we were raised in and to pour that love out and receive it back from people is really cool," Barnett said. " [and] To be able to represent the city in a way that people can take pride in and can see themselves in is so important to me."
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