ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — We did a story in February highlighting the wonderful work of the Reggie McKenzie Foundation. He has been changing the lives of kids in our community for 50 years.
Now, his inspiring and compelling life story will be on the big screen at the Emagine Entertainment theater in Royal Oak, when a documentary chronicling his remarkable journey will be shown.
Reggie McKenzie is a man with Highland Park High in his blood and the maize and blue from the University of Michigan in his heart. He carried his talent to the NFL but never turned his back on his roots.
For 50 years, the Reggie McKenzie Foundation has changed lives and now, people will see his journey on the big screen. James Turner produced the documentary.
"In this documentary, you're going to see a lot of the participants talk about how Reggie McKenzie saved their lives and how he gave them hope," Turner said.
Detroiter and NFL great Pepper Johnson is one of them. He not only became a camp director, he shared valuable lessons with young players including his decision to forego the University of Michigan to play for Ohio State.
"Ohio State was far enough where trouble did not follow me, and it was a good distance and my mom could still come and watch me play," Turner said.
Many of the kids at McKenzie's camp hear stories from professionals in the NFL who made it out of dark circumstances.
“They were going home and weren't able to have food to eat and they were going home and had drug addicts living and sleeping in the house," Turner said. "So, they were having really rough lives, and this camp gave them the hope they needed in order to just hold on.”
The roster of famous people who credit McKenzie with giving them their foundation is Pro Football Hall of Fame members, Lions Legend Barry Sanders and Detroit's own “The Bus” Jerome Bettis.
With McKenzie's sister Gloria at the helm, the kids' lives have been transformed with tutoring to career skills for the kids and their parents. And the business community has helped such as Ford, Anheuser Busch, Faygo, Proctor and Gamble and Morgan Stanley.
“He really went out of his way to shape this organization to meet the needs of the community and the Reggie McKenzie Foundation should be the guiding principle for other organizations,” Turner said.
Jim Brandstatter, the now-retired voice of Michigan football and the Lions and Reggie's college roommate, has been with the foundation for 50 years.
“This man has done more for the city of Highland Park and inner-city Detroit and underprivileged kids than a lot of government programs that have spent billions of dollars more. Reggie is a true treasure,” Brandstatter said.
If you would like to see the journey and his remarkable work of his foundation, you can see "The Life, The Legend, The Man -Reggie McKenzie Documentary," on Saturday Nov. 11, 2023, at the Emagine theater on Main Street in Royal Oak. There is a 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. showing.
Tickets are $35 and benefit the Reggie McKenzie Foundation.
