Elevate Your Beauty Routine It's Time to Glow This is a space to welcome visitors to the site. Grab their attention with copy that clearly states what the site is about, and add an engaging image or video. Start Now The Threads That Connect Us Featuring our signature community experience: Threads That Connect Us Start Exploring

Elevate Your Beauty Routine It's Time to Glow This is a space to welcome visitors to the site. Grab their attention with copy that clearly states what the site is about, and add an engaging image or video. Start Now The Threads That Connect Us Featuring our signature community experience: Threads That Connect Us Start Exploring

Elevate Your Beauty Routine It's Time to Glow This is a space to welcome visitors to the site. Grab their attention with copy that clearly states what the site is about, and add an engaging image or video. Start Now The Threads That Connect Us Featuring our signature community experience: Threads That Connect Us Start Exploring

Threads That Connect Us Featuring our signature community experience: Threads That Connect Us Start Exploring Destynee N. I really enjoyed connecting with community during our Preservation Day launch to celebrate our history and upcoming Grant School Centennial. Destynee N. Royal Oak Charter Township Library Director and Community Member Threading Across Generations This is a space to welcome visitors to the site. Grab their attention with copy that clearly states what the site is about, and add an engaging image or video.

Threads That Connect Us Featuring our signature community experience: Threads That Connect Us Start Exploring Destynee N. I really enjoyed connecting with community during our Preservation Day launch to celebrate our history and upcoming Grant School Centennial. Destynee N. Royal Oak Charter Township Library Director and Community Member Threading Across Generations This is a space to welcome visitors to the site. Grab their attention with copy that clearly states what the site is about, and add an engaging image or video.

Honoring Education: An unforgettable recognition of Royal Oak Charter Township’s 100-year anniversary was a momentous occasion that brought together members of the community, volunteers, and partners, to reflect on its rich history, achievements, and milestones. We took this opportunity to honor the hard work and dedication of our ancestors and the many individuals who have founded, contributed over the years, and to celebrate our ongoing commitment to preserving and building a stronger and more vibrant community. Full Video More details Historical Preservation History and Reparations This is the space to introduce visitors to the business or brand. Briefly explain who's behind it, what it does and what makes it unique. Share its core values and what this site has to offer. Contact A Tale of Ten Cities - Film Screening This is the space to introduce visitors to the business or brand. Briefly explain who's behind it, what it does and what makes it unique. Share its core values and what this site has to offer. Contact This is the space to introduce visitors to the business or brand. Briefly explain who's behind it, what it does and what makes it unique. Share its core values and what this site has to offer. Contact 100 years Celebration An unforgettable recognition of Royal Oak Charter Township’s 100-year anniversary was a momentous occasion that brought together members of the community, volunteers, and partners, to reflect on its rich history, achievements, and milestones. We took this opportunity to honor the hard work and dedication of our ancestors and the many individuals who have founded, contributed over the years, and to celebrate our ongoing commitment to preserving and building a stronger and more vibrant community. More details Truth Towards Reconciliation This is the space to introduce visitors to the business or brand. Briefly explain who's behind it, what it does and what makes it unique. Share its core values and what this site has to offer. Contact Get to Know Me This is the space to introduce visitors to the business or brand. Briefly explain who's behind it, what it does and what makes it unique. Share its core values and what this site has to offer. Contact News Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. News Title 06 Feb 28, 2023 This is a paragraph. It is connected to a CMS collection through a dataset. Click “Edit Text” to update content from the connected collection. Read More News Title 05 Feb 28, 2023 This is a paragraph. It is connected to a CMS collection through a dataset. Click “Edit Text” to update content from the connected collection. Read More Council Griots on the Move Feb 20, 2026 Council members, Baba Cheikh and Baba Rev. Dan enjoying an evening out with Undisputed truth. Look at their "smiling faces." Read More Social Work and GDABSW Feb 28, 2023 Attending a conference with Lyn Brummel Pressley from Saginaw. The substance abuse educational seminar was held in metro Detroit. Read More News Title 02 Feb 28, 2023 This is a paragraph. It is connected to a CMS collection through a dataset. Click “Edit Text” to update content from the connected collection. Read More Film Screening: A Tale of 10 Cities Apr 30, 2026 FOROT’s first short film entitled, A Tale of Ten Cities, offers a true historical representation of a 200-year journey of South Oakland County. This innovative initiative promises to captivate audiences with its unique storytelling, shedding light on historic annexations and the development of ten municipalities from the original Royal Oak Township geographic area of 36 square miles. Read More Connect with Us First name Last name Email Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. Submit

Elevate Your Beauty Routine It's Time to Glow This is a space to welcome visitors to the site. Grab their attention with copy that clearly states what the site is about, and add an engaging image or video. Start Now The Threads That Connect Us Featuring our signature community experience: Threads That Connect Us Start Exploring

Elevate Your Beauty Routine It's Time to Glow This is a space to welcome visitors to the site. Grab their attention with copy that clearly states what the site is about, and add an engaging image or video. Start Now The Threads That Connect Us Featuring our signature community experience: Threads That Connect Us Start Exploring

Historical Preservation Our founding Historical pillar included several long-range projects, which encompass acquiring a historical site designation for a school building located in Royal Oak Charter Township and a free-standing historical archival library. Our preservation efforts are centered around community engagement, presentations, and activities to acquire and archive historical materials that depict the founding of the community in 1833. It has taken ten years to launch the historical pillar, a long-range initiative, which has been contingent on the acquisition and availability of funding. Absent of funding, we are thankful to have continued to push our plans forward for an idea that began 13 years ago. On July 21, 2023 one of our labor of loves came to fruition with acknowledgement and installation of a historical marker. The Michigan Historical Commission approved a historical marker for the Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School located in Royal Oak Charter Township (Oakland County, MI). The school was at the center of a protracted school desegregation battle which pitted the Ferndale Public School District against the U.S. Supreme Court between 1969 and 1981 forever standing in a historically Black community dating back to 1833. The Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School was built in 1926 during an extended period of population growth in Ferndale which contributed to overcrowding in Ferndale schools. Despite district policy, students were not transferred out of Grant to other schools operating under capacity. Overcrowding at Grant became so extreme from 1939 through 1942 that the school implemented half-day sessions to educate its students; this overcrowding was often artificially prolonged between 1926-1970. When the school district refused to negotiate with the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) and failed to provide a desegregation plan for Grant Elementary School in 1969, it became the focus of a decade long legal battle. HEW conducted an official hearing in 1969 that ruled Grant school was de jure segregated and terminated the district’s federal funds. Consequently, Ferndale School District (FSD) became the first district in the North to be officially found in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the first to have its federal aid revoked. The court ordered desegregation plan in Ferndale went into effect January 5, 1981. According to Brigitte R. Hall, FOROT Founding President and current Executive Director, “we are so proud to honor Ulysses S. Grant school, it was the building blocks of our culture and education.” Royal Oak Charter Township is now comprised of approximately 97% people of African ancestry and a disproportionate number of medically fragile elders. ”We encourage you to visit and read the text on both sides of the marker and capture an image of this historic marker. Community members in addition to state, county, local officials, civic leaders, and supporters will be invited to the unveiling. Stay tuned! Ulysses S. Grant Elementary Centennial (1926-2026) For a full century, Grant Elementary School has educated generations of students inside a historic Black community that predates Michigan’s statehood — a community shaped by resilience, creativity, and truth-telling even in the face of annexation, exclusion, and erasure. Get Involved Ulyssess S. Grant We provide opportunities for seniors, community and school alumni to connect, socialize, and engage in meaningful activities that foster camaraderie and friendship. Book Now A Tale of Ten Cities We provide opportunities for seniors, community and school alumni to connect, socialize, and engage in meaningful activities that foster camaraderie and friendship. Book Now Preservation Iniatives Our preservation days are where you can share your memorabilia, photo, a brief memory or catch a short film. Contribute and see yourself while we preserve our history, pioneers, and celebrate heritage. Book Now Paths to Preservation Connect with Us First name Last name Email Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. Submit

Our Pillars Health and Wellness Growing healthier lives through culture and communities. The goal of Health and Wellness Promotion is to produce healthier communities, provide accurate health related information, encourage preventative health screenings, and reduce health disparities. Health and Wellness Promotion programs targets children, youth and adults with an emphasis on the benefits of food produced without the utilization of pesticides, understanding nutritional information on food label, and caloric intake Explore More OUR PILLARS Urban Agriculture Bringing culture, identity, and history to life. Our primary Urban Agriculture activity, Sankofa Community Garden, has its roots in the growing urban farming and agriculture movement. This 8-week community-focused gardening program exposes 6-15 year old youth to all aspects of organic gardening and urban agriculture while providing education and an opportunity for physical activity. The garden provides an environment for hands-on, interactive, guided instruction to participating youth while also making garden plots available to community residents. Resident plots may be use for planting crops or as a commemorative flower garden. More Details Urban Agriculture Growing knowledge, foods, and community. Our primary Urban Agriculture activity, Sankofa Community Garden, has its roots in the growing urban farming and agriculture movement. This 8-week community-focused gardening program exposes 6-15 year old youth to all aspects of organic gardening and urban agriculture while providing education and an opportunity for physical activity. The garden provides an environment for hands-on, interactive, guided instruction to participating youth while also making garden plots available to community residents. Resident plots may be use for planting crops or as a commemorative flower garden. Explore More Bringing culture, identity, and history to life. Culture & Heritage Bringing culture, identity, and history to life. Cultural Enrichment programs are offered throughout the year to highlight contemporary and traditional cultural events which celebrate individual and historical contributions. Programs are designed to increase exposure to culture while increasing consciousness relevant to the significance of culture and tolerance among diverse ethnic groups. They include Celebration of Kwanzaa, Juneteenth, and a series of Black History Month programs and activities. Explore More Historical Preservation Documenting truth. Connecting past to present Historical pillar include several long-range projects, which include acquiring a historical site designation for a school building located in Royal Oak Charter Township and a free-standing historical library archival library. Our preservation efforts include community engagement, presentations, and activities to acquire and archive historical materials that depict the 1833 founding of the community. It has taken ten years to launch the historical pillar, a long-range initiative, which has been contingent on the acquisition and availability of funding. Explore More Documenting truth. Connecting past to present Advocacy Championing community voice and equity. FOROT has been actively engaged in the community for over 10 years advocating for culturally conscious, healthier, self-committed communities. Our partners serve a predominantly African American constituency including large numbers of low-income families. We would like to thank all of our volunteers and supporters for their ongoing support. Contact

Rooted in the Community Friends of Royal Oak Township (FOROT) is an emerging 501c3 social enterprise, with a mission that Friends of Royal Oak Township (FOROT) is a 501c3 with a mission that advocates for healthier, culturally consciousious, self-sufficient communities in greater Detroit and Royal Oak Township, through a managed quarterly schedule of four, community-impactful mission pillars: health and wellness promotion, urban agriculture, cultural promotion and historical preservation. Our programs have included agricultural, healthy cooking demo's, writing competitions, cultural events, open houses, virtual panelsand volunteer opportunities. HISTORICALLY, what locals call the “Township,” has had a profound sense of Michigander “community,” inherently attached to its’ identity. Parents, teachers, leaders and elders embracing the spirit and legacy of our founders, leaving slavery and the US south for the phenomenon of hope and groundbreaking lives. Demonstrating the validation expressed in the concept which established the high expectations traditionally held for our youth and the community – inspire the lack of a diminished spirit and the extension of the sense of community which gave birth to what is now FOROT – Friends of Royal Oak Township, Inc. FOROT was founded in 2010, and the organization immediately committed a focus on giving back to a community change effort operating from a pop-up event trial, proof of concept premise, becoming more actively involved in the community by 2011, and registering as a non-profit corporation in 2013. We ultimately received recognition as a 501c3 tax-exempt charitable organization in 2014. Thus, FOROT, surveying a wide range of programs, has contemporaneously grown out of the perpetually evolving needs of Royal Oak Township, and has progressively expanded its reach capacity to Metro Detroit. During our formation, FOROT serves a predominantly African American constituency that includes a large number of low-income families and children not only the needs of the local Township community but also those of adjacent and surrounding communities with underserved populations. As a public charity, at the forefront of our primary purpose, we place serving communities and individuals particularly in the areas of health disparities, and access to resources. FOROT offers quarterly free or low-cost educational events discussing healthy life skills, urban agricultural, culture exchange, in conjunction with historical preservation programming. Additionally, we focus on community engagement as a process for our community education programs. Our organizational undertaking operates from a holistic approach that spotlights integrity, ethical behavior, humanistic care and concern for others. We have designed our local efforts and look forward to leading more in-person, hybrid and online events to be facilitated within a cross-programmatic, “Rooted in the Community!” The concept of working collectively drives our efforts humanism and reciprocity in the exchange of knowledge, intergenerational relationships, diverse organizations, government, and business sector. Preservation Days Preservation is at the heart of our mission, and our Preservation Days invite you to be part of something special. Help us collect and archive the stories that define our community, ensuring that our legacy lives on. Your contributions, big or small, play a crucial role in preserving our history for future generations to learn from and cherish. Get involved today! Book Now Alumni News: Class Acts Our Class Acts section at FOROT is dedicated to celebrating the outstanding achievements of our alumni. From notable accomplishments to cherished memories, we share articles that highlight their journeys and contributions to society. Join us as we honor the impact they've made and continue to make—your story could be next! Book Now Woven in our history At FOROT, we understand that we are all part of a larger narrative, woven together in unique patterns. Our alumni circle is a place for sharing stories and staying informed about our ongoing initiatives. Check out our projects to see how we are working to sustain the Grant tapestry and celebrate the diverse experiences that enrich our community. Book Now Rediscovering the voices and visions that built our community! Echoes of Yesteryear Alumni Corner: Class Acts Alumni News is dedicated to the preservation of alumni narratives and achievements from coast to coast. With our tagline 'Educate our community,' we strive to highlight the inspiring stories that connect us all. Whether it's through articles, interviews, testimonial, or events, we celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni everywhere and their incredible impact on society, fostering a spirit of pride and engagement. We invite you to discover inspiring stories that resonate across generations. Learn More Growing a Item Title Add a short paragraph. Double click to edit and add your own text. Item Title Add a short paragraph. Double click to edit and add your own text. Item Title Add a short paragraph. Double click to edit and add your own text. Item Title Add a short paragraph. Double click to edit and add your own text. Connect with Us First name Last name Email Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. Submit

First name Last name Email Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. Submit Send Us a Message Reach out to us for more information about our impactful programs and initiatives that advocates for equity and community resources in Royal Oak Township and Metro Detroit.