Darrell R. Ewing is a community advocate and violence-prevention leader who is best known as the founder and face of Beat Da Odds, a local Detroit Community Violence Intervention organization.

After years of legal struggle and a prolonged period of incarceration, Ewing now uses Beat Da Odds to give a voice to survivors of trauma and disenfranchisement, constructing structures of accountability rooted in equity, dignity, and healing.

It’s a necessity that he understands firsthand.

In 2010, Ewing was wrongly convicted of first-degree murder for a 2009 drive-by shooting. What followed was a decade of him aggressively maintaining his innocence and litigating his own case, which even saw him acting as his own paralegal.

Ewing demanded greater access to discovery, putting pressure on the court system over trial irregularities and evidence suppression.

Ewing’s efforts worked.

In 2024, a judge finally dismissed the charges against him.

Just like that…he was a free man for the first time in 14 years.

It was an emotional moment that led to an increase in public interest in his story and saw him making a quick transition from inmate to community activist, using his lived experience as a platform for his violence intervention work.

Ewing went on to launch a city-wide event entitled “Choose Peace over Violence,” which urged Detroit’s most at-risk residents to pick up a sword and participate in the ongoing battle to stop cycles of generational trauma.

Today, Ewing is not just a model of redemption…he’s an architect for positive change – one whose journey gives him credibility in complex conversations about community policing, reform, and youth upliftment in Detroit’s most blighted areas.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: October 2, 2025