I am sure that most of the news outlets have been following Hurricane Gustav and pregnant teenagers, but I took part in an amazing event today and I think that more people should know about it.
Barack Obama came to speak at the annual Detroit Labor Day Parade. Considering Detroit’s history, one might think that the Labor Day Parade would be a big deal. I have attended the parade for the last few years and the crowds are generally pretty small (perhaps 1000 people). I knew however that Obama’s appearance would bring out a bigger crowd.
I took the tunnel bus from Windsor to Detroit at 8:00 in the morning. An e-mail I received on Friday explained that the gates at Hart Plaza would open at 8:30, so I figured that I would have to wait in a line. A radio reported from the CBC accompanied me, to get the story from an American living in Canada (Sadly, the story didn’t air). We walked to Hart Plaza and found a line that snaked down Jefferson Avenue, reached all the way to Cobo Hall and then back towards Griswold. In all, the line snaked around for almost a mile.
I met several kindred spirits while waiting for tow hours. One man, originally from St. Lucia, brought his whole family, including a nine-year old daughter who had watched all of the debates. I met another couple who had worked for the Obama campaign in Indiana. I watched a young man register to vote for the first time. All around, I saw people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and hues. As a native of the Detroit region, I was thrilled to see so many blacks and whites together in a happy atmosphere. The good vibes in the diverse crowd were a joy.
Unfortunately, my queue mates and I never made it inside of Hart Plaza and had to try a listen to the big screen set up on the street. Sound quality was poor and he spoke for only 10 minutes. I don’t think that anyone had planned for a crowd of this magnitude. It took several hours before one of the local media outlets announced an estimated crowd of over 100,000 people. Anytime a crowd that size gathers to hear a politician, it should be news. If that crowd is in Detroit, someone should shout it from the hills.
I took pictures and tried to post them in the diary, but they were too big, even after I re-sized them 🙁
Just insert width=”400″ into your html image code, and you should be fine.
For example: < img width=”400″ src=”insert URL for picture here” >
I hope that makes sense, because I’d love to see the pictures. And of course, gratuitous Andrew pictures are always welcome. 🙂
I’m ready to go to sleep, but I’ll try that in the morning!
wow. are you sure it was 100,000?
It seems crazy, but about 40,000 fit in Hart Plaza proper and the local NPR station said 100,000 late this afternoon. I had guessed about 50,000 to 75,000.
.
Mary Welch, 58, of Belleville, a retired nurse, arrived at 5:30 a.m. at Hart Plaza with about 10 friends and relatives. She had an opportunity to see what she described as a once-in-a-lifetime historic moment in Obama’s speech.
Photo’s Obama’s Detroit Visit
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Free Press’s address, “freep”.com — is also a shorthand way to refer to a frothing/rabid rightwing website, “Free Republic” (known as the freepers, especially when they en-masse bias an online poll, “freep this poll, people!”)
No way would freepers want to promote Obama having a blowout rally in Detroit, though 🙂
Actually the Free Press is the more liberal of the two Detroit papers. The Detroit News is really right wing.
There’s going to be a hell of a lot of voter suppression efforts by the GOP in poor neighborhoods this Fall. You might say the mother of all voter suppression efforts.
I met people from the burbs, nice wealthy burbs. The GOP had better start looking at their neighbors – that is if the house next door isn’t in foreclosure.
Thanks for the article Toni. I’ve been out of town for a wedding since last Thursday, just sat down at the computer about 20 minutes ago to catch up. 100,000 in Hart Plaza and the surrounding area is a huge deal in Detroit! I’m very happy to read about this. I haven’t had the TV on yet, is it getting any play elsewhere??
I didn’t see anything, but I don’t really watch much t.v.