{"id":44938,"date":"2013-06-25T05:50:38","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T04:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/naacp-uaw-hold-martin-luther-king-jr-rally-to-promote-democratic-party\/44938\/"},"modified":"2013-06-25T05:50:38","modified_gmt":"2013-06-25T04:50:38","slug":"naacp-uaw-hold-martin-luther-king-jr-rally-to-promote-democratic-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/naacp-uaw-hold-martin-luther-king-jr-rally-to-promote-democratic-party\/","title":{"rendered":"NAACP, UAW hold Martin Luther King Jr. rally to promote Democratic Party"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\n By
\n E.P. Bannon and Richard Vargas
\n
25 June 2013
\n <\/h5>\n

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) held a rally in downtown Detroit over the weekend, on the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 Detroit march. The UAW and the NAACP used the event in an attempt to channel the mass hostility to emergency manager Kevyn Orr behind the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Orr is currently carrying out a slash-and-burn policy in Detroit, aimed at ripping up pensions and health care, slashing wages, and selling off city assets to pay wealthy bondholders. He has the support of the entire political establishment, including local Democrats, who have presided over the dismantling of the city for decades.<\/p>\n

The march went down Woodward Ave, ending at Hart Plaza right next to the GM headquarters in downtown Detroit. The stage was set at the far end of the plaza. The immediate area in front of the stage was cordoned off exclusively for NAACP officials and union bureaucrats. The area was lined with metal barricades and heavily guarded with police and marshals, prohibiting those attending from coming within some fifty feet of the stage.<\/p>\n

The speakers feigned opposition to the devastating cuts imposed on Detroit while making cynical calls to vote Democrat. President of the Detroit NAACP Reverend Wendell Anthony began by addressing the crowd. Anthony proclaimed that the rally had \u201cdefied the odds,\u201d adding that \u201cin the midst of economic turmoil and social injustice, and political repression, that the ‘Dream’ lives on.\u201d He then told the crowd that \u201cmarching doesn’t mean anything\u201d unless they registered more voters and mobilized them behind the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

He then introduced UAW International President Bob King, whom Anthony referred to as the union’s \u201cfearless leader.\u201d King, who has forced plant closures, mass layoffs as well as wage and pension cuts, began with a very telling statement: \u201cIn life, you get what you’re willing to accept.\u201d<\/p>\n

King continued by praising \u201cAfrican-Americans, Latino, labor, women, immigrant rights, and the LGBT community\u201d for re-electing President Obama, while blaming the social crisis in Detroit on workers who did not vote Democrat. \u201cWe are suffering the consequences for not voting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mayor David Bing, the next speaker, was greeted with boos throughout the crowd, an indication of the alienation of the city establishment. Accepting the de-industrialization of Detroit, he exclaimed, \u201cWe’re going to bring this city back whether there’s an emergency manager or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he continued, \u201cDetroit will never again have 1.8 million people\u2013\u201d he was drowned out by workers shouting \u201cWhy not?\u201d and \u201cWe want 2 million<\/em> people!\u201d<\/p>\n

The rally concluded with a short speech from Reverend Jesse Jackson. He declared that the city of Detroit was in \u201ca state of emergency,\u201d and told the crowd \u201cit’s time to take a stand and fight back\u201d by supporting the Democrats.<\/p>\n

SEP supporters spoke with workers and youth while handing out the latest copies of the Detroit Worker Newsletter. Workers discussed a broad range of social and political issues. One worker who had attended the rally spoke on the social crisis in Detroit. \u201cI’ve lived here since the 50’s. I’ve seen this city go up and down,\u201d he said. \u201cBut now they’re just gutting it! They’re getting a fat paycheck from it too.\u201d<\/p>\n

He talked about the vast sections of the city abandoned to nature. \u201cThere are wild animals all over the city now. I saw a deer on the corner the other day,\u201d he said. \u201cI even saw a pack of coyotes roaming down that road.\u201d He then addressed the indifference of city officials to the problem of blight. \u201cAll those houses could be fixed up,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they’re sitting on their butts and getting rich.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another worker came to the defense of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who currently faces charges of espionage and theft by the US government. \u201cI think [Snowden] is an absolutely courageous man,\u201d he said. \u201cHe’s what a lot of people aspire to be. I think a lot more people will come out and support him.\u201d<\/p>\n

An 85-year-old auto worker spoke out against war. \u201cI was in the Korean war and it was when I was over there that I learned that it’s the rich sending us poor folk over to die for their meddling,\u201d he said. \u201cNo black folk and no poor white folks started it. It was the rich and their meddling.\u201d<\/p>\n

SEP supporters also encountered a group of youth. The youth were against the wars abroad and would not support a new war. They rejected the idea of working class youth being sent to fight imperialist wars. SEP supporters explained that the Obama administration has continued the military occupation of Afghanistan, while waging a new war in Libya and now ratcheting up tensions with Syria and Iran. Although not yet of working age, they expressed serious concern over chronic unemployment. \u201cWhere are all the jobs?\u201d one asked.<\/p>\n

Barbara Herard, a Democratic Party candidate for Detroit City Council, interrupted discussion between SEP supporters and the youth. She cornered the youth, shouting, \u201cDon’t talk to them! They aren’t supposed to be here!\u201d Her aide admonished the youth, \u201cYou all are Democrats. You are Democrats. Don’t listen to them.\u201d When one youth wanted to sign an SEP contact sheet, the aide tried to intimidate them. \u201cDon’t sign anything,\u201d he said. \u201cYour mother taught you better than that.\u201d Her aide tried to take one supporter’s flyers away.<\/p>\n

Herard unsuccessfully attempted to eject the SEP supporters from the rally. \u201cI’m gonna get the NAACP to get you all out of here. You better leave now because the police are coming for you!\u201d One supporter noted that Herard’s scare tactics were indistinguishable from that of the emergency manager Kevyn Orr. \u201c And what’s so wrong with that?\u201d<\/em> she shouted, \u201cKevyn Orr is here to help us!\u201d She left with her aide in a huff.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, the youth approached the SEP supporters. \u201cI just wanted you to know that we all agree with you. I think everything you said is right,\u201d one said to one campaigner.<\/p>\n


\n
\n<\/p><\/div>\n

‘
\n \t\t \t];
\n \t\t \tvar html = htmlArray.join(”);
\n \t\t \tvar pCount = $(‘#content’).children(‘p’).length;
\n \t\t \tvar position = Math.floor(pCount*0.1);
\n \t$(‘#content’).children(‘p’).eq(position).before(html);
\n \t$(‘#inline-appeal’).children(‘form’).children(‘.more-options’).children(‘a’).click(function() {
\n \t\t\t\t$(‘#inline-appeal’).children(‘.initially-hidden’).show();
\n \t\t\t\t$(this).parent().hide();
\n \t\t\t\treturn false;
\n \t\t\t});
\n \t\t}
\n \t}<\/p>\n

\tfunction appendBottomAppeal() {
\n \t\tif (!$(‘#content’).is(‘.width72,.category’)) {
\n \t\t\tvar htmlArray = [
\n \t\t\t\t‘<\/p>\n

‘
\n \t\t \t];
\n \t\t \tvar html = htmlArray.join(”);
\n \t\t \tif ($(‘#article-tools’).length > 0) {
\n \t\t \t\t$(‘#article-tools’).before(html);
\n \t\t \t} else {
\n\t \t\t \t$(‘#content’).append(html);
\n \t\t \t}
\n \t$(‘#inline-appeal’).children(‘form’).children(‘.more-options’).children(‘a’).click(function() {
\n \t\t\t\t$(‘#inline-appeal’).children(‘.initially-hidden’).show();
\n \t\t\t\t$(this).parent().hide();
\n \t\t\t\treturn false;
\n \t\t\t});
\n \t\t}
\n \t}
\n$(document).ready(function(){
\n appendInlineAppeal();
\n appendBottomAppeal();
\n});<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on: World Socialist Web Site<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 By E.P. Bannon and Richard Vargas 25 June 2013 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) held a rally in downtown Detroit over the weekend, on the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 Detroit march. The UAW and the NAACP used the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-breaking-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44938\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}