www.michronicle.com VOLUME 73 – Number 51★★ WHAT’S INSIDE


‘Reclaiming the Dream’ march protects King’s legacy (A-3)


Brenda Galloway traveled with her family from North Carolina in 1963 to attend the first March on Washing- ton. Galloway, now a DC resident, said she regularly makes a private pilgrimage to the Lincoln Memorial, where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech. She decided to join the “Reclaim the Dream” march led by Al Sharpton, Tom Joyner and a host of other Black activists to commemorate the 47th anniversary of King’s historic appearance.


September 1-7, 2010 479 Ledyard • Detroit MI 48201 313.963.5522 $1.00


Let’s explore Vegas (B-1)


Chances are if you like trying you luck at the tables or on the slots, you’ve already been to Las Vegas. But perhaps you had a tough time break- ing away from the casino to venture out to see what else the city has to offer. Whether traveling with family, friends or your significant other, there’s so much more to Las Vegas than rolling dice.


Pistons’ Lloyd: ‘I’d never seen anything like Detroit’ (C-1)


Sports columnist Leland Stein III discusses the impact of Earl Lloyd, the first African Ameri- can to play in the NBA.


AAA executives help revitalize Eliza Howell Park in Detroit’s Brightmoor Community (C-5)


More than 100 AAA Michigan executives and community participants volunteered their time and “sweat equity” at Eliza Howell Park, located in northwest Detroit’s Brightmoor Community. They continued AAA’s nearly century-long his- tory of volunteering and giving back to the community as they worked on several community projects in the Brightmoor neighborhood.


Crossing theRubicon Can Democratic ticket win?


By Bankole Thompson CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR


A Moses-like redemptive voice is a


scarce commodity on today’s politcal landscape in Michigan. It’s worse for Democrats because the gubernatorial nominee, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, has already been successfully typecast as “the angriest mayor in the coun- try,” something that lately hasn’t been embraced as a term of endearment for Democrats.


They are, in fact, running away from


it because Democrats now feel they have to be perceived as a party that is strong, calm, collected and full of rea- soning, sound judgment and diversity as opposed to the Tea Party of the gu- bernatorial campaign with an “angry” candidate running his mouth inces- santly, like a typewriter.


What’s wrong with having an


“angry” candidate? If that anger is channeled toward


sound reasoning and a vision for the future, Democrats should not be run- ning away from a definition that has the potential to help them win this


The Detroit Jazz Fest is here (and summer’s almost gone) (D-1)


Two major events that were symbolic of what Metro Detroit is about during the summer months — the Comerica Taste- Fest and the Michigan State Fair — came to a rather abrupt end, at least for now. But the third event, the Detroit Interna- tional Jazz Festival (DJF), on the riverfront, prevails, and the 2010 edition promises to be one of the best, both artisti- cally and aesthetically.


Bankole Thompson COMMENTARY


election. It is foolish to aban- don the use of the term “angry” when, if properly contextualized, can help them win over voters who are angry over losing their homes and the big banks sitting on taxpayer loans and refusing to help families. Anger itself in a political sense is


a form of righteous indignation, a sign of refusal to go along just to get along, and demanding that something hap- pens for the better. But it has its time and place for use. And what better time than in an economy like Michigan’s, which has been in the toilet despite the gradual growth we are witnessing.


The Republican flag bearer, Rick


Snyder, the self-described “nerd” from Ann Arbor, sought to make a distinc- tion between himself and the rest of the GOP candidates. He entered the


King Memorial on schedule for 2011 completion


By Jackie Jones Construction of the Martin Luther


King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall is 45 percent complete and on schedule, to be finished by fall 2011, according to Harry E. Johnson, Sr., president and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.


When completed, the memorial


will sit on a four-acre site near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and in a direct sight line between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.


So far, the foundation for the


www.michronicle.com 6 89076 06419 4


“Stone of Hope” has been poured, the support structure for the inscrip- tion wall has been erected, 300 piles to support the memorial have been laid, and more than 200 cherry blos-


som trees are being cultivated for planting at the site.


Visitors can follow the progress


of the construction on the Founda- tion’s Construction Updates section of its website, www.buildthedream. org.


In September, Chinese artist Lei


Yixin, lead sculptor on the project, is expected to arrive and begin the pro- cess of assembling the sculpture of King. In June, delivery of the stones hit a snag when Greece announced its economic crisis was so extreme, it could no longer afford to honor its promise to pay for shipping the 1,600 tons of sculpture the 11,000 miles from China to the nation’s capitol.


So King’s statue, the focal point of See KING page A-4


fray calling himself the “nerd” who would work to bring businesses to the state and create jobs.


There were many people laughing


at Snyder because choosing the term “nerd” was so unpolitical and uncon- ventional that his chances in the cam- paign earlier were ruled out by ana- lysts.


But if Democrats are good students


of history they should know better — that unconventional campaigns have more of the propensity to win votes than the usual milquetoast campaigns that lack political fortitude for major change.


The Obama presidential campaign


is the most effective political play book to study. The campaign was non- traditional, and everything that came out of the strategy room took people by surprise.


So why are some Democrats in


Michigan now resigned to faith that Snyder will eventually win because their nominee, Bernero, is the “angri- est mayor” and that definition doesn’t


See DEMOCRATIC TICKET page A-4


Will candidates tackle


urban crisis?


By Brandon Clark Michigan has been in economic


limbo the past eight years, and many Detroiters are concerned about the urban agenda of both gubernatorial candidates.


Although the candidates differ on


how to fix Michigan and its urban areas, both have plans to bring jobs back to Detroit and Michigan.


Detroit’s unemployment rate hovers


around 50 percent. Either one of the candidates must create a decisive and concise agenda for Detroit


“Neither one of the candidates


seem like they can get the job done right now,” said Carl Tucker, 74, of De- troit.


“I have thought about possibly


crossing party lines if the Republican candidate has a better plan,” said the registered Democrat. “When it comes to something like this you have to keep


See URBAN CRISIS page A-4 Rally for a cause


There was a rally in downtown Detroit last week to encourage increased enrollment in Detroit Public Schools. See additional photo on page A-4.—Andre Smith photo


Denise Langford Morris —Andre Smith photo Jocelyn Benson David Leyton


DEMOCRATIC gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero and his running mate, Brenda Lawrence, mayor of Southfield. —Monica Morgan photo


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