Rolling out spoke with one of Detroit’s most fervent and effective civic leaders, the founder of Freedom Institute, Rev. Wendell Anthony at Freedom Weekend in Detroit, which concluded on Sat. Aug 20. An impassioned orator, who is also internationally recognized for his accomplishments as president of the Detroit Branch NAACP, shared his thoughts regarding Freedom Weekend, the state of affairs in Detroit and the issues facing people of color around the country. -roz edward
On the state of affairs …
Our folk are hurting. The unemployment rate in African American communities is not 16 percent, here in Detroit is 31 to 50 percent … And it’s not a recession, it’s a depression. Things are worse for many of us than they were during the Great Depression, so our people are losing hope. So I preach and express that we can do more by working together than we can apart. Other nations of the world are following are model. What the Egyptians did — that’s our model. What they’re doing in Tunisia and Syria — that’s our model.
The only thing wrong about marching is that not enough of us are doing it.
The debt ceiling debacle …
The fact that [members] of the congress would bring the financial where with all of America to its knees, and Standard & Poor’s would give us a downgrade which has never been done before in the history of Standard & Poor’s simply because they don’t like a brother in the White House … That’s what this is about and it’s the highest form of treachery. We knows this because Ronald Wilson Regan raised the debt ceiling 18 times. Bush, both daddy and son raised it 10 times. And Clinton raised it seven times, but Barack Hussein Obama can’t raise it once.
On Freedom Weekend…
It’s really the Freedom Institute for Economic Justice and Social Power. … We are bringing people around the country together who are doing things and are critical thinkers. We try to bring folk, African Americans in particular together with resources for help. We need that kind of organizational thrust and a basis for working together.
I want this to become a destination [event] where once a year people all over the country say ‘I have to be in Detroit this weekend.’ It’s a case for restaurants, businesses and entertainment venues to come together with grass roots and professional folk for a weekend of edutainment — education for the head and entertainment for the soul.
The 10th anniversary …
This years theme is ‘Implementing an Urban Agenda’ because of the horrendous budget [scandal] that we went through in this country. … Urban communities like Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles are going to be cut mightily and it’s going to have a devastating impact on our communities. So our thing is, what can we do in spite of that, because the cavalry ain’t coming to rescue us. The cavalry needs rescuing.
