We are in downtown Ypsilanti at the Water Tower and this is the beginning of the student
led peace march in honor of MLK and Frederick Douglass.
Yes, we got some display signs, we'll be walking down to Washington and Michigan Avenue, we'll
have two gallery exhibits down there, one in honor of Frederick Douglass and in our photographer
Nick Xaro also did a photography exposition down there, so you'll get a chance to see
the kids work and this is all because they want their voices heard and they're concerned
about the direction our country is going in.
I'm really happy to be here and the kids having me just so emotional.
This is like the most itzy real I've ever seen, our students leading the way, the community
following along.
Yeah, it would be a surprise.
Good morning.
This is Rosa Parks' niece.
So we're ready.
I'm willing to walk you however long I need to.
Stay, stay, stay.
No.
I think this is amazing. I think it's incredible that this many people got up and they knew
the work they had to do today to come together. It shows the solidarity that it sees all about.
I think it's great to see young people learning and marching and expressing their feelings
and not letting hate divide us. We are going to unite in love and democracy is going to win.
Just like seeing how many people actually came and how the effect that it had was perfect
because we were halfway there and you turn around and you see just a lot of people still
going back all the way to the water tower which is where we started.
Rose Park's niece, me and there as well, she also inspired me as well just to keep going
and do the right thing.
I'm so proud, so utterly proud of this community and that you have that fire in your stomach
and your soul to make a change and that's what it requires.
This is what Frederick Douglass said. He said as a student came to him he said, what should
I do Mr. Douglass? Agitate. One word, just agitate.
This is where Frederick Douglass spoke on the non-existent third floor which was demolished
in the 1930s. He spoke on this corner twice, once in 1866 on Lincoln's assassination and
once in 1867 which we're celebrating today 150 years ago today.
The speech here in 1867 is really amazing because what he's talking about is after the
Civil War and the struggle to remake the country the necessity of remaking the country legally
and socially and politically and all of that and what he's demanding is things like the
end of the electoral college, things that add democracy to our country rather than restrict
democracy.
So Frederick Douglass is using the opportunity of the changes in the end of the Civil War
to explore exploding democracy in this country, expanding it rather than restricting it, giving
more people the right to vote, making it easier to vote, making it easier to make laws, giving
less power to the president, more power to directly elected representatives, those kinds
of things.
It's a real impression for us to think about in moments of crisis you take those opportunities
to make dramatic, progressive changes in the end because other people are going to make
dramatic change and the fight is what kind of change it's going to be.
Let's all win, let's all win!
One more time, say it again, when should we start?
Yeah!
Yeah, oh look what I'm saying, it's so fast!
This is hot chocolate.
Why is there hot chocolate here?
We wanted to make sure we kept everybody nice and warm after their march.
