Remembering a Legend

As many people in the nation stay home from work and school today due to a national holiday, I hope that everyone takes at least a little time to reflect on the lifetime of work that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated himself to and what his work did for our country.

The civil rights leader, born in 1929 in a segregated section of Georgia, was known as a stellar student whose high intelligence propelled him through high school, which he completed at age 15. By nineteen, he had received his B.A.

A lover of education, King went on to complete a B.D. three years later. He then enrolled in Boston University, where - in 1955 - his hard work and dedication earned him a doctoral degree.

At the conclusion of his formal education, King became a pastor in Alabama, while sitting on the Executive Board of the NAACP. It was at this time that Dr. King became intently involved in seeking equality for the African American race. This was evidenced when King led a 382-day nonviolent boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system, an action that was prompted by Detroit's own Rosa Parks - an Alabama-born seamstress who was arrested after refusing to vacate her bus seat to a white person. At the conclusion of the bus boycott, the Supreme Court declared the Alabama segregation laws for buses unconstitutional, causing a major victory in civil rights around the country.

Although his house was bombed during the bus boycott, Dr. King was not scared off; in fact, many would argue that the hate crimes directed towards him further instigated his desire to bring peace and equality among people of different races within the United States. According to the biographical account of Dr. King on the Nobel Peace Prize's website, the civil rights activist "...traveled over 6 million miles and made over 2500 speeches between 1957 and 1968". Dr. King was assassinated in April 1968 while protesting with garbage pick-up workers that had been unfairly treated on the job.

For more information on Dr. King's marches and speeches, including full texts, visit Stanford University's Martin Luther King Jr. Paper Project

NPR also has several interesting radio clips and articles relating to Dr. King, including a replay of the June 2003 conversation between Tavis Smiley and Commentator Michael Eric Dyson about Dr. King's delivery of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in Detroit on June 28, 1963 - the first time the speech was delivered.

Charity Preview Event a Hit

2005 Auto Show Charity Preview

Amongst 17,000 other people, I had the privilege of attending Michigan's largest fundraiser on Friday night - the North American International Auto Show's Charity Preview Event.

Decked out in tuxes and formal evening gowns, we drank champagne, strolled around Cobo Hall, and admired the auto industry's newest creations: the new 2006 Dodge Charger; the Honda Ridgeline - the Japanese automaker's first pickup; and, the Hummer H3 - a cheaper, smaller version of the original Hummer.

Although the cars were cool, the greatest thing about the event was that it met its goal: to raise money for local children's charities. According to this article in the Free Press' online edition, the Preview garnered over $7 million for the fifth straight year.

Here are the charities that benefitted from this year's affair:

Barat Child and Family Services
Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Oakland County
The Children's Center
Children's Homes of Judson Center
Children's Services of Northeast Guidance Center Assistance League
Detroit Auto Dealers Association Charitable Foundation Fund
The Detroit Institute for Children
Detroit Police Athletic League
Easter Seals Michigan
March of Dimes

It's Auto Show Time, Detroit

Detroit Publishing Company photo, Library of Congress Print Archives

Detroit is big in the news this week. I have seen, skimmed and read at least a hundred different articles related to the Motor City's Auto Show, from the broad presence of the hybrids to the new Scion, to Chrysler's very own phoenix - the Charger - which seems to have risen back from the dead. Like any Detroiter, I have been waiting in anticipation for the debut of the public show which, according to the North American International Auto Show's website, boosted Detroit's economy by $553 million in 2004. And, thanks to some very generous people, I will only have to wait one more day to surroud myself in Detroit's automotive past and future - my fiancee and I were given tickets to the Auto Show Charity Preview Event happening tomorrow night.

The Charity Preview, which began in 1976, has raised over $51 million for 11 different local charities. And, last year alone, the event brought in an impressive $7 million. Known as the place to spot the "who's who" in Metro Detroit, the Charity Preview drew 17,500 last year who shared in giving to the community while gazing at the newest designs and concept vehicles in the automotive world.

Check back later this weekend for pictures of the gala event!

Council's Dumbfoundedness is No Excuse

Over the last few days, I have watched two different meetings of the Detroit City Council, which are broadcast on Detroit's Channel 10 following the meetings. (Although I would love to watch every publicly-televised meeting, I have yet to find a schedule listed on the Council's website or the city of Detroit's. When I do, I will let you know). Aside from the sluggish, disorderly nature in which these meetings are conducted, the biggest concern I have after watching these meetings is the claim by many of the Councilpersons that they were not aware of Detroit's budget crisis. While I am pleased that they have been brainstorming ideas to plug the city's mounting deficit, I am utterly astounded that they claim to have had no advance notice of it. Even the Council President, Maryann Mahaffey - who has served on the Council since 1974 - claims she wasn't aware of the severity of the budget problems.

Although members of the Council stated in these meetings that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has not provided them with ample information about the budget, and has ignored their request to have a private meeting about it, I found two reports published for the Council that prove otherwise. If you go to the Council's website, you can find the Auditor General's reports on both the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 Proposed Budgets of the Mayor, which both convey the A.G.'s concern about the economic and fiscal sustainability of the city of Detroit under the Mayor's fiscal planning propositions. In the report on the 2004-2005 proposed budget, the Auditor General clearly states that the city is in an urgent situation with regards to its finances and that strict actions need to be taken. In addition, the Auditor's report for 2003-2004 states that the City Council has continually ignored warnings about the city's financial ability, citing an instance from "a few years ago" (the report was from April 2003) when Dennis Archer advised of an $860 million budget shortfall over the next 10 years, which was disregarded when, according to the report, someone the Council hired said the figure was wrong.

Aside from the fact that the City Council is a full-time elected body that should be aware of every penny that the city is spending, even if Mayor Kilpatrick is not supplying the Council members with the full budget picture, they can access any of the information on their own through the Freedom of Information Act. But, the Council doesn't even need to put that much effort into it - they have appointed members, such as the Auditor General, whose sole jobs are to provide Council with research reports on the budget, amongst other city-related issues.

The Auditor General did his job with the preparation of these reports - they are well-written and researched and clearly point out the faulty areas of the Mayor's proposed budgets. It is the Council who did not do their jobs and no one should take the blame for that except for them.

A New Discovery on Council's Salaries

On Saturday, I wrote about an increase in the City Council's individual budgets, which they each spend at their own discretion. This information, which was obtained from a December article in the Metro Times, also pointed out that the Council's salaries come from their allotted budgets. Although the article did not specifically mention that the Council members would be getting pay raises from their increased budgets, that is what I assumed.

However, after watching Council's videotaped session from Friday, January 7, on Detroit's Channel 10, I was surprised to hear President Maryann Mahaffey state that the Council has not received a raise (including cost of living increases) since 2000. Mahaffey also stated that even when the rest of the city workers had received raises, the Council had not. Furthermore, Mahaffey requested the release of Council's payroll records - an appeal she made to correct some of the "misinformation" that has been in the media regarding her and her eight elected colleagues that serve the city.

I am anxious for the day that these records are gathered and do become public knowledge, because I am tired of having to speculate and would like to set the record straight on this issue. If, in fact, the Council has not had a raise for the past four years and everyone else in the city has, I will be the first to say that the council should not take a pay cut in light of the city's budget situation. Until then, I await the figures and maintain my stand that the council's budgets of $750,000 each and $1 million for Mahaffey should be reduced.

Once I do get word about the figures on these records, I will let you know. Please e-mail me at jaime.halaas@gmail.com if you have any comments or feedback on this post.