DETROIT – Detroit is once again in the center of national attention.
The 110th NAACP Convention is in the Motor City. The organization is taking the lead when it comes to topics like race and cultural progression. Several Democratic presidential candidates are also using this opportunity to speak to thousands in one place.
It’s a mixture of business with fun for Regina Arnold and her son, Ian. They traveled hundreds of miles from Cochran, Georgia, all the way to the Motor City for the convention.
“This is our first trip to Detroit,” Arnold said.
They're making the best of the trip, and Arnold said it's mostly a business trip.
Ian has an important role with the organization.
“He’s the new VP of the Youth NAACP. So we’re just getting involved, we’re just learning,” Arnold said.
They plan on capturing the moments every step of the way.
Mayor Mike Duggan said Detroit is once again in the national spotlight, but this time it's ready to paint a different picture.
“Detroit was in the spotlight seven or eight years ago for a very different reason. We were the largest bankruptcy in history. Two hundred fifty thousand people moved out in over a decade. It was felt like it was hopeless. Now, we’re at a different point,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said.
But the attention was not only on the city, but the organization as a whole.
“Everybody has got to get in this, because the issues are too critical to stay at home,” the Rev. Wendell Anthony, with Detroit NAACP, said.
Anthony said some of those issues are race, cultural progression and politics. Several key Democrats are targeting Detroit as they continue their bid for the White House.
“Detroit has hosted several of them. We hosted Joe Biden, we hosted Kamala Harris, we hosted Cory Booker, we hosted Elizabeth Warren, so they're all friends of mine and friends of the work that we do,” Anthony said.
The NAACP told Local 4 it invited President Donald Trump to the conference, but Trump decided not to participate due to a scheduling conflict.