On the Ground at the U.S. Social Forum
People's Production House will be reporting for the Community Blog from the U.S. Social Forum in Detroit, June 22 - 25. This is their first dispatch.
Detroit: Over eight hundred social justice groups from around the US, comprised of over ten thousand activists and organizers, have converged in the Motor City for the 2010 US Social Forum. Houses of worship have opened their doors to provide shelter for many of the visitors and a tent city has been built on an empty lot to accommodate the crowds. The energy is palpable in a city that has fallen on difficult times in recent years.
Detroit, once a metropolis of two million people just over twenty years ago, is now a city of less than one million residents. Organizers of the conference, along with elected officials, hope that by bringing the Social Forum to Detroit new life would infuse and invigorate the city. Detroit has lost not only population but manufacturing jobs which had been its economic core for years.
On Monday evening, residents and visitors of the city were treated to a traditional summer kick-off, a fireworks display along the downtown riverfront. Detroit's skies were lit up with thousands of colorful bursting effects. Members of People's Production House enjoyed the pyrotechnic display as they got ready for the Social Forum. PPH was on hand to greet groups arriving from New York City and document their stories. Long lines filled the lobby of the Cobo Hall convention center in downtown Detroit. The massive arena was packed with participants waiting to register for the four day long event.
Christopher Baez of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer organization FIERCE (Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment) asserts how important it is for an organization like FIERCE to attend convergences like the Social Forum. "The forum offers opportunities to connect with folks that have similar goals and objectives as my organization." FIERCE is an organization building the leadership of LGBTQ youth of color in New York City.
Similarly, Juanita Louis of Community Voices Heard highlights what it means to the fifty-member contingent of her organization to come to this social gathering. "We can share stories and experiences with those that have the same struggles throughout the US."
Members of People's Production House will continue to blog throughout the remainder of the Social Forum, detailing and documenting the stories of social justice groups from New York City and around the country.
- People's Production House
