By Steve Neavling
The message from Nelson Mandela, delivered 22 years ago today during a sold-out rally in Tiger Stadium, remains just as strong today.
“Your solidarity has given us enormous strength and courage,” the South African liberation leader told Detroiters. “We will not forget you.”
On June 28, 1990, Mandela met with then-Mayor Coleman Young, attended the Tiger Stadium rally and spoke to workers at the Ford River Rouge auto plant in Dearborn.
As factories close and workers continue to lose wages and benefits, Mandela’s inspiring message to blue-collar workers should never be forgotten.
“It is you who have made the United States of America a superpower, a leader of the world,” the then-71-year-old told workers, before adding: “I am a member of the UAW; I am your flesh and blood. I am your comrade.”
Anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s trip to Detroit gives us hope today added by Steve Neavling on
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Steve Neavling
Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.
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