Imani Patterson
Protesters marching to the Capitol Building.
Activists started in the Lansing Center, where Michigan Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, 19th District, gave the keynote address. After the speeches, participants had an opportunity to speak with some state representatives. Finally, they took to the streets and marched to the Capitol.
Hundreds made their way to Lansing for the event, as has been the case in past years. The large turnout had some hopeful for change.
“These are really tough issues,” said Clare Luz, a Michigan State professor who supports a direct-care workforce. “We know what some of the challenges are, we know what some of the solutions are, but they are going to take political will. They’re going to take fiscal committment an champions and we have to mobilize because there’s more power in numbers and we all need to be saying the same thing.”
Imani Patterson
Protesters outside of the Capitol building.
“They [the children] need to know how to advocate for themselves and step into different rooms and articulate what the want to see happen,” said William Atkinson, a Kalamazoo resident and leader in the city’s Men Of Purpose program. “So it’s a thought-provoking exercise where they can learn and see how things work and not just sit back and complain, but be a proactive participant in the process.
Imani Patterson
Lashaya Darisaw speaking at the Michigan United Capitol Day rally.
“There’s two kinds of power as we see it in the world,” said Erik Shelley, communications coordinator for Michigan United. “There’s money power and there’s people power. A lot of times in Lansing and D.C., folks with a lot of money come and spread it around and they get a lot of influence. The other way is people power. If you have a lot of people, the money doesn’t even matter because, really, that money is just used to get our support. By organizing people we can go directly to the source of the power.”