President Joe Biden as Keynote Speaker of the Detroit Branch NAACP 69th Annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner

"Preserving Sweet Liberty, Defeating Bitter Tyranny" was the theme for the Detroit Branch NAACP 69th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner. Known as a historic chapter. It continues to remain the largest branch of the NAACP since its inception, in 1912. From courtrooms to boardrooms, picket lines to boycotts, the Detroit Branch has demanded, required and acquired justice and civil rights for more than a half century. As the chapters legacy has it, the Detroit Branch NAACP, seeks to obtain a deeper form of justice. One that comes from the spirit that this country was founded upon.

Held Sunday, May 19th at 5pm in the evening, thousands of people could be seen walking, driving, taking detours and parking, all to get inside of Huntington Place, 1 Washington Blvd. Many had come to celebrate this years Fight for Freedom and were eagerly excited to see and know that the 46th and current president of the United States, the Honorable Joseph R. Biden Jr., was the keynote speaker.

As always, the Detroit community, shows up in full support of the Detroit Branch NAACP. Seated across four dais, were many community and civic leaders along with local and national media personalities Guests were greeted by Bushman, WMXD Mix 92.3, Tati Amare, WDIV Local 4, Brandon Hudson, Fox 2 Detroit, and Jemele Hill, Journalist, J. Hill Unbothered, who all gave the introductions to those esteemed honorees and elected officials. The Honorable Mike Duggan, Mayor, City of Detroit, Honorable Gretchen Whitmer, Governor, State of Michigan and the Honorable Gary Peters, U.S. Senator, State of Michigan were just a few that were in the building.

As the evening continued, dinner was served, people were seen, having a great time, mixing and mingling with each other. The entertainment for the night came from an amazing jazz ensemble and the National Anthem was played by saxophonist, Daryl Beebe. Then right before the president took to the podium, Rev. Wendell Anthony had a special musical selection by a group of singers, that he had contacted only 10 days prior, to sing at the dinner. They were amazing. Their rich tones and blended voices with the various harmonies and nuisances of the song, "I Don't Feel Noways Tired" by the legendary gospel singer and songwriter, the late Rev. James Cleveland, had the crowd in amazement. Standing to their feet, it was a powerful performance and moment.

As the evening continued, the program finally called for the President. As he began taking the podium, the crowd of attendees, could be heard sayings, "Four More Years, Four More Years, Four More Years". The President continued with his speech and started by saying that he doesn't feel tired, in fact, he feels inspired. In his speech, he conveyed the message that he it's because of black voters that it helped in getting him into the white house. As he was speaking about Former President Trump, he said, "Folks, Trump isn't running to lead America, He is running for revenge. Revenge is no way to lead the country. You can't build a future on revenge." He then went on to ask the question, "What do you think he would have done on Jan 6 if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol? Responses from the crowd could be heard sayings, "They would've been dead, shot immediately". The crowd of Black attendees were visibly seen clapping in agreement. An interesting fact the president shared, was that the first organization he joined was the NAACP. President Joseph Biden, ended his speech with a standing ovation and applauses throughout the ballroom. Guests left with key take aways and for many, the night was one to remember. Especially having the President of the United States in close proximity.

Here are some historical facts about the Detroit Chapter NAACP.

Did you know that the Detroit Branch NAACP is responsible for ending segregation in Detroit public housing in 1954. In 1993, the branch recreated the 1963 Detroit Freedom March that was led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. More than 250,000 people attended that event and during that time, evidence was proven that, there is power in numbers.