The "Who, What and Why" of Marvin D. Crawford. 
WHO?
Marvin D. Crawford. Never heard of him. Fair enough. When you spend 90% of your political life behind the scenes as an unpaid volunteer, that tends to be the case. I'm ok with that. But then people see my picture and say "Oh, he was the one who was working on... "He was the one who figured out... "He was the one who did... "Whenever we needed... "We could always count on him to... "Thirty- five years ago he was skinny and had a lot more hair." Key words? Working. Figured out. Did. Whenever. Count on. Thirty- five years. I wouldn't bet against me.
WHAT?
I was at Dr. King's march in Detroit with my Dad and Grandfather, as a kid, back in the early 60's but so were thousands of you. In more recent years, I have volunteered on campaigns for Coleman Young and Dennis Archer. I try to stand up for what I believe is right, regardless of who is saying it. I worked on Rev. Nicholas Hood's campaigns for Council back when elected Blacks were rare and re-elections were difficult. I worked on Maryanne Mahaffey's early campaigns because I knew smart women had to be in the mix. Also for John Conyers back when he first stood up for us and it seemed like nobody else would. I have participated in dozens of sit-ins, NAACP and Urban League voter drives, Blightbusters, Paint the Town, and many other initiatives long before corporate sponsors invented "paid" volunteers.
WHY?
I believe in inclusion. I believe in doing. I believe in the dream. I was working with a Black Panther program to feed breakfast to school kids back when it was dangerous to be a Panther and Head Start hadn't been invented. I have worked for and against candidates, judges, causes, and conditions that I thought needed the support of one more good hand. I was involved with issues when I lived in Massachusetts and in Florida. I helped to establish Detroit's first federal historic district. I volunteered on committees to both save Tiger Stadium and to build Comerica Park. Ken Cockrel, Damon Keith, George Crockett, and Walter Reuther were, and are, among my local heroes. I've been removed from positions because I wouldn't give in. I've paid some dues. I've fought in the background for a very long time. I come from a tradition of participation that we cannot afford to lose, that we must not neglect to pass on.
If you don't think we've got problems that need to get fixed, you probably shouldn't vote for me.
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Last Updated on Monday, 15 March 2010 04:04 |
