Cleveland masses turn out for Obama

The following report was written by Susan Schnur, an anti-racist white bus driver who is on the local board of the Paratransit District, ATU #268, as a special representative. Schnur attended a mass rally on Nov. 2 in Cleveland that featured Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.

Cleveland, Nov. 2. WW photos: Susan Schnur

The crowd was huge! I have no idea of the numbers but all of the downtown area called the Mall was filled. We got downtown two hours early. The line to get in [to hear Obama speak] was at least a mile long. At the front were African Americans of all ages. They must have been there since early in the morning.

The crowd was very multinational and very respectful of one another. Everyone we talked to said they were there because history is being made. There were lots of kids! There were a lot of LGBT people. People had a sense of purpose about them.

On the way downtown we passed the Board of Elections where they were open for Sunday voting. The lines of people wound around the city block. It was mostly African-American but not exclusively.

There were lots of women. We saw “Women for Obama” buttons; another button said “Another old lady for Obama.” There were “Obama Pride” buttons.

The Obama rally had many white people—very working class with lots of union jackets and caps as well as sweatshirts with factory names. One thing that has been perpetrated by the media is that all of the white working class is a bunch of bigots, especially the men. Having a rally with Bruce Springsteen brought out many white working-class men. He really speaks to the sorrow and desperation of plant closings and unemployment. Springsteen sang a song about Youngstown addressing the loss of the steel mills. Of course all his fight back is about voting Democrat.

The huge crowd I think also reflected the economic desperation of Cleveland and northeast Ohio. And the worst is yet to come. People want “change” and people here need material support—unemployment compensation, food stamps, and of course the housing and eviction situation here is truly an emergency.