Washington— President Barack Obama's Labor Day address in Detroit will be open to the public and follow entertainment by Aretha Franklin and the Mosaic Youth Theatre, the White House said Thursday.
Obama will be in Detroit to meet "with workers and their families as well as discuss his bipartisan efforts to create jobs and strengthen our economy," the White House said in a statement. His trip to Michigan is scheduled to run just over two hours.
This is Obama's second trip to Detroit as president and first that will be open to the public. Many Michigan members of Congress are expected to attend, including Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit; Reps. Sandy Levin, D-Royal Oak, John Dingell, D-Dearborn, Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township and Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit.
Obama will be accompanied by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Union presidents, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa and UAW President Bob King, are also expected to attend.
Obama will tout the turnaround of the domestic U.S. auto industry as he speaks from a General Motors Co. parking lot. As part of a $49.5 billion bailout, the Treasury Department still owns 26.5 percent of GM.
On Labor Day 2008, when he was a senator from Illinois, Obama spoke to tens of thousands of people in Detroit. Obama prompted laughs when he did a shout-out to the Queen of Soul, humming a few bars of Franklin's song "Chain of Fools," warbling "Chain chain chain …" as she beamed from the audience.
Franklin will be singing "Chain of Fools" this time, as well as two other songs.
Obama is not expected to be present for the entertainment, though that could change if his schedule permits. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have made $15,000 in personal donations to the Mosaic Youth Theatre, which is run by Rick Sperling, the brother of White House National Economic Council director Gene Sperling, who is a Michigan native.
The students at Mosaic Youth Theatre will sing the National Anthem and an arrangement of "I'll Be There."
"This is going to be unbelievable thrill for these kids," said Rick Sperling. Students from the group performed for President Bill Clinton "and they still talk about it today."
Obama's visit is especially meaningful to Detroit students, Sperling noted, as the first African-American president.
Detroit is by far the largest majority African-American city in the United States. According to the 2010 Census, Detroit has 590,226 African-Americans, which represents 83 percent of city residents.
The Labor Day event will take place at the General Motors parking lot next to the Renaissance Center on Atwater Street, between St. Antoine and Beaubien. The event is scheduled to start around 1:15 p.m.
The public can enter at the corner of Rivard and Atwater streets, and the gates will open at 10 a.m.
The White House said all attendees will go through airport-like security and should bring as few personal items as possible. No bags, sharp objects, chairs, umbrellas, liquids or signs will be allowed inside the venue.Cameras and cell phones are permitted.
Obama last came to Detroit as president in July 2009 to visit General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC factories, but he had no public events.
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