Photos: Common Joins Abdul El-Sayed and Elizabeth Warren in Detroit

“[The Right] bark very loudly because they want to speak for everybody.” -Abdul El-Sayed

The final rally before Election Day took place in a packed Majestic Theater in Detroit, Michigan. Elizabeth Warren spoke, giving her standard stump speech on getting big money out of politics. The new speakers (at least to me) were Abdul's wife Dr. Sarah Jukaku who spoke about meeting Abdul.

Much of Abdul's speech was his stump speech that he's given many times. The man likes to keep on message in this race of a thousand ridiculous (Stevens) distractions. He gives the excellent line "The Disease is the system," explaining that so much of the reason why we can't afford things is because of our insane defense budget.

Abdul: The disease is the system that allows big corporations and billionaires and special interests to buy and sell politicians in ways that leave them rigging the system against us. It's why we pay so much more for all we have to buy. Get paid less for the work we do. Watch as our government sends our money to do genocide, apartheid and war instead of providing health care and opportunity in good schools here in our own.

The singer and actor Common was the final act of the night, taking to the stage singing making the crowd go wild. Throughout his performance he stopped to give political messages but this one stood out. He told a story of meeting former Ambassador Andrew Young who worked with Martin Luther King Jr.:

Just feel good to be here. I feel the energy in this room. I feel a belief. I haven't felt that energy... The last time I felt something like that was. I was in Selma and I was talking with. We went out to do the film for Selma and Ambassador Andrew Young, who was Dr. King's right hand man. He said, what are you willing to die for? Live for that. He said, we were willing to die for freedom, justice and equality. So we live for it every day. Detroit, Michigan. What are you willing to die for? Or better yet, what are you living for? I believe you're living for the betterment of all our families, for people that don't even look like us. I believe that you're living for that. I believe you living for better health care. I believe you live for better education and job opportunities.

I believe living for the healing of a people, the healing of communities I believe you live in to break down those divides that we talked about when it comes to religion or gender or race. I believe you all living for a better country, and I know that I Abdul, embodies that belief.

So I just want to acknowledge the life is in you. And one of my brothers who came out to support brother through his name is Ronnie. He gave me this prayer. I can't say it in Arabic, but it has to do with the light. And I know the light is in all of us. So I want to acknowledge that light from from the elders to the young and everybody here. Whatever gender you are, that light is in you. Oh, God. Place light in my heart. Light in my sight. Light in my hearing. Light on my right. Light on my left. Light above me. Light below me. Light in front of me. In light behind me. And make me a light.

The night closed out with everyone taking the stage together, lots of hugging and posing for photos.

There are no scheduled events that we know of for the campaigns today (the Republican Party and Rogers campaign have never replied) so I'll be roaming the city looking for photos and stories. If you hear of anything my signal is @ZDRoberts.81