Tuesday, September 4, 2012

DNC Quick Take: Anthony Foxx's speech

Charlotte's mayor had a straightforward but challenging job moments ago at the Democratic National Convention:

Introduce himself. Introduce his city. Remind everyone in the audience and beyond why Democrats are here this week.

The challenging part? Tie it all together - in about three and a half minutes.

But sometimes the most powerful messages are the briefest. Anthony Foxx, draped by video image of uptown, put together six elegant paragraphs to kick off the Democratic National Convention in earnest. He tied his story with his city's story, recalling how black families and white families decided together nearly a half century ago to break down barriers that had divided their children.

"I was one of those children," he said, and he described how that opportunity took him from West Charlotte High to Davidson College to here, on a stage as the mayor of the DNC's host city.

The values he learned along the way, he said, are values that Obama shares. "All Americans," he said, "should have a fair shot to go as far as their talents take them."

It was a simple and strong message - a reminder of the principle behind the party. It was a good moment for Charlotte - and its mayor.

Peter St. Onge

4 comments:

Unknown said...

That's some hard hitting journalism right there!

Wiley Coyote said...

.... and he did all that without Project LIFT.

Sam said...

There's another one of those "middle of the road" reports Peter. No liberal bias here. Move along.

Unknown said...

Anthony Foxx did Charlotte proud. It was a good speech and he deserves the kudos.