Obama surprises Kresge Foundation guests celebrating centennial at DIA
The former president celebrated Detroit's comeback but acknowledged that there's "more progress to be done" in his surprise visit. The Kresge Foundation's centennial celebration was held at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). The keynote speaker and surprise guest was 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, who was involved in Detroit's Grand Bargain, which saved the American auto industry and restored the city from bankruptcy during his presidency. The event, which included a discussion about the foundation's role in Detroit, was attended by over 1,000 attendees and chronicled the rise of the S.Kresge empire and advent of the foundation, which has invested over $1 billion in Detroit. The foundation's President and CEO, Rip Rapson, expressed pride in the progress made, but acknowledged there is still more work to be done.
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When guests arrived at the Kresge Foundation's centennial celebration Tuesday evening at the Detroit Institute of Arts, they weren't handed a program.
Instead, the program was included in the gifts that were handed to guests on their way out at the end of the evening.
That's because the keynote speaker and special surprise guest was 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, who was involved with Detroit's Grand Bargain that saved the American auto industry and helped restore the city from bankruptcy during his time in office.
Security was intense and tight at the DIA going into the invitation-only event, which started at 5 p.m. on a beautifully mild, sunny day in Midtown Detroit. More than 1,000 attendees were present for the bash, which chronicled the rise of the S.S. Kresge empire and advent of the foundation which has, to date, invested more than $1 billion in Detroit.
Kresge Foundation President and CEO Rip Rapson, in a fireside chat-style armchair conversation with the former POTUS, asked why Obama chose to throw his weight behind Detroit at a time when no one else would.
"The beginning of your term," Rapson recalled, "was a convergence of terribles. We had the automobile industry going into a bankruptcy/foreclosure crisis session. You have the mayor (Kwame Kilpatrick) and most of his colleagues headed to the penitentiary — a tough time. And yet, you and your administration put an unequivocal stake in the ground about Detroit's future. … So why do you do it?"
Obama explained that at the time, despite putting out fires around the world regarding China and the Greek financial crisis, Detroit remained a priority.
"We recognized that if Detroit doesn't bounce back, the auto industry doesn't bounce back. But also, not only Detroit as a city does not bounce back — that will have ripple effects across the region, across Michigan, across neighboring states, in the same way that our part of the imperative of saving the auto industry was that the supply chains, the restaurants that depended on workers who, once they got off work, going to eat on Main Street. It had so many ripple effects. … Well, that was true of the city of Detroit as well."
He said the scope of Detroit's turnaround is astounding, but it's just the beginning.
"Mayor Duggan came in, and congratulations to him for having exactly the attitude that the city needed at that point, which was not an ideological blocking — fixing street lamps, getting abandoned, dangerous buildings pulled down, revitalizing with the limited resources to the city and parts of the city that really needed help. And I could not have been prouder of the progress that was made. I think everybody here, including your report, can acknowledge there's still more progress to be done. … You're looking at 30 to 40 years of disinvestment and racial conflict and decisions that were often made from outside the city that made it more difficult for residents in the city to access opportunity. Some of those legacies still exist today.
"But what you are seeing here in the city is a testament to the capacity and people of good will working together … taking some risks and making some investments, strategic investments and calculated risks, but being willing to plant a flag and people converge around that. That creates a sense of hope and momentum."
Before Obama's introduction, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan spoke about the Kresge Foundation's important role in the city's history. He said that people think Detroit's recovery started downtown, but it really began with Kresge's investment in Midtown Detroit.
"No city is more important to us than our hometown," Rapson said. "We have stood proudly with Detroit through its struggles, and we thrill at its triumphs — the increasing health and vitality of neighborhoods, the stunning residential and commercial revitalization of Woodward Avenue and the urban core, the pathbreaking formation of a streetcar that will soon be absorbed into a broader regional transit system, the creation of the pioneering cradle-to-career educational campus at Marygrove and so many others."
Obama said the exciting thing about the Kresge Foundation as a philanthropic organization is that "it hasn't always played it safe," because it has to adapt to new circumstances and opportunities.
"What Kresge has been willing to do is say, 'We'll take some calculated risks. And we're going to use these resources to jumpstart people coming together to change their surroundings.'
"One of the benefits of being President is you have this amazing vantage point to see across the landscape, people in every walk of life, people in every circumstance. … The highs and lows, and the variety of lives that are living on this planet, and those of us who have so much. The least we can do is to take some risk on behalf of those who don't."
Rapson asked the former President for advice as the foundation enters its second century.
"I've said this to my daughters," Obama said from the stage. "I think they've internalized it. People who are really successful? Who don't attribute about 90% of it to luck and other people helping them along the way? Aren't that bright.
"Keep doing what you're doing. You don't need advice. You just need a thank you."