My friend Vanessa sent this message from inside Monroe Hall, not the main auditorium at Hofstra, but the spill over room where the audience was allowed to emote during the debate and respond to what the candidates were saying and not saying. Hempstead is a primarily African American and Latino area now, which is suffering even more, if that is possible, as the economy unravels:
So are "Joe the Plumber" and "Joe Six-Pack" the new "code names" for …? The Monroe Theater (not the main hall) where I watched the debate was on fire! We began with what was supposed to be an invocation---instead a dynamic young pastor from Hempstead gave opening remarks re: the appropriateness of the road to the white house passing through Hempstead: #of HIV-AIDS cases, # of foreclosures, unemployment, schools, etc...I think you get the idea: it was a take no prisoners framing of the conditions and Hempstead’s place in this historic event as a microcosm of what’s happening nationally! … None of the interaction in that room could have taken place in the main hall! I was where I needed to be last night!
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