Native Detroiter, Ben Carson, announces presidential candidacy in hometown

It’s official. After months, perhaps years of speculation about his desire to run for President of the United States as a conservative Republican, the retired neurosurgeon and native Detroiter, Ben Carson, announced on Monday, May 4 that he is indeed a 2016 candidate for the nation’s highest office. Amid a standing-room-only crowd of supporters at the 1,731-seat Music Hall in downtown Detroit, Carson received an almost two-minute standing ovation, after he took the stage following rousing musical selections by singing ensembles, “Selected of God” and “Veritas.”
Carson, 63, introduced his wife, best friend and Detroit native, Candy Rustin-Carson; the two have been married for 40 years. He also introduced the couple’s three adult sons, as well as their respective wives. Following the introduction of his family, Carson said. “Now that I’ve introduced my family… I’m Ben Carson and I’m a candidate for President of the United States.”
With his simplistic statement of official inclusion into the 2016 race to the White House, the audience exploded with loud cheers and chants, rhythmic handclaps, and gave Carson another standing ovation. In a 33-minute speech of why he wants to be the President of the United States, Carson touched on numerous points to the audience that was at least 92% White. However, he did not lay out detailed plans for his campaign, per se, intimating to do so in the near future. He did speak glowingly about this country’s potential.
“America, according to Carson, “is still a place of dreams, where more people are coming than leaving.” He went on to speak of growing up poor in Detroit, where his mother, with just a third grade education, raised Carson and his brother. His mother, said Carson, divorced his father after finding out that he was a bigamist and had another family. Yet, she worked three jobs sometimes to make sure that her two sons had an opportunity to excel academically, even while growing up in the inner-city sector of Detroit.
Carson, the only Black candidate in the presidential race so far, challenged the people of this country to be bold. “It’s time for the people of America to rise up and take the government back,” he said. “The political class won’t like me saying things like that. The political class comes from both parties.”
On being politically correct. “We have to start opening our mouths for the values and principles of America,” Carson said. “I have to tell you something; I’m not politically correct. I’m probably never going to be politically correct. I’m not a politician; I don’t want to be a politician, because politicians do what’s political expedient. I want to do what’s right for this country.”
Carson spoke out on Baltimore and its civil unrest of late. “I spent 36 years of my life in Baltimore, and I see the turmoil there, and all over America,” he said. “Many people feel that life is not good for them, no matter of what happens. And when an opportunity comes to loot and riot, they take it, not believing that there’s a much better way to get the things that they desire.”
Carson graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit, after overcoming learning and social barriers, punctuated with an uncontrollable temper. With encouragement from science teachers at Southwestern, he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Therefore, he attended Yale University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He subsequently became a medical doctor after graduating from the University of Michigan Medical School.
Following med school, Carson ultimately moved to Baltimore, where he became a resident at the world-famous Johns Hopkins Hospital. At age 32, he served as director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins for the next three decades, before retiring two years ago.
While Carson admits that he has never held a public office, he said, “I see myself as a member of the ‘we the people,’ and the lack of experience is really an asset,” said Carson. “Wherever I go there are huge and enthusiastic crowds that tell me ‘I’m their hope.’ So, I’m not even asking everybody to vote for me. I’m just asking everybody to listen to what I’m saying, what others are saying who will be in this race, and make a decision based on your intellect.”
“I believe in Ben Carson,” said an emotional Cheryl Hollis, a White attorney, who drove to Detroit from Akron, Ohio to hear Carson declare his candidacy. “I had to be here today, and I will be taking his message back to Ohio.”