March On

March On. . , March On , It was March of 1932, the depths of depression, and thousands of souls, women and men, young and old, crossed the bridge and braved the cold, to deliver a list of fourteen demands, to the Rouge plant, just up the road. It was a bitter mile, dozens were shot, and five lost their lives. Nine years later, The Rouge was unionized. Wages began to rise. Because of their March, Detroiters got a better life., In Memoriam To The Five Who Died , Joe Bussell - Joe Deblasio - Coleman Leny - Curtis Williams - Joe York, Original artifacts including trussing and gears from the former Fort Street Bridge were repurposed to create this art piece. The trusses reach up towards the sky and hold the gear, symbolic of industry, to a higher standard. The 14 ladder rungs in the center of the sculpture symbolize the fourteen terms that were to be negotiated. The spheres in the center embody the spirit of the people marching together., In October of 1969, the oily water of the Rouge River caught fire. The light of that flame mad it clear that something had to change. People marched to demand a cleaner environment, to reject pollution as the cost of prosperity., Because of those movements, those demands, those cries, we all got a better life. For air, for earth, for water, a decent wage, a safe workplace, For community, for equity, for justice, for recovery, Together we March On., Within the sculpture, you can see red glass transforming upward to blue, symbolizing , the metamorphosis and environmental recovery of the Rouge River and surrounding region., This sculpture was funded by the Gordie Howe International Bridge Community Benefits Plan , Designed and created by Erik and Israel Nordin 2020