Camden enjoys its day in the Obama spotlight

CAMDEN, N.J. — Hours before President Obama arrived at the sprawling new Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, 7-year-old Lauralee Langley held her cousin's hand and hopped from one foot to the other on a nearby street corner.

She planned to wave at her favorite president as his motorcade rolled by. And she had just one small demand for her city.

"I want him to know that I want him to fix this place up," the little girl said, with a smile.

The presidential visit offered a surreal day for a city unaccustomed to positive national attention.

As crowds thickened across the street, invitation-holders lined the Kroc's wide white sidewalks, waiting to be screened by bomb-sniffing dogs and Secret Service agents. Tree trunks along Harrison Avenue were tied with patriotic ribbons, and a large American flag was pinned neatly to a fence.

Television news trucks lined up along the Kroc's front drive, their satellite dishes soaring skyward to transmit the president's speech. Among the onlookers, the mood was light.

"We're very honored to have him here," said Wadeeah Santos of Camden, as she stood across the street in hopes of catching a glimpse of the president. "It's history. It's a shame we can't go in."

"Camden, you know, it has its good and bad, just like any other city," Santos added. "We're a family here. The things that are bad, we try to get together and overcome to make things better for our city — for our kids especially, because they are our future."

As people edged off the curb to get a better look, Camden County police officers used bullhorns to move them back on the sidewalk. Told that Obama was coming to praise the county police force, Everlynia Promise Hudson of Camden heaped on her own.

"They have done a wonderful job," she said. "It's an honor for the kids to see the change in Camden."

As guests trickled into the Kroc's sunlit atrium, they saw the president's podium before 250 folding chairs and scaffolding for the visual media, an intimate space for a monumental occasion. Still two hours before Obama's arrival, volunteers shepherded visitors and political dignitaries to their seats, while instrumental bluegrass played on the sound system.

Camden native Genesis Hernandez brought one of her Mastery Charter School students, 7-year-old Jaiden Steele, to hear the president speak. He swung his legs in his chair.

"This is the first time I ever got to see the president, and I never even saw him on TV," wide-eyed Jaiden said.

Hernandez wiped away tears as she described the improvement she has witnessed among her students.

"Just to be part of the process is an amazing feeling," she said.

Natalie Pichardo, a 10th-grader at Camden Academy Charter High School, was chosen by her honors geometry teacher to attend Monday because she has been outspoken about the recent civil unrest in Baltimore.

Her Fairview neighborhood has improved in recent years, Pichardo said, and the crime rate has dropped.

"There's not a lot that goes on my way, now," the 16-year-old said. "We're not as bad as we're perceived."

A military helicopter buzzed by the skylights. Brought to their feet to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the crowd settled back down again to wait.

And then, not long after a live rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, Hail to the Chief played through the loudspeakers and the president bounded up to the podium with a grin and a wave. His voice echoed through the cavernous atrium as he called Camden a "symbol of promise for the nation."

When it was all over and Bruce Springsteen played over the loudspeakers, several teens who played a little basketball privately with the president before his speech seemed dazed by it all, as they answered questions from a crush of reporters.

They shared an air of hope for their city, and used similar words to describe Obama: "down-to-earth," "normal" and "actually cool."

Jamal Holloway grinned.

"It was fun. It was unbelievable," the 17-year-old said. "We were actually talking about the city of Camden, how much it's changed over the years, how the police are being more interactive with the kids in Camden."

The MetEast High School student said he believes the city "absolutely" has changed.

"If you go out in Camden nowadays, you can actually see the change," he added.