Why are Michigan's Black leaders backing longshot Senate candidate? | Opinion
Every single day, Black Michiganders navigate a double consciousness W.E.B. Dubois, the American sociologist and civil rights activist, described as “this sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others … One ever feels his two-ness, — an American, a Negro, two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body …”
This double consciousness lives within us as we work in automotive factories, teach in classrooms, hold political positions and everywhere else. It is through this lens that we mark an inflection point in the race for U.S. Senate here in Michigan.
A year ago, I wrote why I believed Elissa Slotkin, the apparent frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for Senate, deserved to face a credible primary challenge — Slotkin has virtually no record of championing issues critical to African Americans, the party’s most loyal constituency. A constituency critical to delivering the Democratic nominee a general election victory.
A lot has happened since that piece was published a year ago. Let’s recap:
The Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump rematch is set.
Trump has endorsed former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers for the Republican Senate nomination.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel precipitating a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, fracturing parts of the Democratic coalition.
Actor Hill Harper and businessman Nasser Beydoun entered the race for the Democratic nomination.
Both Beydoun and Harper allege they were offered (and rejected) $20 million from leaders of a Jewish lobby group to drop out of the race and wage a primary campaign against U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib. (The person whom Beydoun says offered him the money denies the claim.)
Despite all these happenings, the race for the Democratic nomination appears to be in the same place as it was a year ago: Slotkin has a sizable cash advantage and is polling far ahead of the rest of the Democratic field.
But while the Democratic primary race has been largely uneventful, something has been happening just below the surface, the next development in a phenomenon I predicted a year ago: Prominent Black leaders have been getting behind one of Slotkin’s longshot opponents.
Here lies the double consciousness: The choice between the eventual Democratic nominee and the eventual Republican nominee is clear and stark, with the future of our union potentially at stake.
To use our votes to protect democracy is to be American.
More from Mike Griffie: Slotkin has virtually no record of representing Michigan’s Black communities
But for Black Michiganders, our lived experience also tells us that our desire to see systemic change in our country cannot simply be reduced to “wokeism,” all while we yearn to be seen in our government.
To use our votes to affect that systemic change is to be Black.
The choice between candidates for the Democratic nomination allows Black Michiganders to do more than simply fall in line to preserve democracy.
As expected, this Democratic primary for Senate is forcing Slotkin to show up in front of Black Michiganders in a way that it’s hard to imagine she’d prioritize if she were running unopposed. Slotkin’s opponents must do the same, which highlights the very thing I spoke of a year ago — hear our voices, before expecting our votes.
Evolving Elissa Slotkin
Elissa Slotkin has been aggressive in courting Black Michigan voters. She’s held over 80 events in Detroit alone, and has made extensive outreach to Black political leaders. She’s hired prominent Black political consultants and unveiled her “Opportunities Agenda,” aimed at eliminating barriers and creating opportunities for Black people. She appears to understand that there will be no anointing from the Black community here in Michigan.
When I asked Slotkin about her conversations with Black Michiganders, she told me that she understands that politicians make promises every four years: “It’s on me to earn the respect and time (of Black voters).” But what she said about this process was telling: “The thing I learned most, is not just show up before, but also after an election.”
I’ve written about Slotkin’s record on issues affecting Black Michiganders. It appears that, since her announcing her candidacy for Senate, she’s beginning to evolve.
For example, she signed on as a co-sponsor for the first time in this 118th Congress for HR 40, a bill to study reparations for the descendants of enslaved African Americans.
She became a co-sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, guaranteeing $15 an hour minimum wage, after failing to do so in her first two terms. For reference, one out of every four Black persons in Metro Detroit lives in poverty, compared to one out in 10 of their white counterparts.
But when I asked about her support for U.S. Sen. Cory Booker’s American Opportunity Accounts Act (also called “Baby Bonds”) aimed at reducing the racial wealth disparity, Slotkin told me she’d have to follow up with me later. Slotkin did not co-sponsor the legislation, introduced in the House by Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
So I still have questions as to how far a Senator Slotkin would go to champion economic justice for Black Michiganders.
A longshot with lots of support
Since announcing his candidacy in July of last year, actor Hill Harper has struggled to build large-scale momentum, and he’s stumbled at times. When Harper filed a key disclosure about his personal finances last fall, he absurdly stated he didn’t have a bank account, earned zero dollars during the reporting period and has zero liabilities.
He recently amended that filing, identifying millions of dollars earned from paid speaking engagements, acting and real estate holdings, and said he had fired the person who’d handled that earlier filing.
Despite his Hollywood gravitas, Harper’s fundraising has been relatively anemic. He spent nearly twice as much as he raised in the fourth quarter of 2023, and recently released reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show Harper is still bringing in much less than Slotkin. He loaned $600,000 to his committee, and is reporting roughly $440,000 cash on hand.
But despite what appears to be at times a fledgling campaign, Harper has been racking up endorsements from southeast Michigan Black political leaders. At the center of an internal divide within Black political circles just two years ago, both Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and former U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence have endorsed Harper.
Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell and Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, both Black leaders, have endorsed Harper as well. While the UAW declared it would remain neutral, Laura Dickerson, Director of UAW Region 1A (who is Black) told The Detroit News in February, “My members are wholeheartedly with Hill Harper. They have chosen him.”
Despite his longshot status, Black leaders are putting their names on Harper’s candidacy.
Harper believes both Slotkin and party leadership are the ones out of touch with the values of Democratic voters, specifically Black voters.
“Michigan is a red state until Black people vote,” Harper told me in an interview. Harper says Democratic leaders told him not to run, but says he’s “unbought and unbossed,” quoting the 1972 campaign slogan of Shirley Chisolm, the first Black person to seek a major party’s nomination for president of the United States.
So many prominent Black leaders have endorsed his candidacy, Harper believes, because Black people have not seen a return on the investment of supporting the Democratic establishment: “We can’t keep electing the same people, expecting a different result.”
Representation matters
After Dearborn businessman Nasser Beydoun announced his candidacy, he told a Free Press reporter my column about Slotkin’s standing in communities of color suggested there was an opportunity for him in this race. Since then, Beydoun has positioned himself as the pro-Palestine candidate, at times calling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza a genocide. Beydoun says he has been “advocating for a permanent ceasefire from Day One, while Slotkin has yet to call for one despite 40,000 innocent people dead.” He added that that while she’s raised a lot of money — over $16 million to date — “Slotkin has made no inroads other than to her base.”
But Beydoun also found it difficult to find support within the Black community, due, in part, to Harper. “With Hill in the race, it makes it much harder,” he told me, “because Black (Michiganders) want Black representation.”
Slotkin said she’s hearing the same things: “What’s affecting every conversation is a frustration that there is not an African American representative from the city of Detroit for the first time in 60 years.”
Black voters are paying attention
At this moment, the Democratic primary for Senate is achieving a specific purpose: Candidates are being put on the record on issues critical to Black voters. With their endorsements, Black political and community leaders are also making statements that require each candidate to put their best foot forward.
And Black people are paying attention.
So, what’s next? Absentee ballots will be mailed on June 27, and all of the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination are looking forward to debating. (Slotkin: I’m “totally open to a debate or forum and have always debated.” Harper: “People deserve to see a live, televised debate.” Beydoun: “I can’t wait to debate the issues.”)
As the primary election plays out — as I said a year ago — the undercurrent of discontent among Black voters can undoubtedly benefit the Democratic Party, so long as the response is real. The process can make the political establishment, who might want such discontent swept under the rug, nervous.
But sometimes, it's better this way.
Michael Griffie, a contributing columnist to the Detroit Free Press, is an educator, attorney and infrastructure executive. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online and in print.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan US Senate race to replace Stabenow has complex dynamics
