President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is trying to reach disaffected Black Detroiters through local gatherings highlighting the administration’s successes while cautioning against the hazards of another Donald Trump presidency.
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist envisioned a catastrophic future for Black voters during a May “BBQs for Biden-Harris” event in the parking lot of Laborers’ Local 1191 on Detroit’s west side. Speaking to a group of Detroit political figures, union members and guests, including some who privately expressed disinterest in the upcoming election, Gilchrist said Trump is “dangerous for our people.”
“Raise your hand if you’ve got healthcare,” Gilchrist said. “Donald Trump was one vote away from taking away the Affordable Care Act when he was president. He’s going to fight like hell to take it away if he gets back in office, and that’s going to kick 3 million Black people off health insurance around the country.”
Democratic representatives are crafting the language supporters should use to communicate Biden’s accomplishments and underscore perceived threats of another Trump term. Events hosted in Detroit during the last several weeks are mobilizing politically active voters to connect with disillusioned friends and family members who may not vote.
State Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit, told attendees Monday at the Dr. LaVonne M. Sheffield Bridge Center Library to convince “Pookie and Ray Ray who got their pants under they butt” to support Biden.
“We need to make sure that we are getting in places where we traditionally don’t go to ask for a vote,” Santana said. “The places that young people are, trying to make decisions based off what they see on TikTok. We need to make sure that we are educating them on what is real and what is a part of the Black legacy in our communities.”
Duane Gholston, 33, said he left the Monday event on Detroit’s west side feeling less enthusiastic about Biden. Gholston said he felt some of the speeches bordered on condescending and fact sheets inflated Biden’s accomplishments.
Gholston said he recognizes the impact the Biden administration’s federal funding has had on local issues like Detroit’s right to counsel eviction defense program. He also appreciated the campaign’s focus on environmental protections – he worries that Trump would gut federal regulations that prevent pollution – but ultimately was left wanting more from the campaign pitch.
“I wanted to hear more about real power because voting is just one step,” Gholston said. “What do we do after that? What are other ways of exercising your power? I took a bus to get here, I was thinking about all the people on the bus who didn’t know or care that this was happening.”
Gilchrist led a more nuanced conversation on how to approach young voters during a Thursday roundtable at Griot Music Lounge.
Chris Sutton, a filmmaker and Detroit native, said conversations need to be focused on the political power Black people can express beyond just voting when called upon by candidates.
“Detroit is flexing, especially when we’re seeing this resurgence of attention, but I feel that we’re often being pushed to the sidelines,” Sutton said. “Being Black, being gay, being a Detroiter here, I’ve seen both sides of the table. We deal with scrutiny in our own city, oftentimes we are villainized, but I have so many Black men in my life who have supported me … I know so many brothers who don’t have that, especially when we talk about young Black men.”
Rev. Kenneth Flowers said he encounters “apathy and despair” from young people who feel like their choice doesn’t matter.
“People will get tired of you talking about Trump and the negativity of Trump,” Flowers said. “We have to show the alternative and state very clearly what is important and positive about the Biden-Harris campaign.”
A ‘razor thin’ race
Democratic surrogates are appealing to voters by balancing Biden’s accomplishments against the perceived threats of another Trump term. Consistent among events attended by BridgeDetroit was a call to reach out to disaffected voters.
“We’ve got to go to where they are to get the vote,” Marloshawn Franklin, a longtime Detroit political operative and Biden campaign director, told attendees at the May BBQ for Biden-Harris event. “We’ve got to meet people in the churches, the beauty salons, the aisleways of Rite Aid. This race is going to be razor thin.”
Republicans are also working to peel off Black voters who are dissatisfied with Biden. Trump is scheduled to headline a June 14-16 political conference at Huntington Place coinciding with the former president’s 78th birthday.
Political nonprofit Turning Point USA is bringing Black conservative influencers like Candace Owens and Terrence Williams to a “Blexit Liberation Show” at Huntington Place on the same weekend.
Gilchrist said Trump isn’t interested in having real conversations with Black voters.
“I can tell you for a fact: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ain’t scared of that. Come on and talk to us. We need you to be here. Trump ain’t built for that. He don’t want to talk to y’all.”
Carol Banks is a leader with Eastside Slate, a grassroots political advocacy organization. Banks said she feels like the campaign has been slow to connect with Black voters.
“We’re not as enthused about his campaign as we were four years ago,” Banks said. “Four years ago, people were fed up with Trump. Now they’re fed up with both of them.”
Banks said there are successes to point to, like capping the price of insulin, student loan debt relief. She expects Biden will win Michigan and secure a second term, but she’s encountering young voters who think the president is too old and unaccomplished.
“He’s done a better job than Trump but because (the campaign) doesn’t tout those things (voters) see ‘tired Joe,’” Banks said. “He’s done a whole lot. If you tell that story you will get everybody engaged. To me, it’s just kind of late.”
‘Democracy is at stake’
Detroit is a majority-Black city and a key source of Democratic votes in a state that has flipped between parties since 2012. Winning Michigan is viewed as virtually essential to securing enough electoral college votes to become president.
Biden won Michigan in 2020 by a margin of 154,188 votes (roughly 3%). Biden earned 233,908 votes from Detroit.
Biden earned 1,000 fewer Detroit votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016 and nearly 48,000 fewer votes than when Biden and former President Barack Obama ran in 2012.
Trump earned 12,653 Detroit votes in 2020, a notable increase from the 7,682 votes he earned from Detroiters in 2016. Trump flipped Michigan in 2016 by a narrow 10,704 votes (0.3%).
House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, said Black voters will have a major impact on whether Michigan rides with Biden or flips back to Trump.
Speaking at the restored library Monday before a lit “Black voters for Biden” screen – and flanked by a framed illustration of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X and Obama in the White House on one side and vintage issues of Jet Magazine – Tate warned that Black voters risk a “retreat of democracy” if Trump returns to the White House.
“Talk to your family, talk to your friends,” Tate said. “What’s at stake is the future generations in our democracy.”
Voters have expressed concerns about how Biden’s response to the Israel-Hamas war is hurting him politically. Aaron Truitt sees the urgency in his election. He agrees with Tate that “Democracy is at stake” and plans to promote Biden in his circles. But he also feels the war in Gaza is unjust.
“If I knew how to protest with the Palestinians I would have to, because I feel like that’s unjust,” Truitt said. “It’s wrong what they’re doing to those people. No matter how you look at it, man. They’re an apartheid government with U.S. backing. The younger generations see injustice going on in the world and they should peacefully protest.”
On Thursday, Flowers said young voters blame Biden for “killing off Palestinians.” Earlier that morning, the NAACP urged Biden to halt all weapons deliveries to Israel and push for an end to its war in the Gaza Strip.
Flowers said also young voters credit Trump with providing them with cash during the pandemic because the former president’s name was on stimulus checks. Trump signed the economic stimulus bill into law after it was passed by Congress.
“I say, ‘don’t fall for that garbage,’” Flowers said. “He didn’t give you a dime. We’ve got to convince people that Biden-Harris has done a lot more than Trump.”
Recruiting Black male voters
Detroit City Council Member Coleman Young II dropped in at a barbershop last weekend for a campaign appearance, where he credited Biden for signing the American Rescue Plan Act. The 2021 economic stimulus bill unlocked $827 million that is being used to improve city services and stand up new programs.
Rev. Horace Sheffield III said he’s planning to organize voter registration efforts with comedian Mike Epps and Black Men Vote.
“We’ve got to reach African American men, people who don’t feel like they have a stake in this race, unemployed, marginally employed – people who have always felt political processes have not yielded much for them,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield hosted the Biden campaign on Monday at the retrofitted library named after his late wife. Sheffield printed T-shirts reading “I will take Biden in a wheelchair over Trump standing up.” Gholston said he felt the shirts were inappropriate, but Sheffield said they’re very popular.
“That resonates well with people I talk to,” Sheffield said. “They want to hop on (Biden’s) age and his physical vitality. The harm that Trump can do is frightening.”
Meeko Williams, a Detroit water rights activist, thought the shirt’s message was on point. Williams said he works three jobs and doesn’t feel like the economy is any better under Biden, but said Trump is a dangerous authoritarian. Williams said he was more disturbed by Trump’s claims that Black voters embraced his mugshot photo and new felony record.
“I’ll quote Kendrick all day, you are not like us,” Williams said.