Black religious leaders and elected officials in Michigan who support Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said they are working to overcome a sense of distrust that has hampered the progressive candidate’s appeal among black voters in the final days of the state’s hotly contested Senate race.
The move comes amid ongoing tensions between Michigan’s Black and Arab American communities, fueled in part by hostilities over business ownership in predominantly Black neighborhoods, local elected officials and religious leaders say.
“Many black people think that someone can come from outside the neighborhood and own an establishment, a business in the community, and then move money from that neighborhood – our neighborhood – into theirs and continue to thrive. » James Tatethe Detroit City Council president who supported El-Sayed said in an interview. “Now if you talk to some of these business owners, they’ll tell you that they’ve also been treated pretty poorly by some customers, so it’s necessary to have a conversation.”
El-Sayed has struggled to win over black voters, who make up about 14 percent of Michigan’s population. Despite his narrow primary victory against Rep. Haley Stevensit far exceeded it in majority-black Detroit. And recent polls have shown support among black voters, Democratic gubernatorial candidate lags behind Jocelyne Benson.
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