A coalition of Michigan minority leaders are calling for their constituents to unify behind three Black congressional candidates in August’s Democratic primary.
The coalition is comprised of Black, Arab, Muslim and Asian leaders.
“We have to unify this state….we have to unify coalitions….and we have to represent the most vulnerable among us,” U.S. Senate candidate Hill Harper implored the crowd at a rally in front of a statute of Martin Luther King Jr. in downtown Detroit Monday.
Harper, along with 8th Congressional District candidate Pamela Pugh and 13th Congressional District candidate Mary Waters face uphill primary fights.
Along with encouraging minority voters to support Harper, Pugh and Waters, several speakers criticized Michigan Democratic Party leaders for not doing more to recruit and promote minority candidates for federal offices.
“That’s just wrong,” said Warren Evans, Wayne County executive. “I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy. I don’t know what it is. But it’s obvious to me that it’s a problem.”
The Michigan Democratic Party says it does not get involved in primaries.
There is less than a month before the August 6 primary.
Several speakers, including Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani, pointed out that Michiganders can vote absentee now and in-person voting starts at the end of the month.
“It is not the time to scream,” Siblani, “It is the right time to vote.”
