BridgeDetroit: Recent Episodes
The BridgeDetroit Newsroom
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Shri Thanedar moved to Detroit just two years ago and was immediately elected to represent the city in the Michigan Legislature. He beat nine African American candidates in the 2022 congressional race and broke a near 70-year streak of Detroit’s Black representation in Washington. He says his background - and the connection he feels with Detroiters - will make him a strong advocate for the city’s residents.
Rashida Tlaib grew up in Detroit, and policy-wise, probably embodies Black Detroit politics more than any other elected official. But she's not African American. She's Palestinian, and Muslim. And she is one of two people who represent Detroit in Congress. She explains what Black representation means to her, and how it influences her work.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans - Detroit’s top ranking Black public official-saw the likely difficulty electing a Black candidate in the districts drawn to represent Detroit in 2022, and tried to unify advocates behind a consensus candidate who would be strongest.
He failed, and in this episode, talks about why, and what it means for Black representation.
Since the late 1970s, Detroiters have had a particular preference for sending Black womenfolk to represent them in Congress. Portia Roberson, CEO of FOCUS:HOPE and a former Obama administration official, hoped to be the next, but placed third in the 2022 Democratic primary. She explains why she ran, and what the loss means.
After nearly 70 years of sending at least one African American to Congress, Detroit fails to elect any nine Black candidates who run for an open seat in 2022. A look at how it happened, and a conversation with State Sen. Adam Hollier, the Black candidate who came closest to winning, about why black representation matters.
**How the Blackest City in America Wound up without Black Representation in Congress
Featured Guests:
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib
Newly Elected Congressman Shri Thanedar
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans
Former Congressional Candidate Portia Roberson
Former Congressional Candidate Adam Hollier
Former Congressional Candidate Martell Bivings**