Authentically Detroit
Authentically Detroit is the leading podcast in the city for candid conversations, exchanging progressive ideas, and centering resident perspectives on current events.
Hosted by Donna Givens Davidson and Orlando P. Bailey.
Produced by Sarah Johnson and Engineered by Griffin Hutchings.
Check us out on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @AuthenticallyDetroit!
Authentically Detroit
Detroit’s Hot Takes: Elections, Absences, and Community Safety
On this special Hot Takes only episode, Donna and Orlando sit down for a much needed discussion about some of the hottest headlines in the city.
A routine post‑show photo shouldn’t become a campaign endorsement—and since it did, they had to talk about the cost. Together, they take a candid look at how a political mailer misused their image, why consent and context matter, and what journalistic neutrality protects for the whole community.
Next, they dig into attendance and accountability in Lansing after a Detroit lawmaker missed the vast majority of session days. And finally, they walk listeners through a “protect the vote” petition circulating at store entrances. Although it comes with a friendly pitch, its confusing details and requirements function as voter suppression.
Tune in for a conversation on ethics in media, community safety, voter rights, and what it takes to build trust one honest act at a time.
For more episodes of Authentically Detroit, click here!
Up next, Authentically Detroit presents a special hot takes only episode. Keep it locked. Authentically Detroit starts after these messages. Have you ever dreamed of being on the airwaves? Well, the Authentically Detroit Podcast Network is here to make those dreams come true. Formerly known as the Deep Network and located inside the Stademeyer, the Authentically Detroit Podcast Network are for studio space and production staff to help get your idea off of the ground. Just visit authentically DET.com and send a request through the contact page. Hey y'all, it's Orlando. We just want to let you know that the views and opinions expressed during this podcast episode are those of the co-hosts and guests and not their sponsoring institutions. Now, let's start the show. At the Sodemeyer inside of the East Side Community Network headquarters. I'm Orlando Bailey.
SPEAKER_01:And I'm Donna Givens-Davidson.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you for listening in and supporting our efforts to build a platform of authentic voices for real people in the city of Detroit. We want you to like, rate, and subscribe to our podcast on all platforms. It's just Donna and I in the studio today, so we've decided to catch up and talk about some of the hottest stories in the city. But first, we have to check in and talk about how each other is doing because I haven't seen my friend in a few weeks. Donna, how is this blessed day finding you?
SPEAKER_01:It's good. Good. You know, it's a new week. Um a week ago, I was flying home from my um extended vacation. And you know, I don't really vacation like that. I know. I did this time. I was on a cruise, and that was amazing. I was in Jamaica and the Grand Caymans, and then in Mexico looking at Mayan Ruins. And it was um really, really fascinating. You and Kevin. Kevin and me. And look, I have a new tattoo. Are you for real? Donna got a tattoo. It says Kivana. Okay, so we went on a couple's trips several years ago. Are you tatting anywhere else? No, this is it. That's your first tattoo. That's my first tattoo. It got it on my birthday.
SPEAKER_02:You know, six and some years old. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Oh man. Yeah. Let me see it again.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my God.
SPEAKER_02:Did it hurt?
SPEAKER_01:A little bit. You know, I was really scared because everybody talks about the pain. It was more, it was painful, but you know, I gave birth to three children. So at this point, you know, there's levels to this. Okay, I've had dental surgery. This, it was, it was not too bad.
SPEAKER_02:You got attacked to what does Tivana mean? Kivana. Kivana.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so Kevin and I went on a couple's trip um a few years ago, and we went on the couple's trip. Everybody got a couple's name. And ours was Kivana. Okay. So ever since then, you know, we we do Kivana stuff. So he got one and I got one. We're in the same place. Oh on his eye. That is crazy.
SPEAKER_02:Is he tatted anywhere else? No. Both of y'all got your first tat. That is amazing.
SPEAKER_01:Why not do something fun?
SPEAKER_02:So I don't have to ask if you had a great time. Y'all was out here. Y'all was just out here on vibes. Like, yo, let's get a tat for the first time ever. What did your children say when you got?
SPEAKER_01:Well, they were they they knew we were doing it. It's been in the work. So the bucket list. It was on the work. We were gonna do it before the pandemic, right? We were gonna get tats, and then you know the pandemic happened. I don't want anybody bringing anything near me that might make me sick. Um, but then we got over it and I was like, you know, just kind of cool, something different. Oh, okay. We went on the cruise. Let me tell you something. This little tiny little tat, people had their whole, I was like, this is really crazy. Like everybody was they were doing tattoos on the city.
SPEAKER_02:No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01:We did this in Miami and then we went on the cruise.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01:But on the ship, people were in swimsuits, you know what I mean? Or in t-shirts. Yeah, I mean, I in outside of Detroit, like I think Detroit is a conservative city. Yes, we are. Because outside of Detroit, it was like, we need more so we can fit in. I mean, people had whole sleeves of all ages and races and backgrounds.
SPEAKER_02:It's just the only time I saw that in Detroit was when a whole bunch of non-Detroiters was here at Movement Festival. Because they don't like to wear clothes at movement festival, especially when it's hot.
SPEAKER_01:How can you show off your tattoos with the clothes on? You know what I'm saying? How have you been? Well, I was out there exploring the seven C's, or at least one of them. What have you been doing?
SPEAKER_02:I've been working. My head has been down working. And so we are approaching uh the final quarter in 2025. And for those of us who run organizations, especially nonprofit organizations, that means a couple of things. It means scalar seasons, it means that some foundations are beginning their new fiscal year, so you're trying to get asks in. And of course, the news. There hasn't been a whole lot of news. Uh air quotes I'm joking. And so uh just you know, day to day. I was here last week. Um, you were you you had just flown in. I was here last week. I interviewed uh Chef E um and Missy Mani on the podcast. Favorite people. So great.
SPEAKER_01:She's so amazing. Chef E is so great.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, they're having so again, Chef E is having an event at East Side Community Network inside the Steidelmeyer on October. The something is coming up.
SPEAKER_01:Something.
SPEAKER_02:Uh we'll figure it out. I'll look it up. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But you know, the thing about Chef E is she's also going to be um helping to guide our development of our community kitchen. So I'm really excited about that's amazing. Um, we are building a kitchen upstairs with appliances and all of this kind of stuff so that we can begin preparing our home meals. We are bringing in a part-time kitchen manager to provide the cooking. You know, we provide a lot of food here. And so, you know, in an ideal setting, that part-time could go to full-time if we get outside contracts for the work. Um, but in a time such as this, where people are wondering how are we gonna feed people, where our economy is in free fall, being able to purchase food from local growers and then present it and serve it to people in the community feels like love. And we're gonna have a couple trainees who are actually learning to do this because one thing about the economy, food service will always be part of it, I think. And so um preparing people for that, those roles and just you know, just the loving stuff that happens when you eat and cook and feed and when you come together, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You know what I'm saying? I think it's gonna be on uh October the 20th. Thank you. Authentically Detroit will be broadcasting live from uh the Market Day event. Yeah, and it's gonna be it's called Happy Hour in the Market, October 20th, here at the Steuermeier, beginning at 5:30. So be sure to come out to that.
SPEAKER_01:This is gonna be a busy month. Um it's the kickoff of the Black Detroit Democracy series. I'm really excited about that.
SPEAKER_02:Come through curriculum.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, look, I even have a little book. I brought a copy of the book. Oh, sweet. So um we said it.
SPEAKER_02:She got she got physical uh media, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Physical media um to try to just try to encourage people to understand things. And I have two outstanding guest speakers I'm really excited about. Yeah, the Orlando Bailey, any award-winning Orlando Bailey, is going to talk about the power of narrative. There's power there, there's power there, and I uh, you know, we want to talk about how it's been misused and then how we can take it back.
SPEAKER_02:Let's get into it.
SPEAKER_01:And then um, Jamon Jordan's gonna come on and talk about creating Detroit's historian. Yes, Jamon's historian. And, you know, so both of you are such amazing speakers. I'll be out of town, and I was like, you know, I need to have my amazing friends. I can't talk about Detroit's history as much as I love talking about Detroit's history. There's no, there's only one Jamon Jordan.
SPEAKER_02:There's only one Jamon Jordan. And what a what a great opportunity for you to use your friends.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, absolutely. Well, see, see now see how you you put that. Use your friends.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, use your friends.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean, I you know, I I think it's just an opportunity. So, you know, we put it out there and wanted to see how people would respond. And I think we had 50 seats and we increased it to 60, and we're almost people are signing up. Oh, we have about 58 people signed up. That's amazing, Donna Givens Davidson. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_02:There, you know, um a lot of folks have been uh saying this. Uh now is the time to learn, and now it's the time to read, right? Um, and so this your your class filling up the way it did is indicative of people's desire to learn in this climate. It's a really salient time to do so. It's germane that we do so.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. You know, when I announced that I was gonna be teaching at Columbia, um, people said, Oh, I wish you were teaching that somewhere local. I wish I could come. And so this is the opportunity. It's going to be digital. So we're going to um record the sessions and put them up somewhere so that people can have an opportunity. Because the the point is the knowledge, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And um, you know, when God gives you something, you're supposed to do something more with it than just have it. And so um you're good as a gift if you don't give it. Exactly. And so that that's a word. That is a word.
SPEAKER_02:What good is a gift if you don't give it.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. I love that. And I, you know, I actually that's that's that's really my passion in my life's work is this idea that, you know, to the extent I've been blessed with gifts. Yeah. Um sharing is um something that's enjoyable. You know, I I can't sing or dance, but I do have this knowledge about democracy. God loves your voice. God listen.
SPEAKER_02:He's the only one that loves you.
SPEAKER_01:Listen, when I was a little when I was a little girl, and I was singing happy birthday to my father, and he looked at me and he said, It's a good thing you speak well.
SPEAKER_02:Now, oh man, Dr. Gibbons, they have to play you like that. Jeez, Donovan Gibbons. Okay. Uh, it's time for hot takes where uh rerundown some of the week's top headlines in the city of Detroit. You know, one of the one of the hot takes that I have is that I really am enjoying this weather, right? You know, it's an extended summer. Uh and I have a friend uh and colleague who works for me at Outlier who is, you know, an environmentalist. And she's like, we're we this is a crisis. It should not be like this. We're in the crisis. Let's not put our heads down.
SPEAKER_01:You know, and I'm like, eat the fish and spit the bones, okay?
SPEAKER_02:Listen we got we got until February for when winter's gonna be here for a long time.
SPEAKER_01:And when it comes, and when it comes, people's heating bills are gonna be so unaffordable. Think about the misery people experience. Now, it's not hot like some places like Jamaica was hot. Jamaica was hot, Mexico. Oh my goodness. I had on a hat, almost passed out. I think Kevin sweated about five pounds. He was like soaking wet. So we consider this hot. This is really just warm in the rest of the world.
SPEAKER_02:Extended warmth period.
SPEAKER_01:You know, we can't change, you know, change the things you can. I say that almost every day. Change the things I can. So if it's my outfit because it's a warm day.
SPEAKER_02:Come on, serenity. Uh the prayer of serenity. So uh the first thing that we are going to address is that many of you have received uh mailers from the 13th Congressional Democratic Party organization that is run by uh Jonathan Kenlock, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kenlock. And it is a mailer that uh is uh supporting uh Pastor Solomon Kenlock's run for mayor uh to Donna. And my surprise, a photo was used um of us and Pastor Kenlock on that mailer. Uh, one of the things that um I said in response to it, I'll just read you my response. This happened on September 16th, and we haven't really had uh Donna and I have not been together on the podcast to address this uh jointly. This is what I said on September the 16th. I just found out that a photo from an authentically Detroit podcast interview with Donna Givis Davidson, mayor of candidate Solomon, and me was misused in a political mailer sent out by the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party organization. To be clear, this photo was taken after a podcast conversation, as it has been our custom since we began in 2019. It was not taken for, nor should it be used as a political endorsement. I'm frustrated that our work and presence in community spaces would be repurposed in this way without our knowledge or consent. I want to be up front with my community here. This does not represent my support of any candidate. As a journalist, I feel it my duty to maintain neutrality. I'm working to get to the bottom of how this happened.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. You know, I'm not a journalist. I am I'm your counterpart, but I'm not a journalist. And in this race, I'm not neutral. I was pretty neutral in the primaries because there were a few candidates who brought the requisite qualifications to the table. And I actually, and you know this, was really excited when um Pastor Kenlock first stepped up and said he was going to run for office because I assumed he'd done homework and he was prepared for the job. But the more I heard him speak, I was not really satisfied with what that preparation looked like. And also um when I found out that he planned on, you know, maintaining his position as pastor at the same time he was being mayor. I didn't like that. It doesn't sit well with me. It's it wreaks of conflict of interest, and we already have that at the White House. And I like for the lines to be tight and drawn. And so um I felt that way, but I did not necessarily feel ill-willed. I was irritated he didn't show up at our um debate.
SPEAKER_02:Um but and we talked about that.
SPEAKER_01:And we talked about that, and I felt like he was not honest, and I didn't think there was integrity in the way he pulled out, and quite frankly, that bothered me because if you're breaking campaign promises while you're campaigning, what would you do when you're in office? But this was over the line. This was, I understand it's not coordinated, it's his brother, it's not him. But the reality is that people in the campaign had to know his brother had to get that picture from somebody, and they knew you got it from our pages, our pages, it just where there was context. It felt, it felt, and we've interviewed how many people over these past six years. This has never happened before. Never where any candidate or any person has misused our photographs for those types of purposes, and so it's a violation of trust and honor, and it's not something, it doesn't feel right. There should have been an apology or an acknowledgement, and there was not. Um, and they really should have apologized to you because again, for me, it's this is not my preference for you. It is this is my profession that you're coming out and my credibility, and my credibility. And in speaking to other people in journalism, they also felt like it really um is an attack on the independence of journalism, that journalists are somehow involved in campaigns, and so um, you know, let's assume that nobody really thought about it and they just made a mistake. That's where apologies come in. Um, but instead it's sort of like, well, gotcha. And I it it just completely eroded my trust.
SPEAKER_02:I understand. I understand. I spent uh many hours uh correcting uh people's assumptions of me being a person that wouldn't publicly endorse uh a mayoral candidate.
SPEAKER_01:And you know what really scared me was that we've been doing this for six years.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And that it threatened the continuation of this partnership because you have a professional responsibility where you're paid to do the work. And this is something that you do because it's a gift, right? This is your gift, your giving. And I certainly don't want to be in the position where what we're doing here in any way impacts you in a negative way professionally.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I know.
SPEAKER_01:But that that that felt like, oh my goodness, I was I I have to meet, I went home and told Kevin, I'm scared, baby. I'm scared.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you know, it remains to be seen. I know that, you know, I am I am barred from posing in photos with any uh politicians or political candidates now. But um we live and we learn more to come on that, guys. Listen, um, for hot takes, Detroit Democratic Lawmaker attends just 23% of session days in Lansing. This is by Beth LeBlanc at the Detroit News State rep Karen Witsett, Democrat from Detroit, has been absent from 51 of the 66 House sessions days this year, where attendance was taken, including Thursday's all-night session for the passage of the annual budget. In other words, the fourth-term lawmaker has missed 77% of session days where attendance was taken this year, according to a Detroit News Review of House Journal entries. She was marked excused each time. Witsett told the Detroit News on Friday that on most days, the activities at the Capitol are not worth the cost of traveling to Lansing and making accommodations for the care of her dog. Doggy daycare, Witsett said, is about$36 a day. Here's the quote: What benefit is it for me and my constituents to drive to Lansing for a resolution, a road naming bill, the designation of a state butterfly, said Witsett, who argued she could serve her residents better at home. In the past, when asked about her absences, Witsett also has mentioned some health issues preventing her attendance. Winsett, who is running for a four-year term on the Detroit City Council in District 7 against Progress, Michigan, managing director Denzel McCampbell argued she could have more influence by withholding her vote and waiting for leadership to come to her to bargain. Her vote, Winsett argued, is the only leverage she has to negotiate for Detroiters. Donna, what say you?
SPEAKER_01:Well, um, let's start with issue number one. Um, the only thing worse than her not showing up is her showing up and voting the wrong way. So um, you know, there's no upside to this legislator. I mean, she has negotiated in bad faith. She has misstated her intent and acted like somehow she's some chess player and we are only smart enough to understand checkers. It's like, girl, you're not that deep. Okay. Um, well, I called what she said, I personally called Donald Trump. Isn't that amazing? Because she personally thinks that she has influence over Donald Trump because they both drink the hydroxy, whatever it is, that the the horse tranquilizer, whatever that is, um, that during COVID-19, you know, what what is her claim to fame?
SPEAKER_02:At one point last week, Witsett says she called the White House to seek their intervention in securing state and federal grants for her district. Witsett met with President Donald Trump during the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020 when she touted the effects of hydrochlorine, hydro hydroxychlorine, chloroquine, chloroquine. Yes. Hydroxychloroquine beside the president in the White House.
SPEAKER_01:You know, and the thing about this is promoting that at a time when science was under attack, like it is now, is more than just a bad idea. But she also is a person who voted to say that she did not think that low-income women should be able to use Medicaid for abortions, they should find money some other way because we had to help seniors out. Um, and she always finds a way to justify what she's doing. Um, so I'm not surprised by it. I'm disappointed in who she is as a um politician. Now, she might be a very nice person in her personal life, although I'm sorry, but those aren't my kind of people.
SPEAKER_02:But the fact is that if you miss 77% of if you don't show up to work 77% of the time, you you're not keeping that job.
SPEAKER_01:You are violating the trust of people who already don't believe that democracy works for them. You are the basis for us forming the Black Detroit Democracy Project. So then, yes, Jay, I'm cruising Facebook, and this person is a real political post. You know, if your idea to support your candidates is negative campaigning against somebody else, that's really negative and that's not helpful. That's how Trump won because people felt sorry for him. Number one, that's such a sophomoric explanation for why the racist in chief became president of the United States. Oh, wow. It's like, are you really serious about that? Number two, speaking truth about somebody's record is not negative campaigning. Talking about who she dates or doesn't date, her foot size or her personal life might be negative campaigning. But some of the same people who are attacking, absolutely attacking the Detroit News and Denzel McCampbell for negative campaigning are very comfortable with all of the negative campaigning against Mary Sheffield, who's also running for office. So the hypocrisy and the lack of accountability is just um stunning to me. Um political accountability matters. If you are elected into a role, if you have any kind of role, you're expected to do your job. Some of us are working too hard to watch people make excuses.
SPEAKER_02:And she's running for the city, the open seat in um District 7 uh for a city council.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, exactly. She's running against Denzel McCampbell, who I'm on record supporting. Yes, I support Denzel McCampbell, not just because Denzel McCampbell is running against her, but because I really support who he is as a person and as a politician. And to me, there shouldn't be any daylight between the two. If you're a good person, then that's carried out in your professional roles, and vice versa.
SPEAKER_02:So um we invited um Representative Whitsett to sit with us.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we invited her.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:We invited her. I I think if she doesn't know how I feel about her, um, then she obviously doesn't invite well, she should. I don't know if she should. I'll be honest with you. I mean, sure, she's open to come on, and if she wants to come on and make her case, we're in the middle of the city. We're in the middle of a candidate series. We're in the middle of a candidate series, but she and every other city council person received an invite. We used the um information that was registered with every other candidate. Thank you. Every other candidate um was invited to come on, and we used their information from the Wayne County, you know, uh clerk. And so if she didn't show up and she did not respond, that's on her. I'm not going to make an extra effort, however, because the reality is that um I'm too upset about what she's done. Um, I'm too upset about her voting with Republicans. I'm too upset with her shutting down the recess um session for the House last year and then justifying it by based on I didn't have enough time to read the bills. And now what she's doing is she's saying, hey, the reason that I held up my vote and what I'm trying to negotiate are the very things that she did not let happen last December. And so, you know, there's just no integrity there and it's very emotional for me. But um, because you're a journalist and because this is supposed to be fair, I will definitely be willing to sit down and have a conversation with her and maybe she can make a case for all of this.
SPEAKER_02:We'd love to have her on, but uh, we have another story involving um Karen Witsett's absence, but we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. Stay tuned. Detroit 1 million is a journalism project started by Sam Robinson that centers a generation of Michiganders growing up in a state without a city with 1 million people. Support the only independent reporter covering the 2025 Detroit mayoral race through the lens of young people. Good journalism costs. Visit Detroit1 Million.com to support black independent reporting. Welcome back to Authentically Detroit, where Donna and I are doing a special episode with just the two of us, a special hot takes episode. So uh Witsett's absence felt at the District 7 candidate forum. So there is a candidate forum. This is by your partner in the Black Detroit Democracy podcast, uh, Sam Robinson. Um, state rep Karen Woodsett wasn't present at a candidate forum last week, but it didn't stop the candidates, moderators, or members of the audience from calling out her support of conservatives. Candidates running for city council and board of police commissioners spoke about what they would do if elected at the Levon and Sheffield Bridge Center Library on Grand River last week for a community forum targeting voters on Detroit's West Side within District 7. Write-in candidate McClendon Starks made his pitch to voters, outlining a community-centered vision for the seat, while Board of Police Commissioner candidate Victoria Camille highlighted her commitment to civilian oversight. At-large, candidate James Harris talked about the need for fresh leadership on the nine-member body, contrasting himself from his opponents, Mary Waters, Comey on the second, and Janae Ayers, saying he's not just a well-known name. District 7 candidate Denzel McCampbell, who faces Whitsett in the general election after finishing above her by a few dozen votes during Detroit's August 5th primary election, wasn't the first to criticize the controversial state representative. Um, so exactly, you know, Donna, my question is how have you observed uh the District 7 campaign from both sides? Like, how is Denzel campaigning? Are we seeing um Karen Witsett campaign?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I'm I'm just I'm in District 5. I have been to a District 7 event where they invited people to go out and canvas and do door knocking. And of course, Denzel is always leading the pack in door knocking because he's the kind of candidate who will show up, even um, he works very hard towards that end. So I have to, you know, just kudos to him. And there's a group of people who are progressive and really trying to bring about progressive change in Detroit who were part of that. Um I think with uh Karen Woodsett, the way it's being described is she she supported conservatives, right? I don't like conservative politics, right? But that's not what she's doing. She's supporting MAGA white supremacy racists who are trying to dismantle institutions that help the people in the city of Detroit. This is not even John Ingler's Republican Party. This is not Ronald Reagan's Republican Party. This is a party that is seeking to shut down all of the institutions that we care about, and they are they're they're you know extremely radical. So the fact that we were able to pass a budget bill is amazing to me because I didn't think that was going to happen. Now, it's not the bill we wanted, but we have to fund government, and we were able to fund government.
SPEAKER_02:Um fund a government and fund it's a big roads package in there, too.
SPEAKER_01:There is a big roads package, and you know, I think that the Republican um legislators were able to side with the governor and say this is a priority. Um, there are some concerns that people have about the upcoming marijuana tax and whether or not that's going to impact the marijuana industry. It's a big increase. On the other hand, marijuana prices have been falling so quickly in the city of Detroit that I don't know if those price decreases will be offset because I've been also reading news articles about that. So I think there is a lot of hysteria around that. I don't know that people are going to stop going to dispensaries because they're paying 24% tax, but maybe they will. I think that the questions that people have about the school aid fund and revenue sharing are legitimate questions that need to be asked, but you have to understand that this is Donald Trump's party controlling the um Michigan House, and they could have held out um even longer than they did. So I don't really blame them for um for reaching a compromise. Um, what I blame her for is pretending that she was playing chess and she was going to deliver these folks. And when it came time to vote for the actual bill that was agreed to, she was at home watching her dog. Okay. Um so, and and the the even the fact, I mean, let's say I was missing these things. I have a better excuse. My dog doggy daycare is$20,$36 each time because it's offensive, it's dismissive of the real need. And then her suggestion that, well, my voters don't need me there, renaming roles. She is minimizing the role of the legislative process and legislative branch of government by saying these things. And I actually saw somebody respond and say, well, maybe she. She's got a point. Maybe we don't need full-time um legislators. Maybe we do need, you know, let's let's listen to her and understand her point of view. Um, but it's very self-serving to me. And I do feel as though we're under attack in so many ways. Um, to the point where I can't even really watch the national news anymore without becoming, you know, depressed.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And so I can't seem to look away. Oh my goodness. I can't look away.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I mean, you are a journalist, right? I'm blessed with, I just am hyper focused on Detroit because I feel as though Detroit, there's enough that we can do and should be doing here and focused on that. Um, and you know, I'm involved in some statewide stuff as well, but DC is so overwhelming for me. It is like a nightmare.
SPEAKER_02:It is. Yeah, it's like a reality show. Uh I don't know if you watched this over the summer or heard of it. Love Island. I ended up getting hooked on it, but I was so mad that I was hooked on it, but I couldn't. I had to finish it. And now that I'm done, I'm never going back to it. That's what it's like uh reading and watching and listening to um uh national news right now.
SPEAKER_01:There's just something about that Virgo personality that once you start something, you have to finish it. I have to finish it. I was terrible.
SPEAKER_02:Television island. It was so, I'm like, it's so, so bad. Uh but anyway, um, before we do the uh the last story, one of the things that I wanted that just suck my heart, and we typically don't do uh blood and gory on authentically Detroit. But uh this morning uh there was a situation um on Detroit's west side involving uh two teenagers on their way to school. They got into an altercation um at a gas station. Um and soon thereafter there was a Lincoln SUV that fired about 28 to 38 shots. Uh originally the uh Detroit police said both of the teens were uh had succumbed to their injuries, uh, but one of the teens is in critical condition and the other teen has passed away. And uh this just just sort of hit me um we about our babies um and what what what is happening and uh what what we're gonna do about it, right? Um and I want to give a nod and a shot. And you know, coincidentally, this was happening the same day that the mayor was planning a press conference and delivered a press conference on how much crime has fallen, how homicides have been down, um with the usage of uh, you know, CVI, community violence.
SPEAKER_01:Well, did he did he did he attribute it to CVI?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, the presser said that. Now I didn't get to go to the presser or watch the pressure. I'm glad to hear that. In in the uh actual release, they talked about some of the CVI strategies being one of the main reasons why crime is down. Now, one of the things that, you know, that's always in the back of my mind is because I can't look away from national news, is you know, the the military occupation of cities right now, um, be it DC, be it LA, back some months ago, Chicago, uh a federal judge just blocked uh President Trump's attempt to send uh troops uh to Portland. Uh but you know, they're down the street at our sister city, Chicago.
SPEAKER_01:Oregon troops to Portland. Now he's saying he's gonna I thought it was California. California, you're right. Yeah. Um which is horrific.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, and my my my my reason in bringing this up is that all I feel like all the administration needs is a headline like this to say and justify, right? This was also floated by Vice President J.D. Vance when he was at a rally in freaking Livingston County.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean, they don't need headlines, they make up news anyway. They have crime waves that are just all in their imagination. Meanwhile, you have the judge in um South Carolina whose house was um firebombed yesterday. Her husband got out, her child had uh had to jump out of a window. She was running on the beach at the time. And this is a judge who ruled against him. Um she ruled against something. I'm trying to remember what it was.
SPEAKER_02:She stopped him from doing something. And in turn, someone put all of her personal information all over the end.
SPEAKER_01:And they called for violence. I mean, they this is not, and so while they are accusing people in cities of violence, you're seeing this rampant violence by members of the military too. Um, um, retired military people who are obviously traumatized and being manipulated by all of this press stuff, have gone crazy. And so um it's it's but it's devastating. Let's talk about the the west side of Detroit. We have a young person who works for us who was actually a teen here, and now she's employed here. Oh, wow. And one of the people who was killed was her friend.
SPEAKER_02:Oh no.
SPEAKER_01:And so she's devastated. And um, and my heart goes out to her because one murder is too many when it's somebody you love. Absolutely. And, you know, even despite the life the the types of crimes that have happened this year have been really scary. Little kids being killed by bullets in parks. Um, it makes you afraid to do things, you know. And as a grandmother, um just thinking about my grandchildren being in a public space, believing they're safe, and our parks are not as safe as they were. So I think numbers matter, but I think that there is this unaddressed level of violence and trauma in our community that needs to be addressed. And so if I could do anything with CVI, make it bigger and more widespread, and you know, starting to expand it. It greatly expand it. Um, because what ends up happening is you end up giving peanuts to CVI and then a whole lot of money to police departments. And policing does not prevent violence among traumatized people in conflict with each other. What policing does is it holds the people, theoretically holds the people accountable for what they did. But um, you know, that's a whole nother story. I should thank you for bringing that up.
SPEAKER_02:Um and um our hearts go out to the families in France that are affected by this tragedy. For hot takes, people collecting signatures for voter fraud ballot initiative. So you and Sam Robinson were approached at different times by folks pushing this initiative. Donna, tell us about it because I haven't heard about it.
SPEAKER_01:You know, they say anybody can do anything. So here I am on a Friday at Rivertown Market purchasing something for dinner. And as I'm walking up, there's a guy standing there with petitions. And so I'm thinking, well, it must be one of our petitions, Invest in My Kids, or something like that. And he's got these people gathered around him, and I'm looking at it, and I'm like, wait a minute, this is going to make it harder for people to vote. And so the people he was talking to that say, I thought so, and they just walked away. So he tells me, Well, you don't understand what's in it, you know. And I could think he's accusing, yes, I'm I'm I'm not smart enough to understand. And so he's like, Read all of this, take a picture of this, and he flashes it by me, but he doesn't really show it to me. Um, and there's rules around gathering signatures, right? One of the rules being that you either tell people what they're signing or you let them read it for themselves. He didn't either. And it bothered me that he was misrepresenting this. Um and so, of course, you know, when you gather signatures on petitions, you're either paid or you're volunteer. So I knew he was paid. And I said, So you're paid to do this. He says, Yes, I'm paid to do this, because of course he's proud that this is an employment for him. Um, some states have made it illegal for people to be paid to do that. That um, you know, in reality, there's a difference between somebody who's gathering signatures because they really care about a cause and somebody who's just doing it for the money. But this very he's an attractive young man, friendly looking, nicely dressed. He looks like people's grandsons. And so people just trusted him. And one of the people who signed the petition, I found out after the fact that somebody I know pretty well, and somebody I know to be a person of conscience and good faith, but she's elderly. And you know, when you get become elderly, do you want to read all that? And she's I just didn't feel really feel like reading all that, so I just signed it. And, you know, and I was explaining to her with this petition, what they're trying to do, they call it to protecting Michigan votes, and they call it a secure the ballot in the past. What they want to have happen is for people to not just use driver's licenses and state ID cards to vote. They want you to also bring evidence that you're a citizen. And according to this um president, you the the citizenship has to be proven via a passport or a um certified birth certificate. If it's a certified birth certificate, it must be in your current name, the name on your photo ID. If it's not, then you have to bring court evidence that your name was legally changed. So, for example, for me, that evidence might be my marriage certificate, and you have to bring an original for that. If not, you go on a provisional ballot. This is what they are.
SPEAKER_02:They want partial social security numbers when registering to vote.
SPEAKER_01:They what they want is damaging. What they want, this is a textbook voter suppression. It is saying we want elites to vote. Because guess who's most likely to have a passport in this nation? Elite people. Poor folks don't even have driver's licenses a lot of times. We're trying to get them a Detroit ID so they can vote and do things. And here you have people coming into the city of Detroit and selling this to Detroiters, um, saying this is gonna make it easier for you to vote, and this is gonna protect your vote. It's upsetting. So did I act a fool? It's possible I did. I think he was telling people I was crazy and he was running away from me because anytime he walked up to anybody, I was because I would spit, I would say, this is this is what this is. And he says, You're not being nice. No, sir, I'm not. It is not my responsibility to be nice to you. It is my responsibility to protect people in this community from people like you.
SPEAKER_02:Y'all forget that Donna is a legit community organizer and advocate. So that, you know, community organizing one-on-one, get the word out, right? No, this is wrong. This is Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_01:I just I was losing it. I called Kevin. I said, baby, I'm losing it right here. No, really, I was that upset because it it's one thing to know what's happening, and it's another thing to see people being fooled, and it's another thing yet to see somebody that you know and care about sign and then feel ashamed that she signed it. And, you know, and you're not sure.
SPEAKER_02:And this mission has come so far in terms of really democratizing the act of voting. I mean, you I remember a time where we had to uh give an excuse as to why we wanted to vote absentee, right? You had to have like a legitimate excuse now. If you want an absentee ballot, you can have it. Um, if you want to vote early, you can do that. Um there, you know, it we have made it uh so much easier um to vote in Michigan. And I think that is that is always a plus. This feels like uh a playbook from the Trumpian um playbook around uh what happened here in the city of Detroit in 2020. Um what happened again in 2024. He comes after, he specifically comes after the city of Detroit uh when he, you know, when he loses the city.
SPEAKER_01:He does, but you know what? I have this to say. Before Trump says anything, Detroit's come after the city of Detroit. There is a Solomon Kenlock supporter who was on Facebook saying, well, you know what, Kenlock is doing really well, but you know who's counting the votes, so you know that can't be trusted. And I have to say back up. Number one, Daniel Baxter is counting the votes. And number two, the elder at Triumph Church.
SPEAKER_02:And Daniel Baxter is one of the most committed and integral public servants I've ever worked with as a journalist. When I'm when I when we were doing primary election night, uh Daniel Baxter and the deputy clerk, Andre Gilbert, were sending me numbers in real time. In real time.
SPEAKER_01:He takes so much pride in what he does. So much pride. And he does so many great things. He's a man of great integrity. Um, I'm excited to say he's coming on to the ECM Board of Directors. Because he also is the founder of the ASIN Sweet Um Foundation, where they're giving out scholarships and he's helping to elevate the knowledge and history of Dr. ASIN Sweet, um, whose home he grew up in, you know, former home he grew up in. Um, but yeah, listen, what you're saying, because if you attack election integrity in Detroit, then you are actually giving talking points to those people who think our votes should not count. All of these rumors, people say, well, there's no way Mike Duggan could have won because 40% of Detroit is illiterate and they couldn't have spelled his name. And so I started having some comebacks to that in my head. Number one, that 40% illiteracy is not scientific. It's never been proven. It's a number somebody threw out, and they've been using that term for decades. And we need to hold people accountable for that. The idea that 40% of Detroiters cannot spell D-U-G-G-A-N is ridiculous. Number one. Number two, he had a campaign where he told people how to spell his name. And number three, the people who vote are the most educated and wealthiest people in Detroit. And so the idea that Detroit does not have enough. The electorate voted for him. The electorate voted for him.
SPEAKER_00:Come on.
SPEAKER_01:The people who show up, maybe there was a 12 to 15%, you know, voter turnout at that point. And the reality is those are the people who are most likely to have high higher high school educations and above, many of them college and professionals. So this idea that the traitors are too scary.
SPEAKER_02:You can look at the exit post to see where these folks are coming from and where they live.
SPEAKER_01:Right, but it's it's one of those urban myths that has taken hold. And I get it because some people don't like who Mike Duggan is. But the idea that Janice Winfrey went in a room and just counted votes and gave Mike Duggan votes, I think it's insulting to the democratic process and to the fact that black people have had self-rule. If you spread and propagate these rumors, then what you are doing is justifying the seizing of our self-rule. And I don't believe that. I don't necessarily agree with everything that the clerk has done. There's a whole lot of things like, okay, you move polling station.
SPEAKER_02:We've been honest about that here on this podcast.
SPEAKER_01:Right. But that does not mean that she is a fraudulent, fraudulently doing the votes. I remember when she had to, you know, go to Lansing and explain in Lansing to the Board of Canvassers that this is the process. And to know that you don't have so many people consider themselves social justice warriors behind you because they didn't like a voting outcome. If you don't like the outcome, then you have to figure out how to get the people who wanted something different to the polls. And by the way, it's not voter registration, but then some of the same people turn around and they attack young people. And this is the reason for the Black Detroit Democracy series. Because we've got to get serious about this stuff. We can't keep on perpetuating rumors and urban myths and think it's harmless. It's not. It is absolutely harmful to attack our voting process. If you don't have proof other than you don't think Detroit residents are smart enough to smell to spell Duggan, that's not proof. Okay. And that should never be used to justify condemning or invalidating votes before they happen. But the irony that she's saying this, and I have to tell her who Daniel Baxter is. And by the way, he's an elder at Triumph Church. You really think this is a man who, as an elder of Triumph Church, is doing that? I would like to believe that, like you, he is maintaining his professional neutrality because he understands the importance of his role, but it's just wrong.
SPEAKER_02:It is. More to come on all of this, guys. If you have topics that you want to discuss on Authentically Detroit, you can hit us up on our socials at Authentically Detroit on Facebook, Instagram, and X, or you can email us at authentically Detroit at gmail.com. All right, it's time for shout-ups. Let's start with you, Donnie. You have any shout-outs? Shout out to those Detroit Lions.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, and go blue. Go blue. It was a good football weekend for me. Um, my fantasy football ticket is like the worst of the worst. I have lost all but one competition in fantasy football. But, you know, it's just fun to do it. You know, I'm just here for the vibes. But no, it was a great Lions game. Um, I I have so many Lions players on my fantasy football ticket. It's like, I'm not sure that's how you're supposed to do it. Um, so anyway, but no, shout out to them. And I want to shout out um a colleague who came at a time where we're trying to rebuild and strengthen the Starter Myer Wellness Hub. And that's Rose Dotti. Rose has done such a great job. And she started the day before I went on my second honeymoon. It was great. She started the day before then.
SPEAKER_02:And when I came back to start somebody new when she's getting ready to go.
SPEAKER_01:When I came back, she had written um, you know, policies and procedures and a whole game plan. Nice. And she had come up with so many thoughtful ideas. I was like, you know, we are so blessed to have you. Um, but also Rose um lost her sister last week. Oh so my condolences to the entire Dottie family.
SPEAKER_02:I had no idea.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, she she left in crisis, as of course she would be because she lost her sister. And she's already back here. And she's already back. I mean, she said she was gonna come back on Friday, and it's like, girl, you don't have to come right back. But she was here today, and so she's here on an interim capacity while we restructure and rebuild and prepare us for our$10 million campaign.
SPEAKER_02:All right. Well, that's gonna do it for this episode of Authentically Detroit. We thank you so much for listening and remember to love on your neighbor.
