2026 Michigan Democratic Party Convention Recap

In this episode, Donna and Sam recap some of the top headlines from the weekend’s Michigan Democratic Party Convention! 

Many celebrated over the weekend as Michigan progressives scored key victories. Michigan Democrats say they are closer together ahead of the midterm elections, despite the existing divisions within the party over foreign wars and corporate power.

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit secured nominations for Secretary of State and Attorney General at the endorsement convention.

However, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Jordan Acker were booed by party delegates on Sunday. The outbursts illustrated the major divide between Democrats as leaders attempt to unite ahead of the 2026 midterms. 

Acker was ultimately ousted by civil rights attorney Amir Makled as nominee for the University of Michigan Board of Regents while Stevens will face Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate Primary in August. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, Detroit? Welcome to another episode of Authentically Detroit, broadcasting live from Detroit's East Side at the Stodemeyer, inside of the East Side Community Network. I'm Sam Robinson.

Donna Givens Davidson 0:10

I'm Donovan Gibbons Davidson.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

We want to thank you so much 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. Today, Monday, April 20th, we're going to be breaking down what I saw, what we saw. Donna, I did see you there at the Michigan Democratic Party Convention on Sunday. It was quite the event. Progressives scored big. They had major victories. Some were unexpected. We're going to talk about that and more right when we come back. Keep it locked. Authentically Detroit starts right after these messages.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

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SPEAKER_00 1:54

Today we're going to run down some of this weekend's top headlines from the Michigan Democratic Party Convention. Donna, I saw you there on Sunday. And Saturday. What did you make of this weekend's convention?

Donna Givens Davidson 2:08

Well, uh let me just say this. Um, I graduated from high school in 1981, and Ronald Reagan had just become president. And my peers are trying to figure out how to accommodate themselves and how to. This is where the term buppy came in, right? So I'm like a buppy generation, black, upwardly mobile professional, this whole construct. And I used to think I was born in the wrong generation. I should have been born. My older sister was born in 1955, and she was there during all of the protests and there during all of the fighting. And so I felt miscast or misplaced during most of my life politically. And this weekend I felt at home. I was like, wow, I have it's come full circle. People are actually coming and demanding justice in ways I've not seen in my lifetime, or since I've been an adult for so for sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

People told me that uh Sunday's election results understand that in Michigan, political parties are their delegates, their members are the ones selecting candidates for attorney general, secretary of state. Those nominees come from party members, not voters. I did hear from some uh candidates and lawmakers who are like, man, this is voting process is taking so long. This is another example of why we need to just change Michigan law and let voters uh choose in a in a primary like they do the governor or other statewide positions.

Donna Givens Davidson 3:41

I mean, you know, you have a secretary of state who was selected on the first ballot, you have an attorney general who was selected on the first ballot. People expected that that might go on for multiple um times, and it didn't happen. So, really, what you're seeing is that the Democratic establishment losing power because other people decided we're gonna be Democrats, we're gonna sign up, we're gonna show up, and we're gonna make demands. Um, power concedes nothing without a demand, and that's what you're seeing is the demand from mostly young andor progressive voters because there are people my age who also have felt displaced politically forever. Um, you're seeing people come together around justice issues in ways, again, that I've not seen since I've been a voting age adult. And it was fantastic, in my view. Um, I like to see the energy. The reality is young people should be steering this country. Um, there was a time when people are still remembering the days of Camelot when JFK was the youngest presidential candidate ever. And that was good when they were young. But now that they're no young longer young, all of a sudden we need more wisdom and you need to understand how things are done, or um you need to understand that fat meat is greasy and other kinds of old-fashioned country adages that don't really have anything to do with justice, with the fact that there are many people who are deeply concerned about the United States funding genocide, deeply concerned about that war expanding to Lebanon and Iran, and there's no end in sight, and deeply concerned that we are spending so much doing this that we don't have enough money to house our own people to feed people well. We're worried about health insurance, and people like me who run nonprofits are really trying to figure out how are we going to pay our bills because so much money is being wasted or misused. It's not wasted, it's misused doing hateful things, that there's not enough money to do good things.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Yeah, to level set this weekend, Michigan Democrats nominated. They use the language endorsed. You guys, when you read uh the Detroit News Free Press or even me on Michigan Chronicle, you'll see the phrase endorsement convention. That's just the language that they use to uh say that this is the candidate or the nominee that we pick uh to run against Republicans in the November general election. Um Democrats picked Garland Gilchrest, he's the our lieutenant governor currently. He was running for governor and then dropped his bid for governor after it sort of became clear that Jocelyn Benson, the current Secretary of State, would be the front runner, and she's the uh fundraising uh leader right now in that race against Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. There were a number of Secretary of State candidates that dropped out once Scarlin got in. He on stage shouted out a Gogo Adev BA, shouted out Adam Ollier and his two uh opponents on Sunday, Bar Byrum. She is a former state representative and the current Ingham County clerk. Susanna Skrelly is a former assistant prosecutor in McComb County. She is a Whitmer appointed lottery commissioner. She was the lottery commissioner. Um Susanna Skrelly spent a ton of money to put her face and name on billboards, literature, and really to activate staff, right? She had a ton of staff people uh you know pushing me uh to to interview her throughout this uh leading up to the primary. Yeah, I talked to her on the phone a couple times. I I caught her briefly at the convention, but we weren't able to um sit down in person. Um it was really interesting because Susanna, it did feel like could have won the the election. She had a ton of people at the convention on Saturday and Sunday. They all wore orange shirts, sort of similarly to the BJ Al Williams, Al BJ Williams thing last year at the convention. The undercurrent playing out was that Susanna had a number of people who, you know, for lack of a better phrase, have beefs with Lieutenant Governor Garland Gilchrist for whatever. We know that the relationship between Governor Whitmer and Garland Gilchrist is just not what it was when he was selected as her LG pick. Um but perhaps even more exciting and surprising for delegates was the fact that Karen McDonald, the labor-backed uh Oakland County prosecutor, who is the first prosecutor in the United States to successfully uh persecute the parents of a mass shooter. She was defeated by progressive Washtenaw County prosecutor Ellie Savott. No, not Eli. L E L I, that spells Ellie Savott. He was backed by Rashida Talib and a number of progressives from Ann Arbor, Washnaw County. When Stephanie Young, Senator Young was the convention chair, she was sort of like the MC during the event this weekend. When she announced that Ellie Savitt had secured the endorsement nomination, there were tears from supporters of Ellie Savott. I caught up with Ellie Savitt immediately after the um on stage remarks that he gave, sort of the victory speech with his supporters standing behind him. He told me that it wasn't a surprise, right? Uh he he he said that they were really confident going in, and you really wonder. Um McDonald had the support of establishment Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, who, when I asked her what she thought of Sunday's convention, she threw her hands up and said, nothing. I got nothing for you. Um it was at that moment uh very clear to everyone in the room that Jordan Acker, the controversial University of Michigan regent, who, according to reporting from The Guardian, that's Tom Perkins, uh sort of collaborated with Dana Esle to bring charges upon the student encampment protesters. Acker was ousted by the attorney that defended the student protesters, Amir Mukled. And after Savot won, I I kind of I'll tell you that it's it felt like it was inevitable, right? Progressives delivered a clean sweep at the convention on Sunday. Sylvia Santana didn't win her her race for Michigan State Board of Trustees, but certainly where there were progressives um in other races that they all won.

Donna Givens Davidson 10:50

Yeah. Let me say this about Garland. First of all, it's really hard to dislike Garland. Garland is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. And I think his nice demeanor belies a very intense and passionate value system instead of ethics. Um, I think that you might think you're bringing him in as lieutenant governor to um, you know, toe the party line, but he has opinions of opinions of his own, and he started sharing some of those opinions as he was running for governor at first.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Yeah, it turned a lot of people away.

Donna Givens Davidson 11:21

It turned me on. Oh, that sounds wrong.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

You got excited that he was starting to say that stuff.

Donna Givens Davidson 11:28

Kevin, okay, I didn't mean it like that, baby. Okay. No, it it really got me excited. Wait a minute, I'm not making it better. Um I really appreciated. I you know, this is not at all meant in that way, but I really appreciate him coming out and saying things like that. It felt good to have a political figure at that level really speak about justice, about um so many things that I think some of us in the trenches have felt needed to be spoken. And so he inevitably distanced himself, and I think he did that on purpose. He doesn't need the governor's approval to run for secretary of state. Um, I saw him on Thursday because he comes, you know, he showed up a few days before the convention, he showed up to support us during the ribbon cutting um for the Angela Brown Wilson Gardens, and he spoke very passionately about the need for that. And I said to him, you know, I'm crossing my fingers. He says, we won't need that. And I was like, okay. And so I really was, he was so confident like Ellie, and thank you for correcting me because I definitely was gonna say Eli. Um, he was confident like Ellie, and I think that's because they organized the ground game. The ground game is how you win, and nobody expected the ground game to show up at the convention, the grassroots to show up at the convention and students to take control. Students, so you understand that strategy. You know who else won with students? Barack Obama. That's how he became president. He would not have been president if not for students. And here's the interesting thing to me. Um, you and I both saw um Corey Booker, Senator Corey Booker. Um, I learned some new things. Like I did not know that his family had roots in Detroit. That was fascinating. In the North End. I used to work in the North End. Um, his parents went to Northern High School, and he was a great he has a fiery and great speaker. I don't think anybody in that room could disagree with that. But um where was I going with this? Oh my goodness. I was going to say something that was going to be relevant about the convention and um and young voters. Oh, I know what it was. He talked about people and how um vice president Kamala Harris did not win. Um and he kind of attributed to people disliking about 10% of the things that she stood for and um liking 90% of the things. And the suggestion was that look, Donald Trump isn't supporting 100% of the things that you support. But I look at this, I look at politics differently. I look at politics like if you want to get what Obama got, because you are a black woman in America, you are not going to be given the presumption of the benefit of the doubt. You know that showing up to the table, at least I know when I show up at the table, I'm not gonna be given the benefit of the doubt. I'm always going to have to try harder and do more to win respect from people, right? When Obama won, he won with the youth vote. And there was one thing the youth vote demanded in 2024, and that was we need to do something about Gaza. We need to do something about genocide. And thinking I'm gonna get Obama results without doing Obama work, and that is figuring out a way to connect with youth, um, is unrealistic. I think yesterday, which we saw in New York last year, what we saw in Detroit this year, is that when people do the work and connect with youth, young people will vote and they have power. And that was the biggest demonstration of youth power I've seen in Michigan politics, again, since I've been, you know, other than Obama.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

Obama was uh during that 2007-8 campaign actively opposing the war in Iraq.

unknown 15:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

And so, you know, when Tehanasi Coates writes, if you can't draw the line at genocide, you probably can't draw the line on democracy. It makes me, you know, it makes me think about the conversations that I've had with younger Democrats today, like uh yesterday, like Tony DiMaglio or Jessica Overa. They're members of the Michigan Democratic Party Progressive Caucus. They told me that their own caucus went further left in the most recent caucus election that happened in February 2025. He told me, uh DeMaglio did, that it was mainly the student movement from Wayne State that propelled his victory. Uh University of Michigan and Michigan State students came together and said if we have any hope of changing how the party thinks and allowing the party to recognize our voices, we need to take some sort of structural power. Uh he told me that one of the avenues they saw to do that was the progressive caucus. He told me that he thinks there's a divergence of what progressive means to different people. There are some people who view themselves as progressives on many social issues, but there are additional axes, he says. One of those axes is whether you're complicit in US imperialism or you stand against it. And again, I remember uh pro-Israel Democrats telling me in November, December of twenty twenty three, after the Hamas attacks on the music festival in Israel, that this issue of the rights of Palestinians who to all observational reporting and neutral observers, they're persecuted. They live in an apartheid state. Um that issue isn't going anywhere, and it's only growing in the United States among younger members of the Democratic Party, people who find themselves on the left, as well as people who find themselves on the right at the Republican state convention in Michigan last month. There were several delegates that wore shirts decrying Israel. There's a guy that had a shirt that said, Israel can't buy me. You know, a young a young Republican conservative.

Donna Givens Davidson 17:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

And so, you know, the issue isn't going anywhere.

Donna Givens Davidson 17:54

No, it's not. I think the problem that people don't understand is the problem is states. States are usually bad, okay? When you have people who have amassed power to control pieces of land and exercise control over people, there's things that states do that are not moral, if we're going to be really honest. If you look at the existence of borders, what do borders, why do we even have borders? Borders exist. I mean, this land before it was conquered, and before you had um European, you know, control, colonialism, imperialism on on these borders, you didn't, I mean, on this land, you didn't have borders. You didn't have a United States and a Canada and a Mexico. You just had people living on the land. And most of the people who lived on the land moved from place to place. People were somewhat nomadic in those days, from what I understand about the culture. But when you establish a state, a state is somebody drawing lines around the land and saying, This is mine, and I will do what I need to protect and defend and have assets inside of the state. So when people criticize Israel, they're not criticizing Israel as a religion. They're criticizing Israel as a state, as a settler colony that was established to displace people. And they say, well, there was no Palestine prior to us coming here. And I don't know enough about the history to argue back and forth. I mean, what I've read, but here's the thing: if there was not a Palestine, then there was not a state. There was people living on the land who had control over whatever piece of land. So you impose a state over a parcel of land that you say did not exist as Palestine, and you don't understand that that itself is the problem. I don't want to get too abstract, but I think what I'm saying is we've got to get past this idea that supporting a state that bombs people and has this mindset that if you do one thing to me, I'm gonna do 20 things to you to keep you at bay can be a good thing. It cannot be a good thing because of the way it was formed and the way it's protected and what happens to the people there. Um why do you need these bombs? So I think for me, my progressiveness tells me, and I don't know if I'm progressive or I'm too radical for progressives, because borders are a problem. Now, how do we police the border, but why do we have one? Why do we decide who gets to come here and who gets to leave? And the interesting thing is we get to have borders, but then the United States takes its power and goes into other people's places and destroys those places. Maybe not, maybe I'm not going to Guatemala and taking over the land, but our government has helped corporations do that all over the world. So I think if we're talking about human rights, then we have to look at human rights being one thing. Human rights are we should not be detaining people who cross lines, imaginary lines drawn by human beings and protected by bombs and you know, and and armies. We should not be incarcerating children or taking them out of school. We should try to find a way to live on this land in a way that promotes equity and sharing. And until we do, we're going to have injustice. And I think what we're seeing is some people saying, look, we connect the dots all over the world and we can see injustice in all of these ways and let's change it. And then you see other people, like some of the people in the Republican National Convention, saying, Well, our problem is with Israel. But we think that we need to keep those Mexican people out of our borders and out of our land because they're taking our jobs as though the jobs somehow belong to. To them. You know, and so I think my question is where is the peace and justice platform right now, and who is advancing that? Because again, it can only be one thing. Either we live in a just world or we don't. Either we fight against just injustice, or we just fight against these things that we think are unjust.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Yeah, that's the conversation and many others I heard, overheard, um, engaged in with members young, old, black, white, Mexican, Jewish, Arab, Muslim. All people of all kinds of stripes. But of course, on the other end of that are people like uh State Representative Noah Arbitt of West Bloomfield, who yesterday on Twitter said that the extreme left of the Democratic of the extreme left has taken over the Michigan Democratic Party. Nolan Finley, he is the conservative uh Detroit News opinion editor. He wrote um on the paper this morning that Michigan Democrats use convention to embrace anti-Semitism. It wasn't just Garland, Gilchrist, and Ellie Savitt's win that had uh moderate pro-Israel um uh uh members of the party alarmed. It really squared more so on the race for University of Michigan Regent between Jordan Acker and Amir Mokled, the incumbent Paul Brown was also re-elected. But party members ousted Jordan Acker. Jordan uh had some lewd messages, slack messages, talking about a female staffer talking about Governor Whitmer, he said F. Gretchen Whitmer, according to alleged screenshots posted on the internet. Acker's uh bid was really squarely at the at the center of of the accusations of anti-Semitism or accusations of Islamophobia from others. Um Acker, as mentioned previously, according to reporting from Tom Perkins at The Guardian, uh, had involvement and communication with Dana Nessel and or her office. I don't have the story right up in front of me, but it was accused that Acker played a role in bringing charges against several student and non-student protesters uh who camped out on the University of Michigan's campus. Were they at the DIAG? I don't I don't remember where they were. However, um it it did seem like you know, given that Amir Makled was the attorney that represented those students, that it was that was the issue. Um of course, you know, more people had issues with uh his sort of behavior and and you know messaging random people. Uh but Jordan Acker was supported, his nomination was supported by Jonathan Kinlock, who was booed on stage and told the crowd uh it is clear, it's obvious that some of you have not realized that Fat Meat is greasy, talking about um, you know, so some Democrats not supporting Kamala Harris, which is continues to be a perceived reason from uh specific wing of the Democratic Party. You know, they'll blame the uncommitted movement that started in Michigan, they'll blame Muslib and Arab voters, they'll blame young voters who stayed home, who felt like their values could not line up with a candidate that said that she's gonna deport more people than Trump, and I'm gonna not Trump, I'm gonna have the most lethal fighting force.

Donna Givens Davidson 25:52

Yeah, I I I think, yeah, I think the reality is people don't want to lose power. And you know what? Young people not only took control of the convention, young people are taking control of narrative. Yeah. And when you change narrative, you change power, you shift power. Now, um, as you pointed out, Israel is increasingly unpopular and um sympathy for Palestine and and other Middle Eastern people has increased significantly. Um, we have the bombing of an elementary school in Iran by our government that tried to cover it up, right? And so I think there's people who are used to having power, and a lot of people in power in Michigan and across the nation actually get rich while they're in power too. So we criticize them for not fighting back against some of those folks, but a lot of them have their hands out even if they're it's covered, you know, uh in disguise. Um, so I think that it's a threat. And I I always think, you know, when people r respond to me and they find me threatening and they have power, I'm usually flattered because it means that I'm getting under their skin. There used to be a time where they could just say, Hey, I'm in charge here and just shut shut people up and push them out. And now all of a sudden, the people are shutting you up. Jonathan Kenlock. And first, let's not forget, last November, the mayor of Detroit won a decisive victory over his brother.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Okay. Two different people, I will note.

Donna Givens Davidson 27:26

Who?

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Solomon and Jonathan.

Donna Givens Davidson 27:27

They are different people.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

They often separate in their views.

Donna Givens Davidson 27:30

They are, but but however, Jonathan Kenlock put, he endorsed his brother, he put the entire integrity of the 13th congressional district over his brother. So it doesn't matter whether or not when Solomon Kenlock was not running for office, um, he sometimes disagrees with him. What matters is he used whatever power he thought he had and he lost. I'm not talking about Solomon, I'm talking about Jonathan.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Yeah, yeah. It's been a rough goal for Jonathan the last few years.

Donna Givens Davidson 28:00

And it's not going to get better. And at some point, people are gonna say, wait a minute, why is this guy over the 13th Congressional District? Why can't we get somebody who actually can make things happen? You begin to lose power and credibility when you can't. And I'm talking about Warren Evans, I'm talking about him, I'm talking about a lot of power brokers who have been able to influence things and now find themselves unable to do it. And you have other people doing it. And the other thing is that you have coalition politics that are multiracial driving things. So it's no longer, well, this is the black people over here and the Arab people over here. Black people and Arab people and Jewish people and white people are coming together around and Hispanic people are around coalition goals in ways that defy, you know, these sort of nationalistic tendencies that we've had in the past.

SPEAKER_00 28:50

Let's take a break, and when we come back, we're gonna talk a little bit more about what Governor Andy Bashir, he is the Kentucky governor. He was at the Michigan Democratic Party Convention. Let's talk about what he told me about what Democrats need in the upcoming elections in 26 and 28. Let's talk about Kamala Harris in Detroit. She felt really comfortable, relaxed, sat back in her seat. Uh, stay with us. We'll talk about a little bit more on authentically Detroit coming up next. Applications have opened for the Eastside Community Network Summer Discovery Program. Designed for students entering seventh, eighth, and ninth grade in the fall of 26th. This summer experience is a full-day in-person program that combines structured academic learning, hands-on enrichment experiences, and creativity to guide youth in developing life skills related to political and civic engagement, climate change, and environmental justice using art-based expression as a tool for learning and empowerment. The program runs from June 29th to July 31st from 8 30 a.m. to 5 o'clock p.m. Applications close on April 30th. For more details on how to apply, visit ecn-detroit.org slash youth. Welcome back to Authentically Detroit. We are talking about the Michigan Democratic Convention today. This weekend got started at the women's luncheon. Virgie Rollins, who I had the pleasure of speaking on the phone to. She is the DNC Black Caucus Chair, and she is the uh chairperson organizer of this annual women's luncheon that the takes place every Michigan Democratic Party convention as sort of the kickoff to the convention. She told me, uh, Sam, I've been doing this a long time. I've hosted every single Democratic president in my house over the last 40 years. Getting Kamala Harris and Corey Booker uh to this event is no big deal. Uh and she did it. It took a little while. Uh the C-SPAN cameras were set up there at 11:30, and we all thought this is not going to start at 11:30. It did not. It started about 2:30. Um, but however, Corey Booker, Governor Brashar came out. Uh, Corey Booker uh gave a rousing speech, fired everybody up, and then Kamala Harris and uh Sarah Anthony. Sarah Anthony is a state senator from Lansing. She is the highest-ranking black woman in Michigan. She is the chair of the state uh appropriations committee, the senate appropriations committee. She actually moderated a conversation. It was like an interview, um, and she told me afterward uh that Matt Hall actually texted her to say, good job.

Donna Givens Davidson 31:44

What did you think about that?

SPEAKER_00 31:46

It was interesting. You know, I I thought that uh Sarah asked some good questions. I thought that Kamala was absolutely relaxed. We heard her mocking Trump, doing sort of like a Trump impression at one point. She said that uh Trump got pulled into the war in Iran by BB Netanyahu. Um we heard that he's using Trump is using the war in Iran to as a as a she said as a feeble attempt to distract from the Epstein files, quote end quote. Um It was like Kamala untethered.

Donna Givens Davidson 32:22

Well, you know, she said something, and and she did say those things, but she said something I thought was really interesting towards the end when she said that um people all over the world still have a lot of sympathy for American people and love for American people, and that they understand we're going through. And I thought, hmm, is there evidence of that? What do you think? Do you think that people around the world look at Americans who seem to have elected Donald Trump and feel sorry for us?

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Well, I will say that nail they continue to copy our hip hop music and they do like SpongeBob.

Donna Givens Davidson 32:56

Well, that's that's um, yeah, that's not all American people, though.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

No, but you know, I I think you know, that is a good question. I'm I'm not sure. I I really am not sure. I think uh, you know, she talks about the credibility of America, uh, you know, to other places. I think it depends on who you ask, right? I mean, you you speak to uh one Iranian that says, you know, we need this war to end because my uncle's house has been bombed and destroyed, and now he's displaced and is a refugee. And then you talk to another Iranian and they'll say, Well, we we need that all to happen because we need to get this regime out of here no matter what. You know, there's there's differing opinions everywhere.

Donna Givens Davidson 33:35

There are, but I don't know if any Iranians are thinking, you know, I remember when the U.S. went to Iraq and people said that people were naming their school children George. Um the United States press has a way of always um finding people who think that they want other countries to come in and bomb them. I think there's other people who they're saying are really happy the United States took the Venezuelan government. Um I I just wonder, um, as much as you dislike Donald Trump, would you want somebody to come in and bomb an elementary school to get them out of here and continue to bomb and whatever? I, you know, I think that there's some distortions there. Um, what we're also seeing is a realignment of money, where you have various countries coming together and the United States dollar is at risk for being the international currency. You're also seeing um, you know, new alliances where Canada is in alliance with China and saying, let's figure out some things. I think um this is something she did say, where there's a vacuum, somebody rushes in. But I have heard also that when people are traveling internationally, they are getting contempt. I heard some people were in Ireland pretending they were Canadian because they did not want to receive that contempt. I don't know that people in other places see us as separate from our government any more than we see Iranians as separate from theirs. And so I think the real challenge is that we have got to somehow communicate to the rest of the world who we are as a people, um, opposed to that. And it scares me that not only is the world seeing us in that way, but that makes us vulnerable.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Yeah. Um it's a lot to think about.

Donna Givens Davidson 35:22

It uh it is.

SPEAKER_00 35:23

Umala, of course, you know, I think foreign policy played a major role in her loss. She refused to um separate her rhetoric from the presidents, Joe Biden. We will see going forward if she sort of goes back to her more progressive 2019 campaign style. It is clear to me after this weekend, and I'll I'll say this on this show now. It's very clear to me that she is going to run for president again.

Donna Givens Davidson 35:55

I mean, she had so many styles in 2019, if we're gonna be honest.

SPEAKER_00 35:58

She did.

Donna Givens Davidson 35:59

And um, sometimes it feels as though they are not going to stick. But I think what I'm looking for in political leaders is political leaders who are will really willing to call things as they are. I don't need to hear that American people are the best people and people will feel sorry for us because I think a lot of people are really angry at America for electing Donald Trump and really angry at America for what's happening with um students, I mean, students who can't go to school here. Um there's no way that we are doing these things, and the rest of the world is saying, well, but we really love America in the way that they used to. If you look at the number of students who are admitted to school in the United States, the number of students who are actually applying to school in the United States, it's dropped precipitously. And that impacts our place inside the world. That was the only note that I thought, let's be let's be honest about where we are right now. Our people are increasingly the pariahs of the world. And until we get our political leadership right, we're going to be. Until we demonstrate that we can treat other nations well, we can't be talking about we're going to take over Greenland, we're going to make Canada the 51st state and think Canadians still love us.

SPEAKER_00 37:09

Yeah. It is interesting how Trump has sort of operated in this super negative demagoguery. And on the other side of that, when candidates are perceived as negative party leaders and Democratic party leaders, will rush to be like, dude, you're negative. That nobody wants that. We need hope. Um Abdul Al-Sayed, this is where I'm going the segue. I want to briefly touch on just the fact that he clearly had the strongest support of all three of Michigan's U.S. Senate Democratic candidates. Haley Stevens was, of course, booed. Mallory McMurrow was cheered. However, Mallory um she she just there were there were less people supporting her campaign. I I saw a ton of McMurl pins and the like Werner style uh sweatshirts, which I think a lot of people would say are pretty pretty good. Pretty good design. She says she designed it herself. Um Haley getting booed was the topic, it was the subject of a video today that Abdul posted onto Twitter. He said, This campaign to all those who support this campaign, this is not what we are against. This campaign is about what we are for. And he actually said he does not condone um and did not appreciate his supporters booing Haley Stevens on stage throughout her remarks. It was loud, audible boos that remained until she was off the stage. Um, you know, John James was booed at the at the Michigan Republican Party convention. Um, how much these voters, 7500 people about, make up or represent, you know, the hundreds of thousands of voters across Michigan is yet to be seen. However, I felt like it's worth pointing out that Abdul really uh sort of dominated the convention.

Donna Givens Davidson 39:08

It it it is. He um I I was uh on Saturday at the lunch and sort of like sitting front and center, and you even heard uh Virgie Rowls call him out, and he was not on stage. I know that she has supported him in the past, and when he ran for governor, I remember that. Um civility. Civility is something that people in power want, right? Um civility always works best when you have the power because then you can silence the opposition. Um when people are being uncivil, that means they're being heard. And this idea that being booing somebody is somehow unpatriotic or un you know diplomatic or whatever, you're not trying to be diplomatic, you're trying to win. And if I was a candidate, I'd say what he said to, hey, people, calm down, because he already, you know, demonstrated his power, and that's another way to flex is to tell your supporters whatever you need to tell them. Um, it certainly would not behoove him to say, hey, go ahead and boot people all along. But this idea that people should be civil is one of my pet peeves. I've been hearing it from Nolan Finlay and Stephen Henderson now.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

They have a book about it. They have a book about it. I'm not sure how many people do that.

Donna Givens Davidson 40:18

And who wrote that? Who was it who did the um the civility movie or whatever with Meghan McCain? Um, oh my goodness, black man. I don't know. Used to be an environmentalist. I can't think of his name. But whenever people do that, it just irks my nerves because people don't have to be civil. Poverty isn't civil. I mean, it's just it's race racism.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

Be civil, Nolan Finlay, who's telling who's accusing the Michigan Democrats of embracing anti-Semitism because they're like it's just you know, it's just like, dude.

Donna Givens Davidson 40:52

Um, but what I'm saying is that the the the condition of poverty is what's uncivil, not um not someone's words. Somebody's words. You're supposed to be quietly starving, you're supposed to be quietly homeless, you're supposed to be quietly watching your people die, you're supposed to be quietly watching other people die. This idea that we can't stand up and scream, we can't stand up and say no more, is ridiculous to me. And it's um actually a weak thing. Um, if you don't have the ability to stand in front of a room and get people's respect, get off the stage, okay? And what's that old saying? If you can't stand in the heat, get out of the kitchen. You can't think I'm going to be a have these things that I do. And I think Hellie Stevens has done some things. It was Hellie Stevens who was booed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

And Jordan Ackman. And Jordan Ackerman. Well, it was Kenlock was on stage now that I'm going to be able to do that.

Donna Givens Davidson 41:43

Hillie Stevens has been associator. People believe that she has been supportive of APAC. I don't really keep up with that. She created a video in support of APAC, I believe. You cannot do that because some people say that's uncivil, you see? And she has the freedom of speech. But in this this hall, so do I. And if I get to boo you, so what?

SPEAKER_00 42:05

Uh I want to shift gears. Um, Andy Bashar is the governor of Kentucky. He was uh present on Saturday, and the Michigan Chronicle, that's me, got him in an exclusive interview talking about black voters, talking about Brianna Taylor. You remember Brianna Taylor's uh no knock warrant law was sort of the rare bipartisan police accountability measure that I don't think like any other state has been able to do something like that. Happened in Kentucky thanks to the momentum after the social justice movement in 2020. Uh Governor Bashar Bashir, I don't know how he uh pronounces it himself. Uh however, the governor of Kentucky has defeated a black candidate in both of his elections in 2019 and 2020. You remember Daniel Cameron, he was the Kentucky Attorney General at the time, who chose not to prosecute the officers who fatally shot Brianna Taylor, who was an EMT. She had moved to Kentucky from Michigan. She's from Muskegon, had lived in Grand Rapids. Uh Bashir told me at the convention that he was proud to stand next to Brianna's mom, Tamika Palmer, to sign the no-knock warrant law in Kentucky. He says, I know how important that was to Tamika to honor her daughter, and the fact that Kentucky came together in a bipartisan way to pass that was special. It really was, because in Michigan there is no bipartisan police accountability measures happening. Um no, no. Matt Hall has put an end to that. Um he told me that he believes black voters are gonna be critical to the Democratic Party and 26 and 28, and that means Democrats can't take them for granted. Uh he said a governor like me who will never be able to feel the pain of discrimination, who will never be able to feel the scars left by the legacy of slavery in Jim Crow need to make sure they're always surrounded by the right leaders. He said, Thankfully, I have a lot of those guides in Kentucky. I also asked the Kentucky governor who has been floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, along with our governor, Governor Gresham Whitmer. I asked him, Does your rising national profile does that come into play during your day job as the governor? Is it helpful for Kentuckians? And he told me that yes. He said, I found it really helpful that the next economic development project is calling you instead of you calling them. He says, I found it helpful that you have a seat at the national table. You work for people of your state. You know, when you're consultant on things, no one ever called you on before. When you call a member of Congress, they pick up. When you call a member of the federal administration, they pick up. He said, I think Gresh Whitmer has used it very well for the people of Michigan. Of course, Whitmer has been to the White House several times, has said instead of doing the JB Pritzker or Gavin Newsome online trolling, she's going to try to bring wins back to Michigan from the White House. Those wins that she touts are efforts to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. Also, a new investment coming to an Air Force base in Macomb County, that's Selfridge Air Force Base. They're gonna have a fighter jet mission that comes out. You know, it's like I a new some new some new jets, you know, that's great. Um what do you make of of Governor Brashar being here? Um, him talking about how him as a governor is advantageous to residents of the state. Do you think Gretchen Whitmer's raised profile has been advantageous to Michigan residents?

Donna Givens Davidson 46:10

Well, I mean, it's certainly better than Snyder's, right? Um, it's certainly better than um what some of the Republican alternatives are. So I don't have a problem with that. Um I vote Democrat because I believe that Democrats are always better than the other side, right? Because the other side hates us and Democrats sometimes just don't care. But you know, when they don't, when they care, they don't hate us, right? I think it's important though to understand that it we have to move beyond um pandering politics, right? Don't come to me and tell me I support black people. Tell me how you're going to house black people, tell me how you're going to feed black people, and probably when you're housing black people, you'll house other people. Tell me about your environmental justice approaches. I understand that Brianna Taylor, and this is really important legislation, I'm not trying to minimize that, but I think the Democratic Party can't just move and say, well, let's figure out what black people want, because first of all, black people don't all want the same things, right? You have older black people who were furious with younger black people yesterday, right? And so the reality is that we have to understand that we're really looking at the needs of people, not at the you know, and and so Brianna Taylor fine, great, she was clearly she was, you know, killed in unjustly, and the the people who did that should have served time, and the people who authorized that warrant should have served time, in my opinion. It never should have happened. Great, but that's not justice. Um, I think that um I'm going to remember this quote from um from Brian Stevenson that um oh my goodness. It's the the presence of justice is what we're looking for. And I I'll try to remember it. Um but you know, so I I I like it, I like him. He seems like a nice guy, um, but that feels like outdated politics. That's not what we saw in the um Huntington place yesterday and the day before. We saw was a multiracial coalition, largely of young people, and by the way, Democrats can't win without young people either, coming together and demanding something different. And I don't want to get distracted from that because there are people who would say, let's go for black capitalism, and black capitalism exists at the expense of poor folks, right? There are people who say, Let's just get some black people in these places, and um again, I'm so bad with names. Um, the lady who wrote um um race against um anyway. Oh um she said black faces in high places cannot save us. And um she did this at a Spellman um a Spellman University address.

SPEAKER_00 49:04

Um The Brian Stevenson quote you're looking for is true peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.

Donna Givens Davidson 49:13

That's right. Yes. And so the tension that we saw the absence of that tension is not peace. Peace is when justice takes place. Um Ruha Benjamin is a person, black faces in high places won't save us. What do we think justice looks like? Does justice look like me being able to move into spaces that you can't? Or does justice mean that we're opening the doors and people can live freely? And I that's a whole different dialogue. I do want to shout out Brandon Snyder from the Working Families Party. I guess we're not in shout-outs yet, but I do think the Working Families Party played a significant role in what we saw happen this weekend. I'm a member of the Working Families Party because I believe in the multiracial coalition that he and others have been building in our community saying, let's figure out what we want to see, what we want Michigan to look like, and then fight for that. And by the way, Garland Gilkress and Ellie Savitt were both endorsed by the Working Families Party.

SPEAKER_00 50:14

Sure. I think uh there are a number of people to sort of crown or point to, you know, if I'm Rashida Taleb, I'm like thinking of myself as a kingmaker right now, right? I mean, she has been central and has, you know, been the sort of um hallmark endorser of these candidates. Um, but let's take a break, and when we come back, we're gonna get into our shout-outs.

Donna Givens Davidson 50:46

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SPEAKER_00 51:21

Welcome back, everyone. You are listening to Authentically Detroit. I am Sam Robinson here with Donna Givens Davidson, and it's that time of the week where we want to show some extra love. If you guys have topics that you want discussed on Authentically Detroit, please do hit us up on our social media at Authentically Detroit on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or you can visit our website at authentically-detroit.com. Donna, start us off. You just shouted out Brandon Snyder. I did. You want to keep it on theme? Some Democratic Party convention shout-out.

Donna Givens Davidson 52:02

Of course, Rashida Taleb, you know, Rashida Talib and Stephanie Chang have always been on the side of justice. Um, what I'm really excited, though, is seeing that the progressive base is expanding to also include black people. Donovan McKinney, for example, is a black man. I think for so long, the faces of progressiveness, progressivism in our state have not have been by non-black people. And although I, you know, again believe in a multiracial coalition, I do want to see my people at the table actually fighting alongside them. And I see Donovan McKinney and I see others who are standing up. I see Garland Gilchrist embracing a more progressive agenda and standing with Ellie Savott. Uh Ellie Savitt hired as his deputy um prosecutor, somebody Harris, who I deeply respect and who I endorse for um prosecutor for Wayne County before she exited stage left. So I think that I'm I'm I'm loving the expansion of what that tent looks like. I'm loving the embrace of that. There have always been black progressives in Detroit, but they have not always been running for political office. I think that Donovan McKinney is one who demonstrates that you can win um in majority white districts when you run on the right, you know, um, politics. And I think hopefully other, I'm hopeful for him in the 13th Congressional District. I hope others follow those patterns that it's really about what you stand for, and what you stand for has to be the presence of justice.

SPEAKER_00 53:35

I want to shout out Derek Honeyman. He is a spokesperson for the Democratic Party uh in Curtis Hertel. He did a wonderful job this weekend um being a good steward of journalism, ripping and running, answering most, not all, but most of my text messages and and calls. Derek, thank you. I appreciate you um for the last two years at these conventions. You have sort of let me rip and run and go live and get Winnie Brinks on the live when she didn't want to be.

Donna Givens Davidson 54:08

But I I I forgot my other shout-out. This is main shout-out.

SPEAKER_00 54:10

Yeah, go ahead.

Donna Givens Davidson 54:11

I'm shouting out Sam Robinson. Oh, thank you very much. Sam, I am so proud of you. When I see you in those, you know, in the convention halls, and I see the way you navigate and talk to people, and you put out six stories this weekend in between all of that coverage. I was like, I hope he's awake and he can, he's willing to come in and record with Authentically Detroit because you are so hardworking and you are also playing such a significant role in helping change narratives just by giving information. You don't just say this is what happened. You talk to people about what happened, you put their quotes in there. I'm proud of you, and I just want to say that here.

SPEAKER_00 54:51

Well, thank you so much. I I appreciate you. Um I want to shout you out as well. Um, it was good to see you this weekend um at the Michigan Democratic Party convention. And shout out to everyone who said hello to me or said thank you for my threads or my uh Twitter live. You know, it is a job that I would not do if I do if I didn't actually like love it. Um and that's what I think every day is like. I worked at a shoe store, I worked uh at MLive for a little bit, I worked at Axios, I did my Substack, and I'm doing my my Michigan Chronicle now. Guys, because of your support of my journalism, it really truly feels like I've never quite had a job or haven't since I was 18 years old, and I had to get a job at Jimmy John's before I was hired at Champ Sports and Foot Locker. Champ Sports and Foot Locker, if you know me, it doesn't I didn't feel like a job neither. Um, and so I want to really thank you guys.

Donna Givens Davidson 55:55

Uh if you I just record last week, we had sickness in the house. Yes, but one more thing, you know, shout out to Orlando Bailey. Yes, and um the interview he did with Brian Stevenson, it was one of the best interviews. I am such a Brian Stevenson fan. If you don't know who he is, look him up. He's an amazing speaker. And he asked him, What do we do to bring about justice? And he said, shift the narrative. And so, again, all you young people who are out there shifting the narrative, taking it back from all the propaganda and all of the lies, misinformation you were told that helped justify injustice. I'm proud of you. And Orlando, of course, as the first co-host of Authentically Detroit, now working um with um, you know, outlier media and also the what is it, um, Urban Consulate, um, does an excellent job there. And you're doing an excellent job here and at the Michigan Chronicle. So much good stuff is happening.

SPEAKER_00 56:54

We appreciate it. Thank you all for listening in and supporting our efforts to build a platform of authentic voices for real people like you in the city of Detroit. Please like, rate, and subscribe to our podcast. We will see you guys tomorrow, the next day, the next day after that. We're here at the Stodemeyer at the Eastside Community Network signing off. Thanks.