So Mayor Bernero wants an urban agenda for Detroit. Until I see what his agenda is on paper, I will hold my breath because too many have come around with all kinds of speeches meant to invoke the sensibilities of African-American culture and identity and then disappear after they get elected.
But this time around, neither Cherry, Dillon or Bernero ought to have a free pass in Detroit. Let them work hard in the trenches here from the east side to the west side of Detroit.
And Black churches that offer ready pulpits to vulture-like Democratic politicians waiting to devour their congregation members after a deal has been sealed in the pastor’s office, should rethink their strategy, or stay out of politics and concentrate on Bible business.
These candidates must pay a price to be elected. Detroit cannot sit on the sidelines or decide to go along with the status quo.
Status quo politics has never been a liberating experience because it always hinges on political expediency and what politically makes sense.
In the spirit of Erma Henderson, the first Black woman elected to the Detroit City Council and its first Black president, the city can do better in 2010 with these gubernatorial candidates.
At Henderson’s memorial last week at Greater Grace Temple, I watched from the back of the church those who praised her tenacity and ability to speak truth to power and not what was political. I hoped the praises were sincere and not in any form a way to make political hay out of the memory of a woman who was challenging the conscience of a city, state, nation and the world.
We have to challenge the conscience of the candidates running for statewide offices next year, just as Henderson would have done.
Watch senior editor Bankole Thompson’s weekly show, “Center Stage,” on WADL TV 38, Saturdays at 1 p.m. This Saturday’s program, Dec 26, will feature an exclusive interview with John Freeman, former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit talking about the federal corruption investigations in City Hall. The interview will be followed by a roundtable with outgoing Detroit City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel and incoming councilman Rev. Andre Spivey. E-mail bthompson@michronicle.com.
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