Here at Detroit People’s Platform (DPP) we believe in solidarity as one strategy for power building and we also believe in the PURPOSE and the POWER of the VOTE as an effective tool to wield power.
Historically our power as individuals has been derived from our response to Black oppression and our collective and heroic efforts to overcome. Of course, we recognize that referencing oppression identity in the 21st century may seem unsettling to many. However, there is no denying the fact that the Black community currently is under attack and we are witnessing at an alarming rate the rollback of polices that for years helped to mitigate the oppressive harms caused by persistent structural and systemic racism. Black solidarity helped to fuel the movement for Black advancement under these conditions.
These mitigations helped pave the way for individual Black success across the spectrum – home ownership, generational wealth, academics, sports, business, entertainment and the list goes on.
Long held beliefs and values have served as foundational to the American democratic experience. Further, the struggle for civil rights and the centering of Black demands for equality and racial justice is informed by these democratic beliefs and values as well. Yet, this foundation is coming undone as it is threatened by the racial backlash and the rising power of authoritarianism and white nationalism. Some have referenced these conditions as an existential threat to America and consequently a threat to the life that many in the Black community have aspired to in the past century or so.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King in his infamous book: Where Do We Go from Here, Chaos or Community?, expressed how we “have illuminated imperfections in the democratic structure that were formerly only dimply percieved and have forced a concerned rexamination of the true meaning of American democracy.”
The Black vote is critical in the 2024 election. Collectively, 30% of registered Black voters live in the nine (9) key battle ground states. Detroit and the state of Michigan fall squarely into this category. As was the case in 2020, majority Black Detroit and our brothers and sisters across the nation will again be called upon to help save the nations’ democracy and with it the well-being of our collective and individual futures.
But in spite of this weighty responsibility, we hear that many Black Detroit residents and voters question both the purpose and the need for their vote. This speaks to the fact that they are unable to make the connection between their vote and the well-being of their household and community.
In this moment we as a Black community are experiencing attacks upon our most important institutions and hard fought for policies including voting rights, affirmative action, race-based college scholarships, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), programs that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace, reproductive rights and hoped for criminal justice reform. The attacks and dismantling of hard fought for individual rights and hard fought for policy WINS cannot go unanswered.
In this evolving fight for Black liberation DPP believes what is required is a collective response from majority Black Detroit regardless of class and culture. It requires that as Black voters in the nation’s largest majority Black city in 2024 we hear and accept the call for radical Black Solidarity!