Oh, the horror of it all! State Representative Shri Thanedar, a 67-year old Indian- American multimillionaire, beat eight Black candidates in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
Democrats voted for him, that’s all. Would the Times dare to ask accusingly in bold type, “Why a White Democratic City Won’t Have a White Democrat as Mayor”? in response to the election of Michelle Wu? I’m guessing no: that would be perceived as racist, because it would be. The article is full of statements like, “Black leaders describe it as “embarrassing” and “disappointing,” and argue that Detroit should have representation that reflects its population, which is 77 percent Black” and “The outcome is also testing the limits of racial representation in a city with a long tradition of Black political power.” Wait—isn’t “racial representation” the supposed pernicious tradition of systemic racism in the U.S.that is being used to justify outright racial discrimination against whites in 2022? Was Barack Obama’s election “embarrassing” and “disappointing” to white Americans? Do our leaders and representatives have to “look like us” to be acceptable? Clearly, only leaders who black Americans trust have to “look like them.” Really? If true, that wouldn’t speak very well of black Americans. But wait–isn’t making that observation “racist”?
“It’s disgusting” for the city to be without a Black representative, Stevetta Johnson, 73 tells the Times, saying she was concerned that a representative “of another race” wouldn’t look out for Black Detroiters when it comes to bringing money and resources into the city. Got it! That’s presumed racism, and she’s a bigot, but the Times doesn’t seem to think so. We also learn that the Congressional Black Caucus has told Thanedar that he’s not welcome. You know: wrong color, or ethnicity, or something. That’s the state of the Democratic Party’s liberalism in 2022. Meanwhile, the black GOP candidate opposing Thanedar has been hyping his race, writing sly messages on social media like “Do you play spades?” and tweeting that he’s the only candidate who “knows what it feels like to be Black in America.”
The flagrant double standard in the African-American community, the Left and in the media regarding acceptable and unacceptable racial bias is destructive and divisive, but there are few signs that integrity and fairness will prevail any time soon. At least there was some hope offered in a sentence buried in the middle of the Times article, noting that there was “an emerging sense among some Black constituents that the psychic, emotional and symbolic benefits of racial representation may not have materially improved their lives.”
One black Detroit resident also seems to understand what should matter in the United States of America: Lou Harris Johnson said she didn’t care about political candidates’ skin color, telling the Times, “You could be blue. As long as it’s someone that’s really coming in to help our community, that wants to see us come up and support housing and education grants, I’ll vote for them.”
Good for Lou. I’d vote for her.
Ethics Alarms 
Now hold on there, Pilgrim. Isn’t Kamala Harris black not only because she’s half African Jamaican (I just made that up) and HALF INDIAN? Isn’t the new Indian descended British Prime Minister “of color” and therefore historic? You can’t be of color and African American unless you descend from, you know, the people from Africa who got caught and sold to the white slave traders as opposed to the descendants of the ones who caught them and sold them to the white slave traders? I guess the Congressional Black Caucus has the right to say, “You ain’t black?” Of course, this is nothing new. Jesse “Hymie Town” Jackson wanted to cut Barack Obama’s nuts off (nice eugenics/sterilization reference there, Jess) because he has a white mother and an African African father. When it comes to properly identifying and ranking minorities, you’ve got to have a program.
Because the decades of Black reps in the city have made is such a wonderful, safe, place for blacks…
But it’s not their fault! It’s systemic racism and white supremacy!
In fact, as you suggest, black elected officials have not done well by Detroit citizens of any shade for a very long time, the most spectacular example being Kwame Kilpatrick.
I grew up in the Metro Detroit area, so when I saw “a long tradition of Black political power” I thought “Well, that’s certainly one way to put it.”
That was what was kind of funny about Obama’s election.
Once he got elected, the race hustlers were quick to point out that his election did not mean that racial issues had been solved. They wanted to make it clear that his election did not fix the racial divide in America. His election accomplished little or nothing.
Sadly, they were correct, as Obama made a mess of race relations in America.
-Jut
I get a kick out of race hustlers complaining about the lack of players of color in the major leagues. They only count African Americans. Central and South American and Carribean black guys, who dominate baseball, don’t count. Actually, they’re invisible as it turns out.
That dude’s 67? Holy smokes.
For five years I subscribed to the NY Times because I thought it reported the news more fairly than The Washington Post. My decision to cancel the Times – realizing it was just as bad as the Post – has proven correct, with the latest headline a prime example.