No Black Congressional Representation in America's Blackest City

Detroit, Michigan is the largest Black-majority city in the United States, with almost 78-percent of the population Black.  And since 1955, Detroit has been represented in Congress by at least one Black representative.  But a redistricting process and a primary in which 8 of 9 Black candidates split 71-percent of the vote left the only non-Black candidate, Shri Thanedar, to win with just 28-percent of the vote.

We speak with Mario Morrow, political consultant based in Detroit and CEO of Mario Morrow and Associates, and Andra Gillespie, political scientist at Emory University, and explore the history of Black representation in Michigan, the political and electoral forces which led to this result, and the implications of this outcome on the Black community in Detroit.

Detroit, Michigan is the largest Black-majority city in the United States, with almost 78-percent of the population Black.  And since 1955, Detroit has been represented in Congress by at least one Black representative.  But a redistricting process and a primary in which 8 of 9 Black candidates split 71-percent of the vote left the only non-Black candidate, Shri Thanedar, to win with just 28-percent of the vote.

We speak with Mario Morrow, political consultant based in Detroit and CEO of Mario Morrow and Associates, and Andra Gillespie, political scientist at Emory University, and explore the history of Black representation in Michigan, the political and electoral forces which led to this result, and the implications of this outcome on the Black community in Detroit.