
Detroit mayoral candidates participate in first forum of 2025 election
A room inside the Riverside Marina clubhouse was full of voters, including the undecided.
"I want to find out their qualifications, what their concerns are, and how they apply to me and my community," said Caryl Conway, an undecided voter.
Career politicians, an entrepreneur, a former police chief and a businessman are among the top candidates running for Detroit mayor.
"We all have different things that we want, and I just want to know who they are here to serve," said undecided voter Charity Whitaker.
Affordable housing was the number one priority voters wanted to hear about from the candidates on Saturday.
"I would say affordable housing. We have so many people that are homeless, and they require housing for more than just a one- or two-bedroom unit," Conway said.
Saturday's forum was organized by the African American Leadership Institute.
"We're still the Blackest city in America, and so to have a Black mayor again running the Blackest city in America, I think, will speak volumes when it comes to a whole lot of different leaders, as well as African American communities throughout the country," said Al Williams, president of the African American Leadership Institute.
"African American women are the ones who do the work. They knock on the doors, they make the calls, and they go to the voting booth and vote. We are the 92%," said Tashawna Gill, Michigan director for Supermajority, a group that empowers women across the country.
Supermajority says Black women will be the deciding factor in the race for Detroit's next mayor.
"We will. When we speak, they listen, and we've got to make our voices heard," Conway said.
The primary election is set for Aug. 5, with the general election scheduled for Nov. 4.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Axios
5 hours ago
- Axios
Fourth federal investigation launched at George Mason for racial bias
The Trump administration this week launched its fourth investigation in four weeks into George Mason University, Virginia's largest public university. Why it matters: It's the second public university in Virginia that's been targeted by the administration and the Justice Department since June. The big picture: DOJ's most recent investigation into George Mason alleges racial discrimination in the school's admission and scholarship decisions. It follows an investigation the department launched the week before, which alleged the Fairfax school used race as a deciding factor in faculty hiring and promotions. The U.S. Department of Education started its own probe into the school's alleged racial discrimination in hiring and promotions earlier this month in response to a complaint by "multiple professors." And DOE kicked off July with an inquiry into alleged antisemitism at Mason. In statements, the school has denied all the allegations and said it will cooperate with the investigations, per the Washington Post. The intrigue: In response to the probes, George Mason's Board of Visitors and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares hired Torridon Law, a firm co-founded by President Trump's former attorney general William Barr, the Post reports. The hiring of that firm prompted the George Mason chapter of the American Association of University Professors to issue a vote of no confidence in the school's Board of Visitors this week. The association is concerned that the Board of Visitors and the Trump administration are trying to fire the school's president, Gregory Washington, who is Black, according to a news release from the group.


CNBC
8 hours ago
- CNBC
Trump administration ramps up its campaign against colleges
The Trump administration continued building its multi-pronged case against American universities Wednesday, with the announcement of new investigations by the departments of state and education. The new probes are the latest in a months-long effort across the federal government to pressure elite colleges and universities to hew more closely to the administration's political priorities. The State Department announced Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into whether Harvard University is eligible to participate in its Exchange Visitor Program, a broad visa category that includes students, professors, working interns and other non-tourist visitors. The department did not offer a reason for the probe, such as a specific complaint, but it said in a statement that universities which sponsor exchange visitors are required to show a "demonstrated commitment to fostering the principles of cultural exchange and mutual understanding upon which the program was founded." The same day, the Department of Education announced unrelated investigations into whether five universities which offer special scholarships for undocumented students are "preferencing foreign-born students" over native-born ones. The University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University are the targets of the probe. "Neither the Trump Administration's America first policies nor the Civil Right Act of 1964's prohibition on national origin discrimination permit universities to deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States," said the department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, Craig Trainor. The probes are based on complaints submitted to the Office of Civil Rights by the Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, a conservative advocacy group. In a highly unusual step, the education department included a statement from the advocacy group in its official announcement of the probes. The OCR also said it was investigating additional scholarships at the schools that allegedly exclude other groups, including Western Michigan's scholarship for "African American, Native American, or Hispanic American" students and University of Louisville's scholarship for "LGBTQ+ students of color." Four of five universities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for the University of Michigan told CNBC, "The university has received a letter of notification relating to this matter. We have no further comment." Wednesday's announcements are the latest step in the Trump administration's full-throated campaign to root out and penalize elite universities and increasingly, public and state colleges, for policies that do not align with administration priorities. Harvard has been the target of multiple probes, as both a legal challenge and private negotiations between the university and the administration continue over Trump's federal funding freezes. A Harvard spokesperson told CNBC the latest investigation is "yet another retaliatory step taken by the administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights." A separate federal probe determined last month that Harvard had violated the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students, and Trump said in May that he wanted to revoke the university's tax-exempt status. The government has also moved to freeze federal funding for several other Ivy League schools. Trump has said he is considering redirecting this money to trade schools. Earlier this month, the House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania, looking into alleged antitrust violations in the universities' tuition and financial aid policies. The announcement followed letters sent to all eight Ivy Leagues requesting documents. In June, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan stepped down from his position after the Justice Department called for his resignation while the government investigated the school for its DEI policies. More than a dozen schools, including Columbia University, Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley, have come under scrutiny.


The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
Dismantling the Department of Education is a dangerous step backward
As a son of the South and a proud representative of New Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Lafourche, Assumption, and the River Parishes, I know what education means to a child's future. That's because seen what happens when it's denied. Now, I am watching in real time as our nation walks backward. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed President Trump another victory in his mission to shrink and now dismantle the Department of Education. With this decision, nearly 1,400 public servants will be laid off. Vital programs will be gutted. Oversight of special education, civil rights enforcement in schools, after-school programming and college financial aid will be slashed or eliminated — all under the banner of 'returning control to the states.' Let me say this plainly: We've been here before. And we know what happens when the federal government turns its back on education and civil rights. During Reconstruction, the Freedmen's Bureau — a federal agency — built schools across the South to educate newly freed Black Americans. That wasn't a gesture of kindness. It was an act of justice. But when Reconstruction ended and federal protections were withdrawn, those schools closed, the progress collapsed, and systemic inequality returned with a bloody vengeance. That's not just history — it's a warning. We saw it again under Jim Crow, when separate-but-equal meant separate-and-unequal. And we saw it when four young Black girls had to be escorted by federal marshals just to walk into a schoolhouse. That wasn't a state triumph — it was a federal intervention. It was Washington, not the state capitol, that protected their right to learn. So, when this administration says it wants to 'return power to the states,' we must ask: Power to do what? Because too often, that phrase has been used as a shield for discrimination, neglect and inequality. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissent, warned: 'When the executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the judiciary's duty to check that lawlessness — not expedite it.' She is correct. And her words echo my own belief that when faced with injustice, it takes action from all of what I call the three C's: Congress, the courts and the community. Congress must act — to protect education funding, to block reckless dismantling of federal agencies, and to ensure that every child, in every zip code, has equal access to a quality education. The courts must remain vigilant — to uphold the Constitution and reject political power grabs that undermine our democracy and our rights. And the community — you and I — must stay engaged, informed and vocal. We must attend school board meetings, call our elected officials, support teachers and students, and hold decision-makers accountable. I have spent my life in public service — first on the New Orleans City Council, then in the Louisiana Legislature, and now in Congress — because I believe government can be a force for good. But only if we fight to keep it that way. This decision is not about trimming fat. It is about cutting off lifelines — to students with disabilities, families relying on after-school care and communities still facing educational inequity. The world is watching. Our children are watching. And history is watching too. Let us rise to meet this moment — not retreat from it. Our children are not expendable. Our future is not negotiable. And our commitment to justice must never be optional.