This week on the show, journalist Bankole Thompson sits down with Detroiter Dr. Nefertari Nkenge, a veteran public school educator, activist, and daughter of the late Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, to discuss the November mayoral race between Mary Sheffield, the president of the Detroit City Council, and Solomon Kinloch, the senior pastor of Triumph Church. Nkenge says both candidates need to address the core issues of poverty and structural inequality facing Detroiters – from the foreclosure crisis, over taxation of homeowners, to lack of economic opportunities for the city’s residents in a comeback that has benefited chiefly downtown, Midtown, and Corktown. She discussed her mother’s legacy and her firebrand nature of tackling the vexing issues of politics in the city during her time, as well as the expectations that Detroiters should place on the candidates running for thecity’s top job. Even though Detroit stands at the crossroads of possibly electing its first female mayor in Sheffield, if she wins, Nkenge noted that Sheffield needs to focus on an agenda that addresses the concerns of the majority of BlackDetroiters rather than just the symbolism of her being the first woman mayor.In the interview, she shares her own experience with Sheffield’s office during a time when the basement of her house in the King Estates in the city flooded. She said she called the council president’s office and left a detailed message on the office phone for help but received no response. When she looked up Sheffield on Instagram to see how to reach her, she was at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. That became a red flag for Nkenge regarding the councilwoman’s ability to deliver services for residents. In their conversation, Nkenge says that, given the dynamics of the race, Detroit voters need to move past soundbites and optics and focus on the real substance of the candidates' platforms this fall.

Ver todos los episodios