Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul-Sayed said in a recent interview that some black Detroiters’ experiences with “people who look like me” include “being talked to behind bulletproof glass,” being booed and being sold single cigarettes at gas stations and stores.
In an interview with Roots publisher Ashley Allison, El-Sayed said some black Detroiters “haven’t had the best experiences with people who look like me.”
“You walk into a gas station. You walk into a party store. There’s someone talking to you behind bulletproof glass,” El-Sayed said. “If you were a woman, you were booed. If you were a child, you were sold to the back. Denied access to the toilet.”
“I always try to be on the right side,” he continued. “But I also understand that if this was your experience with someone with my name, it would leave a horrible taste in your mouth.”
The remarks were part of a broader discussion about El-Sayed’s efforts to connect his political views to the legacy of the civil rights movement. They arrive as he works to win over black support for Republican Mike Rogers in a race that could decide control of the Senate.
El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) by less than a percentage point in the August Democratic primary. RealClear Poll’ average of polls Surveys conducted from late September to mid-October showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by less than three points, a margin that left little room for Democratic turnout to decline.
The Rev. Charles Williams II, pastor of Detroit’s historic King Solomon Baptist Church, warns CNN On the risk of low turnout.
“If there’s just a small percentage of people who aren’t voting, you’re going to have a huge challenge trying to get your candidate across that line,” Williams said.
Some black voters questioned El-Sayed’s outreach. reported in a discussion daily telegraphSeveral black voters expressed frustration with El-Sayed’s outreach, including one who said Democrats should not assume black voters will support a candidate simply because of their partisan affiliation.
“I think he took advantage of us as black people being Democrats and he thought we were going to vote for him no matter what,” she said. “And I was like no sir.”
Another said El-Sayed needs to explain how he will directly represent the community: “If you go to Congress to represent me, I need you to talk about what’s going on in this community.”
Rogers is a former Republican congressman who served in Detroit, Flint and Pontiac, and opened a campaign office on Livernois Avenue in Detroit.
Some black Republicans praised Rogers’ outreach. Naura Evans, a teacher and mother of two who has appeared in Rogers’ campaign ads, said she believes Democrats are taking Black voters for granted and that Republicans deserve a hearing.
“It’s very important that we choose the right people,” Evans said. “As Black people in our community, we show that our votes matter. We don’t just give away our votes.”
El-Sayed mocked Rogers’ efforts, calling the opening of the Republican’s Detroit office a “cute little office,” and Rogers led suburban supporters to applaud him.
but Charity Dean, a Detroit coffee shop owner and president of the Michigan Black Business Alliance, who supports El-Sayed, warned against ignoring Rogers’ outreach.
“Everything should be taken seriously,” Dean said. “We’re not going to take anything for granted this year.”
interview clips El-Said eating fried chickenn holding a fork and knife also attracted ridicule online.
Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign with El-Sayed in Detroit on Oct. 24, joining other prominent Democratic figures in endorsing the nominee in an attempt to unite the party after a divisive primary.