Detroit Raw by Sam Riddle

Sex race card?

Special to the Michigan Citizen As a bona fide senior, I must confess some envy of the brazen throwdown, but remain baffled at the manner in which “Django Unchained” actress Daniele Watts has handled her on-going PR scuffle with the Los Angeles Police Department after being busted for an in-car moment. In a Hollywood Reporter article, well respected human rights activist and Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson said his first response to the Watts issue was to defend her. But in a recent press conference, Hutchinson called on Watts to apologize to the LAPD, and made it clear he has severe doubts about Watts’s credibility. Hutchinson is quoted as saying, “We take racial profiling very seriously. It’s not a play thing. It’s not trivial.” Indeed, brother Earl, given the pandemic nature of white privilege, the last thing we need are spurious allegations of racism. Rookie in-car-bangers must be very careful about hurling charges of racism especially after curb-side littering with DNA laden tissue. IJS… Wonder how Detroit Police Chief Hollywood Craig would handle this one. Ramping down to the mundane, it is incredibly bizarre to hear Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey mouth the racist mantra of right-wing voter suppression adherents when Winfrey declares preventing voter fraud is one of the reasons she is purging Detroit voter rolls. The only statistically significant fraud that went down was Winfrey’s office disenfranchising thousands of Detroit voters by mishandling difference-making ballots in elections including those for Detroit mayor. [caption id="attachment_14424" align="alignright" width="300"] Daniele Watts with friend Brian Lucas COURTESY PHOTO[/caption] Since 1972, when I was a delegate to the First National Black Political Convention in Gary, Ind., I have grappled with the relationship between Black America and the Democratic Party. Forty-two years later, I still have the same fundamental issues. Why do we deliver for a party that takes us for granted? Why do predominately white consulting firms get the bulk of dollars that are spent getting out the Black vote with smart azz white folk directing that GOTV with minimal dollars spent on Black media? The Black voter is akin to a political side-piece — cast aside until Dems need some votes, then cast aside again until that need must be satisfied for the next election. Where was the Democratic Party when democracy was destroyed in Detroit with imposition of an emergency manager? Where was the Democratic Party when Detroit water shutoffs began? Where is the Democratic Party on addressing systemic issues that result in 60 percent of Detroit children living in poverty? Yeah, I know, “We must get rid of Snyder.” We need to get rid of some hypocritical Dems too. We must never let haters cause us to lose hope or dislike ourselves and never let haters make you weak in your faith. Keep the faith. Stay on the battlefield. Sam Riddle is political director for Michigan National Action Network. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sam.riddle, or at twitter.com/samriddle.