Warren Evans: Biden is trailing in Michigan polls. The party must engage Black voters. | Opinion

The Democratic Party not only has an Arab problem, it has a Black problem.

That should come as no surprise, when you consider the fact that the party has consistently failed to adequately engage with Black elected leadership. The first step in correcting that problem is for the party to acknowledge the problem. The next step is to fix it.

This problem, as reflected locally in the Michigan Democratic Party, results from an inexplicable inability to sufficiently and productively engage with Black people on a consistent basis. Instead, engagement most often occurs every four years, when there always seems to be a raging four-alarm political fire that only Black people possess the ability to put out. But if Black people have the power to save the day every four years, perhaps those political superpowers are worth tapping into on a more regular basis as a preventive approach rather than playing defense all the time.

In other words, we want to be at the table for every discussion. Every. Single. One.

Black people in the Democratic Party need to feel like our concerns and viewpoints ― our approaches to problem-solving — are part of the main course when it comes to deciding policy and strategy, not just as an afterthought to be trotted out of the closet every now and then. Or in an emergency.

I voted 'uncommitted,' but not because of Gaza

This dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party’s political blind spot when it comes to Black people is not a new development. As a kid, I campaigned for the Freedom Now Party, because even then many Black people were dissatisfied with the Democratic Party, and rebelled against the pressure put on us to accept Democrats as our only alternative.

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, I cast my vote as “uncommitted” in Michigan's presidential primary. I am a lifelong Democrat, and I have never been “uncommitted” before. It wasn’t an easy choice, but I felt like it was my only choice. I simply could not close my eyes and pretend like doing the same thing all over again would somehow turn out OK. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

More from Opinion: Biden has lost Arab American voters. So what's the point of 'uncommitted'?

But although I have complete sympathy for my Arab and Muslim neighbors in the county who made their voices heard by voting “uncommitted” to protest President Joe Biden’s support of Israel in the war between Israel and Hamas, and his refusal to call for an immediate cease-fire, that was not my reason for voting the way I did.

I was sickened, as so many others have been by the sheer inhumanity of the situation that is becoming an escalating series of tragedies piled on top of one another. My decision to vote “uncommitted” was to protest the Michigan Democratic Party’s ongoing inability to sufficiently and productively engage with Black people in this state.

Most Black people didn't vote 'uncommitted,' they didn't vote.

I am no stranger to national and local politics. I have been involved in Detroit and Wayne County’s Democratic political process for more than six decades, and have served as an elected official in Michigan for 16 years in the state's largest and most diverse county.

I am also a proud and longtime Democrat, as well as Michigan’s second-highest-ranking Black elected official. I have seen and experienced more than most when it comes to local politics and how things work. One thing I can say for certain that hasn’t changed is how much the Michigan Democratic Party continues to take its Black residents for granted. Their determination to forge ahead, blinders firmly attached, down what they consider to be this race-neutral path is costing them the allegiance of their most loyal — and formidable — bloc of voters. And at the worst possible time.

This willful blindness may well cost President Joe Biden the state that will decide the 2024 presidential election, unless the Michigan Democrats finally pay attention, and realize that this issue is not an annoying flea buzzing around their ears, it is a ticked-off bull elephant charging toward a toothpick shack.

Most Black people didn’t vote uncommitted, they just didn’t vote. And for Biden to win in Michigan, he has to have another high Black voter turnout like he did in 2020.

In other words, this is serious.

The party has not asked for my help

And this local political blindness also seems to be contagious enough that it is affecting Democrats at a national level. For example, as the second-highest-ranking Black elected official in the State of Michigan with nearly a half-century’s worth of experience in local politics, not to mention the longtime community activism of my family, it would seem that the state and national party would be anxious to seek out the feedback and support of those in a position to help them.

I want to emphasize the word “help.” Because this is not about calling people names. This is about waving my arms in the air as a fellow Democrat, trying to draw attention to a crisis and offering to do whatever I can to make sure we win in November.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley, who has also served as chair of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and is the current chair of Black Mayors of Michigan, sounded the alarm in a recent Metro Times article about a “Black voters exodus.” Neeley pointed to a January EPIC-MRA poll showing that support of Biden among Michigan’s Black voters has dropped nearly 30 percentage points, from 92 % in 2020 to 62% today.

Like I said, this is serious.

Donald Trump is a real threat

I want to clearly state that despite my uncommitted vote in the primary, and even despite my growing discontent with Michigan’s Democratic Party, I am fully aware of the looming threat posed by a return of Donald Trump to the White House. Such a possibility poses a very real danger to the entire country the likes of which has not been seen since the Civil War, or more recently World War II, if the outcome had been different.

Which is why this situation needs to be addressed yesterday. The Michigan Democratic Party needs a system update, and we don’t have a lot of time for this essential course correction. Our party has evolved beyond its historical boundaries and is no longer a party that predominantly represents the interests of white individuals.

They might also consider consistently engaging with elected Black members of the party in an ongoing dialogue, and treating them as if they are Democrats, too, not some separate organization that is only worth trotting out weeks before an election to make sure Black people vote — and then shoving them back into the closet until the next Election Day.

Today’s party needs to more visibly live up to its promise of being about diversity, inclusively embracing Black and brown communities at our core. It is imperative that our policies and our image accurately reflect this transformation.

I might add that this is also a critical time because Michigan now has no Democratic Black congressional representation in Washington. Now we can see and feel the effects of the recent re-districting efforts, and it feels like mistakes were made. Serious mistakes that we can ill afford.

Finally, as an elected official who represents all Wayne County residents, I need to emphasize that this is not about granting priority to any group over another. This is simply an acknowledgment of a political reality that must be addressed. Historically disenfranchised groups have largely gravitated to the Democratic Party in Michigan and nationwide in recent decades because the Democratic Party has offered the best options to those communities. But no one likes to be ignored, and no one likes to be taken for granted. This is not the first time the Democratic Party has been given this warning.

In these United States, specifically in Michigan, Democratic leaders need to get real with their constituents and take heed of this warning sooner rather than later, because later will be too late.

Warren C. Evans is the Wayne County executive. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: I voted 'uncommitted’ in Michigan primary, but not because of Gaza