(WXYZ) — Black history continues to be made - even now in metro Detroit. We sat down with Carrie Budzinski, Livonia City Councilor; Quinn Wright, Madison Heights City Councilor; Clarence Black, Berkley City Councilor; and Michael Howard, Macomb County Commissioner.
VIDEO EXTRA: Our interview subjects give their advice to those who want to get involved
All were elected last November by voters, the first in their communities.
“My goal was not to make history. My goal was just to make sure that change was made and that we were taking the steps for my daughters and for the future generations,” said Wright. “I knew that it was time for new leadership just in general in our political process and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Wright is the first Black City Councilor elected in Madison Heights.
“I think, sometimes, we kinda sit back and we give our opinion. I wanted to make sure I was interjecting mine into the conversation and into the room. It needed to happen,” said Wright.
That also motivated Carrie Budzinski, the first Black woman on Livonia City Council. The idea first came to her in 2020 during the pandemic.
“I really wanted to run for office, just being a woman and a mom, to be perfectly honest,” said Budzinski. “I felt compelled to get out of my comfort zone and get involved. When you literally can’t leave your house, you realize how important your neighborhood is, and so I decided to dive deep into local politics and local government really and how could I get involved and make a better world for my boys and do my part for our community.”
One of her goals is to dispel myths about government and help others get involved.
“I feel like we have such negative perceptions about government or just what impacts we can have, and we can have a big impact. Change is possible,” said Budzinski.
Michael Howard, the first Black man elected in the city of Warren’s history, is seeing the evidence of that.
“I serve on the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, who had previously had one Black man serving 34 years ago, and he was the first,” said Howard. “Macomb, the county that I live in, is named after a slave-owning family, so now to serve the county of Macomb is - it’s impactful.”
U.S. Army Major Clarence Black is the first Black man on Berkleys City Council.
“I didn’t find out until midway through our campaign that there had never been anyone of color in that seat, and that was just kind of jaw-dropping, and it pushed us even harder, I think,” said Black.
He was also a long-time resident of the area but did not obtain two open appointments before he ran.
“I have four beautiful, biracial children who live in Berkley, go to Berkley schools, and I’d been a Berkley resident since 2008, so I really felt like I had earned to have some say. I wasn’t some newcomer. I had been there almost 14 years when I ran. So I really just wanted to be a part of it,” said Black.
Being a part of history continues to motivate them all as they work to expand labor opportunities throughout their communities for those coming behind them.
“Black folks have been at the crux of the labor movement here in America. It started not by choice, and then we built a middle-class lifestyle through labor unions, and labor is really the heartbeat of the middle class,” said Howard.
Howard says it's about creating and taking up space.
“If they won’t give us a seat at the table, we need to build a bigger table because your voice matters,” said Howard.
We asked about the intersection of black history and labor: Given the history of Black labor in America, what do you see as the most pressing labor-related issues today that need political attention in your cities?
Black: “I think for us in Berkley, it really comes down to AI. We really need to get a handle on it. I think, like a lot of communities, we’re really trying to figure out what is this going to mean for us, especially as we look at a possible refit of city hall and our services and things like that. For us, we really want to try to figure out where is AI going to try to make labor easier.”
Wright: “Making sure that our workers have a prevailing wage and that we’re doing the best value contracting to make sure that we’re not just taking the lowest bidder but making sure that we’re providing an economic stimulus and development for our residents. Our city is a union town, and so we got a lot of folks who are labor, and we gotta make sure they can have a working wage, and they can afford the groceries and things that everyone is kind of up in arms about.”
Budzinski” “What we really have to focus on is the next generation of kids and our students both at the high school level but also at the college level.”
Howard: “Making sure that our responsible contracting ordinances reflect practical and responsible labor responsibilities like project labor agreements, prevailing wage, and these are things that impact all communities, not just Black communities, not just white communities. It impacts everybody that is trying to work hard and provide for their family.”
