The reverberations from state Sen. Coleman Young II’s race-bating rant last week on the Senate floor might not be over yet.
Dennis Lennox, a Republican activist and a columnist for our
sister paper, The (Mount Pleasant) Morning Sun, has called on Senate leadership
to repudiate and punish Young for suggesting the $195 million grand bargain
reached to bring Detroit out of bankruptcy is an effort by white officials to
take control of a mostly-black city.
sister paper, The (Mount Pleasant) Morning Sun, has called on Senate leadership
to repudiate and punish Young for suggesting the $195 million grand bargain
reached to bring Detroit out of bankruptcy is an effort by white officials to
take control of a mostly-black city.
“Once you let them in, they never leave,” Young said during his
12-minute speech.
12-minute speech.
Other than his reputation as a pompous orator, the Detroit
senator, Lennox writes in his column, is best known as the illegitimate
son of the late Detroit Mayor Coleman Young.
senator, Lennox writes in his column, is best known as the illegitimate
son of the late Detroit Mayor Coleman Young.
During his
remarks, Young bashed the (white) “cronies” who will hold sway during the extended
state oversight of city hall. That move is a repudiation of blacks who were lynched
or faced dogs and fire hoses in order to win the right to vote, he said.
remarks, Young bashed the (white) “cronies” who will hold sway during the extended
state oversight of city hall. That move is a repudiation of blacks who were lynched
or faced dogs and fire hoses in order to win the right to vote, he said.
Speaking in Jesse Jackson-style sing-song rhymes, Young loudly
proclaimed that the white “subjugation” while the city remains under state
scrutiny will represent “intrastate colonialism.”
proclaimed that the white “subjugation” while the city remains under state
scrutiny will represent “intrastate colonialism.”
Lennox,
contrasting Young’s angry rant with the diplomatic voices of other black
Detroit officials, reached this conclusion:
contrasting Young’s angry rant with the diplomatic voices of other black
Detroit officials, reached this conclusion:
“Young’s
unabashed racism must be repudiated in the strongest of terms by
both Democrats and Republicans.
unabashed racism must be repudiated in the strongest of terms by
both Democrats and Republicans.
“…He should
also face serious repercussions from Sen. Randy Richardville and
Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, the respective majority and minority leaders
in the Senate, who could suspend Young from committee assignments
and even cut funding to his office.
also face serious repercussions from Sen. Randy Richardville and
Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, the respective majority and minority leaders
in the Senate, who could suspend Young from committee assignments
and even cut funding to his office.
“There
is without a doubt a need for a substantive discussion on the very
structure and system of governance for Detroit in the aftermath of the
grand bargain. Clearly, city hall cannot be allowed to return to its
old ways once the pressing concerns are resolved and bankruptcy proceedings
come to an end.”
is without a doubt a need for a substantive discussion on the very
structure and system of governance for Detroit in the aftermath of the
grand bargain. Clearly, city hall cannot be allowed to return to its
old ways once the pressing concerns are resolved and bankruptcy proceedings
come to an end.”
