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PASTOR COREY BROOKS: El-Sayed’s pitch to Black voters is the same old liberal condescension
Pastor Corey Brooks argues that Abdul El-Sayed’s appeal to Black voters in Michigan relies on what Brooks sees as liberal condescension and a focus on historical grievance. He says El-Sayed’s proposals and rhetoric risk encouraging dependence on government, while offering too little emphasis on personal responsibility and American identity.
Brooks notes that El-Sayed supports Medicare for All and abolishing ICE, has spoken at Democratic Socialists of America events, and has received help from DSA members, although the organisation has not endorsed him and El-Sayed calls himself a capitalist. After losing Detroit in the August primary, El-Sayed visited Black churches and promoted plans for housing, minority business loans and school repairs. Brooks cites a rise in the share of Black children born to unmarried mothers, from 23.6% in 1963 to 69% in 2023, and says his organisation Project H.O.O.D. seeks to counter dependency through job training and character building.
In short
- Brooks criticises El-Sayed’s appeal to Black voters as condescending.
- El-Sayed backs Medicare for All and abolishing ICE.
- Brooks links social programmes to dependency and cites family statistics.
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The case for
Brooks’s argument is that appeals centred on historic injustice and government programmes can understate Black communities’ agency and imply that outside intervention is the main route to progress. He sees greater value in stressing personal responsibility, stable families, work and a shared American identity, and points to Project H.O.O.D.’s job training and character-building work as an alternative.
The case against
El-Sayed’s approach can be defended as addressing practical barriers that constrain opportunity: affordable housing, access to business capital and safe, well-maintained schools. Supporters could argue that public policy and community investment expand people’s choices rather than encourage dependency, and that acknowledging historical disadvantage is compatible with personal responsibility and a shared national identity.
Explained simply
Abdul El-Sayed is a Michigan politician who has sought support from Black voters, including in Detroit. His campaign has backed proposals such as Medicare for All and abolishing the US immigration agency ICE; he has also spoken at Democratic Socialists of America events, though the group has not endorsed him. El-Sayed describes himself as a capitalist.
Pastor Corey Brooks is a Chicago pastor and founder of Project H.O.O.D., which offers job training and other programmes. He argues that some liberal appeals to Black voters place too much emphasis on historical injustice and government help, and too little on personal responsibility. The disagreement reflects wider debates in US politics about how to address racial and economic inequality and what role government should play.
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