“When he talks about shutting the door of America to Muslims, all he’s talking about is scapegoating minorities,” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told a diverse crowd of local residents at the UAW Local 600 hall in Dearborn. “We will not accept that bait.”
Sanders’ hard-hitting words against Republican front runner Donald Trump was one of several moments that drew a large reaction from attendees during his campaign stop on Monday, February 15.
A significant number of Arab American residents from around metro Detroit attended the event. They were among hundreds of Sanders’ supporters who waited hours in a line that wrapped around the UAW building in the Southend.
“The issues he stands up for are things an everyday person would want,” said Dearborn resident Samar Alsalmi. “He’s not a billionaire that is against the little people. He’s a person who cares about everyone. He is very well informed about everything. He goes against Donald Trump, which is everything an Arab American would want.”
Many local Arab, Latino and African American metro Detroit residents were selected to stand behind Sanders as he delivered his speech in the hall that was packed with 700 attendees.
A Dearborn fire marshal said that organizers had to stop letting people into the building after it reached maximum capacity.
Along with his denouncement of the hate rhetoric that’s been sweeping the Republican Party, Sanders also called out free trade agreements, corrupt campaigns and the country’s broken education system during his one-hour speech.
“How crazy is it that hundreds of thousands of bright and qualified young people, who want to go to college and should be in college, are unable to go to college because their families lack the funds,” Sanders said. “That is why I believe in the year 2016, when we talk about public education...we have to be making certain that public colleges and universities are tuition free.”
Sanders was not shy about addressing residents’ growing frustrations in Michigan, starting with the Flint water crisis. He noted that earlier in the day, he had met with residents who had been severely impacted by the contaminated water, calling the disaster-struck city “the canary in the coal mine.”
“What I heard from these families was not only tragic, it was unbelievable,” Sanders said. “Imagine being the mom of a bright young daughter and seeing that child mentally deteriorate in front of your eyes...when I left that meeting I said, ‘what country am I living in? Is this the United States of America?’”
He also drew a reaction from the crowd when he addressed police brutality, another issue that has impacted metro Detroit, following the deaths of two residents who were fatally shot by Dearborn police.
“Most police officers are honest doing very difficult jobs,” Sanders said. “But like any other public official, when a police officer breaks the law that officer must be held accountable. We have got to demilitarize local police officers. We’ve got to make police departments look like the diversity of the communities they are serving.”
Throughout much of his speech, Sanders also focused on job creation in Michigan, stating that minimum wage needs to be increased to $15 an hour and that money needs to be spent on creating jobs to fix the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.
Sanders also took slight jabs at Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, stating that the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) deal she had initially supported resulted in the loss of more than 60,000 factories in America. He also indirectly took a dig at her campaign fundraising, when he condemned large donor contributors in the Election.
“There’s a corrupt campaign finance system, in which billionaires are in the process are buying elections,” Sanders said. “I believe that Democracy is one person and one vote.”
Following his speech, Sanders spent several minutes meeting and greeting attendees and posing in photos with his supporters at the UAW.
The UAW has not yet endorsed either Sanders or Clinton. But on the campaign trails, both candidates have spoken at UAW locals to show support for the working middle class.
Local 600 Vice President Tony Richard told The Arab American News that Sanders’ speech resonated well with not only the local UAW, which represents 9,000 Ford workers, but with the Detroit community and local Muslim residents as well.
“He had some fine points and it came out really well,” Richard said. “He spoke on behalf of the Detroit community and he also spoke on behalf of the Arabic community, because they were here. He was talking about how he wanted equality across the board.”
For local Arab residents, Sanders’ appearance in Dearborn cemented support from the majority of the community, who are growing reluctant to throw their backing behind Clinton.
Dearborn Heights resident Fahtme Abdallah said the majority of Arab and Muslim residents should back Sanders over Clinton, because of his record on foreign policy.
“He is not afraid to come out and support us,” Abdallah said. “He is not afraid to go out there and mention Palestine, which is huge in the political world. Everyone shies away from that. He’s not afraid to say that he does not support Netanyahu. I think that’s huge for us...especially for Muslims.”
But Sanders’ appearance here didn’t go without some criticism. Some attendees pointed out that he did not address the environment, a sensitive issue in the Southend of Dearborn and southwest Detroit—neighborhoods that are plagued by toxic emissions from surrounding mega-factories.
“Bernie! Don’t forget about the environment,” one bystander shouted at him as he exited the UAW hall.
Others expressed slight disappointment that he didn’t stress stronger points on Muslim and Arab issues, topics he was projected to elaborate on during his trip to Dearborn, a city with a Muslim population of greater than 40 percent.
However, the majority of Arab attendees left the event enthused about the possibility of Sanders making it to the White House. In a presidential election where minorities have been turned off by Trump’s fear-mongering rhetoric and Clinton’s wishy-washy views, Sanders is charming the working middle class community of Michigan, which includes Muslims and Arabs.
“Senator Sanders’ words today echoed the thoughts and concerns of many local residents, allowing him to connect with the Southeast Michigan community,” said Dearborn resident Mahde Abdallah. “I’m behind his campaign, due to his integrity in this election, consistent views throughout his public service career and his representation of the everyday Americans who are being overlooked on Capitol Hill.”
Sanders will return to Michigan to face off against Clinton in a debate on March 6 in Flint. Michigan’s primary will be held two days later on March 8.