Team Benson Launches “Black Voters for Benson” Coalition, Highlights Plan to Invest in Every Community in Michigan

Jocelyn promises Black Michiganders will always have a voice in her administration

JOCELYN’S FULL REMARKS AVAILABLE HERE FOR TV OR OTHER USE 

Today, Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for Governor Jocelyn Benson launched her “Black Voters for Benson” coalition during a rally with community and faith leaders in Detroit. The launch marks the latest expansion of Jocelyn’s massive grassroots coalition, which turned out in record-breaking numbers in the August primary.

In January, Jocelyn began rolling out comprehensive plans to grow our economy and bring down costs – from healthcare, to housing, to energy – for all Michiganders and fully fund every Michigan public school in an equitable, transparent manner. Today, she amplified her plan to work closely with communities that have often been overlooked, and ensure they have the tools they need to build generational wealth and solidify a future in Michigan where they can thrive. 

“Jocelyn Benson has the education, she has the history – the civil rights history – and she has the intestinal fortitude,” said Wayne County Executive Warren Evans. “She's an organized woman, a strong woman who listens to 360 degrees of the issue…she's going to take all of the information and make the decision that she thinks is the best for everybody – not just what’s best for white folks, not just the best for black folks – the best. And that's all you could ask for in your elected officials.”

“Under Jocelyn's leadership, we can raise teachers back up. We can expand wraparound support and mental health resources. We can grow preschool for all, strengthen post-secondary pathways, and finally fix the way we fund our schools so that every child gets the resources that they need,” said Detroit Federation of Teachers President Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins. “Benson has the record. She is consistent. She has the vision and the determination to transform Michigan's public schools. Our teachers and our students deserve nothing less, and that vision stands in stark contrast to her opponent's record.”

“We have an opportunity to send MAGA back and make sure the difference between Michigan and Mississippi isn’t just how they spell but how we do each other,” said Reverend Horace Sheffield. “I am proud to support Jocelyn because she’s part of the ‘we party,’ we who have trouble paying rent, we who flinch when we put gas in our car, we who have to decide whether or not we buy medicine or milk. She’s the chair of the ‘we party.’ She’s not new to this — taking stuff and making certain she gets done what needs to be done.” 

“I'm asking you not just to help me win this race, but to help me govern and lead well; knowing that I cannot do that without your voices, without your input, without your holding me accountable, without your seeking to push me to be better and do better, that is what I seek to do,” said Jocelyn Benson. “I know that Black Michiganders have powered change across this state – across this nation – for generations. Trailblazing a path for the rest of the nation to follow, and I seek to be a part of that path now as we, together, write the next chapter of Michigan's history. A chapter that can be full of economic prosperity and the generation of wealth for all.”

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