Andrew Yang, entrepre-
neur and 2020 presidential 
candidate, hosted a campaign 
rally Saturday evening at the 
Detroit Shipping Company 
food hall in the Cass Corri-
dor neighborhood of Detroit. 
About 300 people attended 

the rally to hear Yang’s policy 
ideas and strategy for winning 
the Democratic nomination.
Yang is one of more than 
20 democrats running for the 
nomination, which includes 
Former Vice President Joe 
Biden; Sen. Kamala Harris, 
D-Calif.; Mayor Pete But-
tigieg; Sen. Bernie Sanders, 
D-Vt. and many more.
Detroit 
resident 
Nicho-
las Scott told The Daily prior 
to the event Yang is his first 
choice in this election cycle.
“He’s the only candidate 
with a lot of policy positions 
I absolutely agree with and 
even some policy positions I 
don’t even know about, and 
I hear him talk about (them) 
and I think ‘Of course,’” Scott 
said. “The other day, I saw his 
appearance on something and 
they asked him about pennies 
and how he wants to get rid of 
the penny because it’s bad for 
the environment and worth-
less. I never thought about the 
penny and I thought ‘Jesus, we 
need to make this man presi-
dent.’”

Scott said climate change is 
always his primary concern, 
but Yang’s policy proposal 
of Universal Basic Income, 
which would give Americans 
over the age of 18 years old 
$1,000 per month, has become 
an important policy idea for 
him.
“Climate change is num-
ber one, always,” Scott said. 

“After that, maybe UBI. UBI 
fixes so much about welfare, 
and it’s politically popular on 
both sides of the aisle which is 
incredible for a welfare safety 
net program.”
Paul Bartlett, founder of 
Yang’s Metro Detroit cam-
paign office, introduced Yang 
to the crowd. He got involved 
with Yang’s campaign after 
listening to a podcast Yang 
was featured on. He said he 
was amazed by the number 
of policy ideas he found on 
Yang’s website.
“When I first saw him, he 
had 70 policies on his cam-
paign page,” Bartlett said. “By 
the time I looked around, he 
had 75. He now has over 100 
policies on that page.”
Yang was then introduced 
onto the stage. Yang said he 
has been visiting Detroit each 
year for the past eight years 
and is astonished with the 
revitalization Detroit is expe-
riencing.
“I came here in 2010 or 2011 
when the bankruptcy was just 
on, and the city has just got-

ten better and better and more 
and more vibrant thanks to 
people exactly like you,” Yang 
said.
Yang began by stating he is 
not a career politician, but an 
entrepreneur and a problem 
solver. He said he wants to 
solve what he thinks the prob-
lem is regarding the election 
of President Donald Trump.
“The real answer is Donald 
Trump is our president today 
because we automated away 
four million manufacturing 
jobs in Michigan, Ohio, Penn-
sylvania, Wisconsin, Missouri 
and Iowa,” Yang said. “If all 
of those states sound familiar, 
those are all the states that 
Donald Trump needed to win 
and did win.”
Yang 
said 
he 
believes 
Trump’s message was par-
ticularly resonant with people 
who lost their jobs due to auto-
mation, and that’s why Trump 
was successful in those states. 
Trump 
said 
automation 
hit Detroit especially hard 
because of its heavy manufac-
turing industry.
“This town is very much 
the ground zero for the auto-
mation of jobs,” Yang said.
Yang credited some of this 
job loss to the expansion of 
Amazon and, he believes, for 
not paying their fair share in 
income tax.
“Amazon somehow paid 
less in taxes than each of you,” 
Yang said.
Yang went on to explain 
his idea of the Freedom Divi-
dend, which is Universal Basic 
Income of $1,000 per month to 
every American adult.
“The first time you heard 
that, I know what you thought,” 
Yang said. “I know you thought 
‘Haha, that’s a bit of a gimmick. 
There’s an Asian man running 
for president who wants to give 
everyone $1,000 a month.’ But 
if you dig into our history, you 
find that this Universal Basic 
Income has actually been a part 
of our country’s DNA from the 
very beginning.”

3
NEWS

Thursday, May 9, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Presidential candidates stump in Detroit

Presidential 
candidate 
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., 
gave the keynote address to a 
crowd of 10,000 people at the 
64th annual NAACP Fight 
for Freedom Dinner at the 
Cobo Conference Center in 
Detroit Sunday evening. The 
Detroit branch of the NAACP 
is the largest in the nation.
Harris is one of over 
20 people running for the 
Democratic 
nomination. 
According to CNN, Former 
Vice President Joe Biden is 
currently leading election 
opinion polls, while Harris 
is polling at 5 percent. Before 
being elected to the U.S. Con-
gress, Harris served as the 
Attorney General of Califor-
nia and the District Attorney 
of San Francisco.
The NAACP hosted a press 
conference before the dinner 
began. At the press confer-
ence, President of the Detroit 
NAACP Rev. Dr. Wendell 
Anthony said the stakes are 
too high in the upcoming 
election to not participate.
“We must be counted … the 
stakes are too great to sit this 
out,” Anthony said. “What’s 
riding on the election is our 
lives, our freedom.”
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., 
echoed 
these 
sentiments 
later in the evening. He also 
emphasized the importance 
of the Census as well as the 
2020 election, in which he 
will be running for re-elec-
tion.
“I will tell you there are 
some people in this country 
who don’t want you count-
ed,” Peters said. “They don’t 
want your voice heard.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer 
said she will serve as a part-
ner to Michigan in providing 
more opportunities for col-
lege and work advancement. 
She said the NAACP is a bed-
rock in the state.
“The true infrastructure 
in our state that we need to 

address is the lack of oppor-
tunity,” Whitmer said. “You 
not only have a seat at the 
table, but you have a partner 
in me.”
After the press confer-
ence, U.S. Rep. Debbie Ding-
ell, D-Mich., said the NAACP 
has played a major role in 
fighting for equal rights in 
America.

“I’ve been coming to this 
dinner for a long time, and 
the NAACP has played a 
critical role for decades in 
fighting for civil rights and 
equal opportunity for all,” 
Dingell said. “I was really in 
the trenches when we fought 
for affirmative action at the 
University of Michigan. The 
people who are a part of this 
organization are good peo-
ple that I am proud to work 
with.”
Additional 
Michigan 
politicians 
in 
attendance 
included Michigan Attorney 
General Dana Nessel, U.S. 
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Detroit 
Mayor Mike Duggan and 
Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
After the press conference, 
guests came together for din-
ner and remarks from win-
ners of various awards. Dr. 
Charles Adams, pastor of the 
Hartford Memorial Baptist 
Church, was given the James 
Weldon Johnson Lifetime 
Achievement Award. Musi-
cian and philanthropist Akon 
received the Freedom & Jus-

tice Award. Amanda Alex-
ander, executive director of 
the Detroit Justice Center, 
and Darryl Woods Sr., former 
prison branch president at 
Ryan Correctional Facility, 
were both given the Great 
Expectations Award.
Akon said African Ameri-
cans should attempt to adjust 
the way they view their own 

identities.
“There’s no reason to have 
an African American,” Akon 
said. “You’re just an African 
in America.”
Harris then began her key-
note address to the crowd. 
She began by saying Ameri-
ca’s political system needs to 
be reformed to better repre-
sent the everyday citizen.
“The system is in need of 
reform, so let’s have people on 
the inside prepared to use their 
power to open doors and pre-
pared to implement the agenda 
to make the system more fair 
and just,” Harris said. “That 
is what I have done from the 
first day I walked into the San 
Francisco 
(District 
Attor-
ney’s) office, from the first day 
I walked into the California 
(Attorney General’s) office, 
from the first day I walked 
into the U.S. Senate, and that 
is what I will do the first day I 
walk into the Oval Office.”

Read more at 

MichiganDaily.com

Kamala Harris highlights need for systematic reform, 
speaking ‘truth’ to 10,000 at NAACP fundraiser

Andrew Yang discusses Universal Basic Income, beating 
Trump to crowd of 300 at Detroit Shipping Company

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., talks about fighting for justice as part of 
her keynote address at the Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner Sunday.

Courtesy of Rachel Cunningham
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang speaks at a campaign rally at the Detroit 
Shiping Company food hall Saturday.

RACHEL CUNNINGHAM
Daily News Editor

ALEX HARRING
Summer Managing News Editor

RACHEL CUNNINGHAM
Daily News Editor

Read more at 

MichiganDaily.com

