# Episode 227: On the Road in Michigan — Plus Atima Omara on How Black Women Built Our Democracy

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/let-s-address-this-with-qasim-rashid-podcast-7023830/episode-227-on-the-road-in-michigan-plus-atima-omara-on-how-black-women-built-our-democracy
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/let-s-address-this-with-qasim-rashid-podcast-7023830/episode-227-on-the-road-in-michigan-plus-atima-omara-on-how-black-women-built-our-democracy.md
Podcast: [Let's Address This with Qasim Rashid Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/let-s-address-this-with-qasim-rashid-podcast-7023830)
Published: 2026-06-16T16:16:14+00:00
Episode link: https://www.qasimrashid.com/p/episode-227-on-the-road-in-michigan
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/201793123/78cb6888cc830d5f77576fd9d938c568.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3110

## Resource

On Episode 227 of The Qasim Rashid Show: I had the joy of sitting down with Atima Omara — Democratic strategist, organizer, and author of the powerful new book The Instigators . Her book tells the critical history of Black women who put their lives on the line, through slavery and Jim Crow and beyond, to build the democracy we have today. Her argument is urgent: when we center Black women’s leadership in politics and in power, policy gets better for everyone—and studies of state legislatures back that up. Four Important Conversations in Michigan In this episode, I also took the show on the road to Michigan to meet with some of the most prolific progressive candidates trying to fix our democracy. I sat down with: Dr. Abdul El Sayed —running for U.S. Senate, UAW-endorsed, and the only candidate in this race championing universal healthcare. Dr. El Sayed makes the case that an Arab Muslim running on working people’s values isn’t a liability—it’s exactly what this moment demands. State Rep Donavan McKinney —running for U.S. Congress in Michigan’s 13th District—Rep McKinney faces a corrupt, corporate Democrat self-funding his campaign and completely detached from the working people he’s supposed to represent. William Lawrence —running for U.S. Congress in Michigan’s 7th District against corporate-funded opponents, and outraising both of them combined from voters in his own district. Eli Savit — running for Michigan Attorney General, a Jewish American, prolific lawyer, and brilliant progressive mind who has been on the right side of history on all the things we care about. Michigan is a swing state, and in 2028, we desperately need an AG who’s actually going to protect the democratic process. Thank you for tuning in to the Qasim Rashid Show. Be sure to subscribe so we can co…

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