http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opi...cans/31178663/
On July 30, five of Detroit’s more visible black Republicans joined me for a one-hour discussion at the Detroit Seafood Market on why their party is the answer for Detroit and why their membership in the GOP is largely misunderstood.

The panel:
■ Jerome Barney, a Detroit attorney;
■ Bill Brooks, a prominent civic leader and former GM executive;
■ Wayne Bradley, the Michigan GOP African-American outreach director:
■ Ellis Washington, activist, lecturer and author, and;
■ Langston Bowens, a GOP youth leader.
“We don’t get exposure because diversity of ideas on how to address the plight of the [[black) culture is not a strong consideration in a monolithic political landscape. I am clear on my message: Blacks need to be part of both major political parties,” said Barney, who joined the Republican Party in the 1970s. “Criminal justice is a moral and fiscal issue that a segment of the Republican Party has addressed for years, albeit it has not been a mainstream issue because of lack of black participation in the Republican network.”

Brooks, who once ran for mayor of Detroit and is a former chairman of the board of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., helped host the first political fundraiser in Detroit for Obama during his first run for president.
“I believe that once we are only on one side we are taken advantage of rather than being on both sides,” Brooks said. “There is some leverage that you can make and influence you can have in making decisions that are relevant to us when you are in both parties. For now Democrats are just taking us for granted.”

Sidebar: No women on the panel? I'm sure they're out there-- somewhere.
It's an overdue conversation- it needs to continue and be as public as possible. But I hope these folks can offer some real solutions that helps everyday residents besides, um, "Lib rule sucks!"....