As a reporter for the Detroit News in the early 1990s, Kim Trent recalls she discovered "blatant sexism" while covering the Detroit mayoral campaign between Dennis Archer and Sharon McPhail.
This year, Trent, now a member of the Wayne State University Board of Governors, writes in an opinion article in the Free Press that she perceives sexism is alive and well in Detroit politics when you look at the failed mayoral campaign of Lisa Howze, an accomplished CPA who grew up the daughter of a single mother on Detroit's West Side.
"Beneath the surface of the criticism of Howze is something even more insidious: sexism, pure and simple. Implicit in the argument that Howze’s candidacy was fake is the suggestion that a black woman’s candidacy is inherently curious, suspicious and worthy of an extra measure of scrutiny. I’m also troubled by the tacit message that a woman candidate always has a man in the wings pulling the strings."I don’t suggest that anyone who didn’t support Howze in the primary is a sexist. There’s no denying that Sheriff Napoleon and former Prosecutor Duggan had the benefit of higher profiles and longer track records. But the bilious commentary and criticism that Howze has faced for even entering the race deserves scrutiny."
