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Wherever he’s gone, and whatever he’s done, Hill Harper has made his mark as an actor, small business owner, union organizer, and Presidential adviser. {{mpre}} Now he says it’s time to send him to the U.S. Senate – which he sees as the best way of helping communities whose voice isn’t getting heard.
“The statehouse takes the money, and it’s supposed to come to Benton Harbor – but they take their bite, and the crumbs end up in Benton Harbor,” Harper said. “We have the technology – and the ability – to invest in the communities that need it, through the mayors, the counties, and the cities.”
Those kinds of disparities don’t take long to make themselves felt in communities like Benton Harbor, Harper said. “Most communities that struggle, the folks who live in the communities don’t tend to own, the dollar doesn’t get recirculated, and it builds upon itself,” he said.
Harper’s comments came during a Community Town Hall, held last Friday at the Citadel, in downtown Benton Harbor, as part of his U.S. Senate campaign, which he announced last month. Local activist and Benton Harbor school board member Trenton Bowens moderated the event, which also included a brief question and answer session with the audience.
Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad opened the event with a brief introduction. Muhammad said that he decided to invite Harper, after he and a delegation of African American mayors met with him, at his home.
“We just wanted to find out, ‘Does he have good ideas? Does he have a good underpinning of what this nation needs?’ What I heard that night, I said, ‘Benton Harbor needs to hear from Hill Harper,’” he said.
Harper is best known for his roles in “CSI: NY,” and “The Good Doctor.” In 2012, President Barack Obama, whom he befriended while they were both students at Harvard University, appointed him to a panel that advised the White House on cancer policy. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard, and owns a coffee shop in Detroit.
Harper is the sixth Democrat who’s entered the race that will determine a successor to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow. In January, she announced plans to retire, rather than seek a fifth term.
Harper’s visit to Benton Harbor, which marked his first here, came during a statewide tour intended to further introduce his candidacy.
Many of the issues that people face – including lack of opportunity, to inequities in the criminal justice system, and student debt – come down to a system that puts profits above their needs, Harper said.
“When we lead with the profit motive, it creates misincentives and misalignments,” Harper said. “The profit motive is crushing the system. That’s the reform we need, but we’re not going to get it if we keep electing the same people to office.”
The same people in office also promote a lot of the same false ideas – such as the argument that raising the minimum wage hurts businesses, Harper said. “I want the folks who work for my business to earn enough, to shop next door. And I want the people working next door to earn enough, to come to my business, because both businesses win.”
For that reason, Harper pledged not to “raise a dime on the people’s time,” noting that the average Congressperson and Senator spends four to six hours per day – or 500,000 hours per – raising money for themselves, to keep their seats.
He also wants Congress to scrap the filibuster, or practice of unlimited debate that prevents many bills from coming to the floor, as well as roll back the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for unlimited spending on elections.
“As soon as you make those changes, no one’s slipping notes under the table anymore – because their influence disappears,” Harper said. “We could actually have a democracy, instead of a money-driven authoritarian system, which we’re actually experiencing.”