{"id":3508,"date":"2020-06-17T13:46:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T17:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=3508"},"modified":"2020-06-19T15:44:48","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T19:44:48","slug":"abraham-aiyash-is-running-for-district-4-state-representative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/abraham-aiyash-is-running-for-district-4-state-representative\/","title":{"rendered":"Abraham Aiyash is Running for District 4 State Representative."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Conversation with Abraham Aiyash by Simon Albaugh\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?visual=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F841778218&#038;show_artwork=true&#038;maxheight=750&#038;maxwidth=500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>By Simon Albaugh<\/p>\n<p>Hamtramck, Mich. \u2013 Back when US Ecology requested an expansion, local activists mobilized every effort to prevent the proposal from moving forward. They slowed the process, got the communities involved and when all else failed, they marched straight to the gates of US Ecology with their list of demands. Abraham Aiyash was there, right next to Rep. Isaac Robinson, to speak on all the frustration.<\/p>\n<p>Not even a month ago, when people were watching Minneapolis burn from protests that went too far, it was still politically risky to align yourself with the cause against Police Brutality. Still, Aiyash spoke in front of the crowd of disenchanted people at one of the first marches in Detroit. Now, the country is watching as the Motor City becomes the model for change through consistent, righteous action.<\/p>\n<p>Near the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, beloved state representative <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/our-community-wont-be-the-same-without-him-state-rep-isaac-robinson-dies-late-mar-29\/\">Isaac Robinson passed away<\/a><\/span> from suspected complications related to the Novel Coronavirus. News headlines across the country wrote on the collective mourning that Detroiters and Hamtramckans felt. Now, the seat is open for anyone who thinks they have a chance at filling the big role that Robinson left.<\/p>\n<p>Abraham Aiyash is among the 14 candidates that will be campaigning to fill the spot left by Robinson. He\u2019s running on a progressive democratic agenda, with policies like pushing for a Gun Reform and Medicare for All. It\u2019s no surprise that he even garnered an endorsement from Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 200px;\">What\u2019s Aiyash Running For?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not about just pushing for the progressive issues, Aiyash explains. \u201cI think you have to go beyond claiming to be a progressive and fighting for the hot button issues. Those are important, but we have to go a step further. How are we localizing some of these issues and how are we showing progress in some of these issues that will directly impact and benefit people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His philosophy on public office is that it should not be a job that\u2019s just filled, but a continuation of the work that someone\u2019s already been doing. For Abraham, that goes back to a long biography of organizing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first organizing stint in Hamtramck was when I was 13 [for the Barack Obama Campaign],\u201d Aiyash said. \u201cWell, I should say I probably started before that when I started organizing the Iftars at my local Mosque. When I was actually in the third grade, I got a bunch of kids to help me do the cleanup and set up for the Iftars at the Miller Mosque.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even while Aiyash attended Michigan State University, where he studied pre-medicine and political science, he created lasting change for the university\u2019s culture. While studying, he helped create coalitions to combat anti-black racism and work toward a more inclusive East Lansing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3511\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3511\" class=\" wp-image-3511\" src=\"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/6A4C5B51-734C-4EE2-AC98-C6F25D6926A3_1_105_c-1-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/6A4C5B51-734C-4EE2-AC98-C6F25D6926A3_1_105_c-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/6A4C5B51-734C-4EE2-AC98-C6F25D6926A3_1_105_c-1-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/6A4C5B51-734C-4EE2-AC98-C6F25D6926A3_1_105_c-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/6A4C5B51-734C-4EE2-AC98-C6F25D6926A3_1_105_c-1.jpeg 1086w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-3511\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aiyash speaks at a rally against the expansion of US Ecology (Photo by Simon Albaugh)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hamtramck also became an important way Aiyash to isolate and critique what many would call the existing power structures that are reflected across the rest of America. Throughout the entirety of Aiyash\u2019s work, there\u2019s a central theme to his advocacy, activism and organizing that\u2019s rooted in his childhood in Hamtramck.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s this idea that power belonged to a certain class of people, and everyone else didn&#8217;t have the right to speak up,\u201d Aiyash said. \u201cAnd I also saw that there was folks who didn&#8217;t feel like they had the right to speak up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I quickly learned the power of having people actualize their agency and recognize that they too have power, they too have authority over their community. They just have to demand it. They have to take it and they have to engage it. And that quickly morphed my passion for building power in communities that largely are disempowered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 200px;\">Who is Aiyash is Running For?<\/p>\n<p>In the election for State Representative of District 4, politicians will need to grapple with one of the most diverse constituencies in the State of Michigan. It\u2019s not enough to activate one\u2019s own community. Rather, a diverse and universally appealing campaign will be needed to establish a strong position as the election continues.<\/p>\n<p>The area of District 4 encompasses Hamtramck and much of its surrounding neighborhoods in Detroit. It stretches as far as the Woodbridge and Midtown neighborhoods of Detroit. The border goes all the way to Connor and Gratiot as well. The dynamic of the District\u2019s demographics have also vastly changed within the last ten years, making the task of understanding the constituency a little more difficult.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s largely a community of poor working-class people,\u201d Aiyash said. \u201cBut you&#8217;re also seeing in House District Four some of the disparities that we&#8217;ve heard about when we talk about new Detroit versus old Detroit. There&#8217;s a lot of investment in certain spaces of this district. And there&#8217;s a lot of neglect in certain spaces of this district. And that&#8217;s all encompassed in House District 4.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3510\" src=\"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/Hamtramck-Native-Abraham-Aiyash-is-running-for-the-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"667\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/Hamtramck-Native-Abraham-Aiyash-is-running-for-the-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/Hamtramck-Native-Abraham-Aiyash-is-running-for-the-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/Hamtramck-Native-Abraham-Aiyash-is-running-for-the-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/Hamtramck-Native-Abraham-Aiyash-is-running-for-the.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>The Yemeni American News will be continuing coverage for the local and national issues that will be decided in 2020. It\u2019s our belief that everyone deserves clear and comprehensive information about who is running, what\u2019s at stake, and how to everyone can be involved. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If you need to register to vote in Michigan, follow <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/mvic.sos.state.mi.us\/registervoter\">this link to start the process.<\/a> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class='clear '><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Simon Albaugh Hamtramck, Mich. \u2013 Back when US Ecology requested an expansion, local activists mobilized every effort to prevent the proposal from moving forward. They slowed the process, got the communities involved and when all else failed, they marched straight to the gates of US Ecology with their list of demands. Abraham Aiyash was [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news","category-elections","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3508"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3517,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3508\/revisions\/3517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}