Joe Biden needs to crank it up when talking about the positive impact his presidency has had on African Americans and communities like Detroit if he hopes to hold onto that job. That assessment comes from Dave Bing, former mayor of Detroit and CEO of the Bing Group, who has known Biden since both were students at Syracuse University.
“He needs do a better job of communicating his successes,” Bing told me as we talked this week. “I’m concerned,” he said of polls showing Biden losing support among African Americans and other constituencies, adding, “But we’ve got time (before November’s election).”
Their paths first crossed decades ago. Biden was attending Syracuse’s law school while Bing, a year younger, was a national standout basketball player (he became the No. 2 draft pick in 1966 as the Detroit Pistons chose him) who went on to blaze a trail through the NBA, business and politics before giving back to his adopted hometown of Detroit (he’s originally from Washington D.C.) They knew each other as classmates.
“He was easy to get along with, to talk to. He went on to have an unbelievable career in politics,” Bing said.
When I asked about the age issue surrounding Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 77, the Republican front-runner, and some who say they are too old for office, Bing said: “I’m 80 and sometimes I can’t remember this or that.”
“We’ve got the two of them who are going to be the candidates, so we’ve got to deal with it,” he said. “Both parties need to get younger people in the pipeline.”
Beyond politics
After dominating the NBA, being founder and CEO of the Bing Group and serving as mayor of Detroit (he is a Democrat), Bing’s working on his fourth career: helping the next generation of Detroiters — particularly young Black men — by providing opportunities and job training through his organization, the Bing Youth Institute, so they can have a better life.
The Bing Youth Institute supports programs and activities that are designed to improve the academic, behavioral and social wellness of young men, the latest program being the Workforce Development Initiative.
“The goal of this program is to provide young African American men access to marketable career opportunities in the skilled trades,” Bing said, adding the organization offers curriculum in construction, professional painting and landscaping.
Leading in the Motor City
There are few leaders who have excelled in so many different arenas and been as successful. As important, Bing’s heart is tied to the Motor City.
When former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was embroiled in criminal wrongdoing in the early 2000s and forced to resign, supporters reached out to Bing and asked him to run for mayor. He did and won.
“Dave is one of Detroit’s true leaders and someone who cares deeply about our community,” said Roger Penske, the billionaire business titan. “One of the all-time great Detroit Pistons who built an incredibly successful business here in the city, he stepped up to guide us through some turbulent times as mayor of Detroit. He remains a positive force here locally and I appreciate his continued commitment and dedication to the people of Detroit.”
Bing started the Bing Youth Institute in 2014 after reading coverage debating whether there were more men of color going to prison than college. He’s focusing on helping young Black men, particularly those that don’t have a father or father figure in their lives.
“I was blessed as I had a mother and father and I also had male teachers and coaches, something that isn’t common in the Black community today,” he said.
His nonprofit began offering mentorship opportunities for Detroit students in grades 7-12. About 100 students have gone through the program. The nonprofit is also offering workplace skilled trades training, thanks to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Detroit Pistons Foundation, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation and several corporations. The young men in the program are connected with skilled trades professionals that own their own businesses and who provide students with mentoring, along with hands-on skilled trades training.
Bing had been hearing from businesses who said they couldn’t find good help. His solution: Team up with three local companies and create a worker training program. They started in 2023 with 18 students and will have at least 25 students this year and beyond.
“We have students in training for eight weeks, as we pay them, and then those companies provide additional training so they have employees they can hire when they are done,” he added.
Bing started a new partnership with Sharnese Marshall, founder and CEO of the Konnection, which provides mentoring, tutoring, field trips and opportunities for young girls and boys in Detroit. They met at the Shining Light Awards when Marshall was given the Dave Bing Award in October 2023. The awards, given out by the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition and the Detroit Free Press, celebrates folks following in the footsteps of Bing and two other community champions: Eleanor Josaitis, late co-founder of Focus: HOPE and Neal Shine, late publisher of the Free Press.
Accolades abound
The consummate team player, Bing has dominated each step of his career with hard work, grit and an ability to see down the road.
He has been blessed with numerous honors, including President Ronald Reagan naming him the 1984 National Minority Small Businessman of the Year. He was named by the NBA as one of 50 best players to ever play the game in 1996 and again in 2021 when the league named him among the 75 best ever players.
On Jan. 27, Bing was inducted into the Ring of Honor at Syracuse in a ceremony for his contribution to the game.
While serving as Detroit’s mayor, Bing worked with Biden during President Barack Obama’s presidency when Biden was vice president and the Motor City and the Detroit Three automakers were in perilous financial shape due to the global economic meltdown.
“Joe was here so much we used to joke he needed to get a Michigan driver’s license,” Bing said.
As Bing reflected on his career, he couldn’t say enough about the importance of communicating, something that certainly helped him excel.
Looking ahead to November, Bing’s confident of one thing: The candidate who gets his message out there with constituents will determine who ends up with the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
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Contact Carol Cain: 248-355-7126 or clcain@cbs.com. She is senior producer/host of “Michigan Matters,” which airs 5:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS Detroit and noon Sundays on Detroit 50 WKBD. See Dave Bing, Business Leaders For Michigan’s Jeff Donofrio, Rachel Stewart of Gardner White and Maureen Donohue Krauss of Detroit Regional Partnership on this Sunday’s show. Michigan Matters can also be found on those stations’ listings on FUBO, Pluto TV, Youtube.com. It is streamed 8 p.m. weeknights on CBSdetroit.com and the CBSdetroit app.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dave Bing worried about Joe Biden losing African American support
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