Black Women Led Mary Sheffield’s March to Mayor

December 1, 2025

Mary Sheffield's historic election as Detroit's first woman mayor was powered by a strategic campaign led predominantly by Black women, particularly the team at 98Forward, Detroit's longest-standing Black-woman-led PR firm. Brittni "Bee" Brown served as communications lead, heading a tight-knit team that maintained strict narrative control and discipline throughout the campaign, resulting in Sheffield winning 77 percent of the vote. The victory represents not just a personal achievement but a generational milestone for Black women in Detroit politics, who have long served as the backbone of political operations without holding executive authority themselves.

Who is affected

Mary Sheffield (mayor-elect of Detroit)
Black women political strategists and organizers in Detroit, past and present
98Forward PR firm and its staff, including Brittni "Bee" Brown, Miranda Bryant, Cydney Foster, Antonice Strickland, Cheri Hollie, Ernest Wilkins, and Nat Synowiec
Detroit residents and voters (city population over 200,000)
Historical figures referenced: Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Irma Henderson, Rev. Dr. JoAnn Watson, and Maureen Taylor
A young man who voted for the first time after meeting Sheffield
Sheffield's grandmother

What action is being taken

Sheffield is assembling a powerhouse transition team to guide her focus for her first 100 days in office
The transition team is currently helping to shape her early priorities as mayor-elect

Why it matters

This election represents a significant disruption of historical patterns where Black women have consistently delivered political power in Detroit without inheriting executive authority themselves. Sheffield's victory as Detroit's first woman mayor—and the first Black woman as young as Sheffield to lead a major U.S. city with over 200,000 residents—validates generations of Black women's political labor that shaped the city through crises including bankruptcy, emergency management, and mass school closures. The campaign's success demonstrates that strategic narrative control, disciplined messaging, and community-centered political education can overcome traditional barriers, setting a precedent for future Black women leaders. It also exposes the often-invisible scaffolding of political campaigns, where Black women disproportionately carry the operational burden while rarely receiving credit or leadership positions.

What's next

Sheffield's transition team will guide her focus for her first 100 days in office
Sheffield will be sworn in as mayor (though no specific date is mentioned in the article)

Read full article from source: Michigan Chronicle