DALLAS—Two progressives have teamed up in their respective runs for U.S. Congress in two Dallas-area districts.
Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, pastor of Friendship West Baptist Church and longtime anti-racist voice for African American equality, is running in District 30. The seat opened up after current Rep. Jasmine Crockett announced her run for the U.S. Senate.
In District 33, Zeeshan Hafeez is in the race for Congress. Hafeez is a voice for an end to the genocide in Palestine and has been endorsed by Track AIPAC, a recognition that has explicitly ruled out taking money from the Israel lobby or AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee).
Haynes described both himself and Hafeez as “radical progressives” in a recent appearance on The Young Turks show. The two candidates have endorsed each other, forming an alliance that crosses electoral district boundaries.
Congressional districts in the Dallas region have been heavily gerrymandered in accordance with orders given to Gov. Greg Abbott by President Donald Trump. The goal is to rig the map in order to pick up five more Republican seats in Texas as part of the GOP’s effort to hold onto control of the House of Representatives.
Hafeez champions Medicare for All; universal child care; free public college, universities, and trade schools; the abolition of ICE and prosecution of its agents who’ve committed crimes; tackling systemic racism with reparations; and a Green New Deal with more money spent on public transportation.
On the economic front, he’s pushing for a $20-$25 hourly minimum wage and a 30-hour workweek with no decrease in pay. He also wants to get big money out of politics, starting with putting a stop to AIPAC election interference. Closely connected to that is his demand that the U.S. act to end to the genocide in Palestine. When it comes to other areas of foreign policy, Hafeez speaks out about his opposition to “illegal wars in Venezuela, Iran, and Syria.”
“Rev. Haynes and I are fighting for progressive issues like free education, free universal healthcare, and affordable housing,” Hafeez said in the same Young Turks episode with Hayes. “All three of these things that people [in the U.S.] say are impossible because they cost too much, Israel gives to all of its citizens. We are giving them billions of dollars to commit atrocities in our name. I think that’s unacceptable.”
Haynes has been outspoken about anti-Black racism and systemic white supremacy for many years and also calls for tackling economic inequality and a guaranteed income like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., advocated. Connected to that are his demands for a living wage tied to inflation and platform items aligned with those advocated by Hafeez. Like the latter, Haynes has also spoken against the genocide of Palestinians for many years.
Haynes compares ICE to historic slave patrols and the Ku Klux Klan. He argues that the regime in the White House is making war on its own people.
“It starts with this country stopping its bad foreign policies, where we destabilize other governments and when their citizens run to this country responding to the Statue of Liberty saying, ‘Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to be free,’ and before they know it, they are attacked and othered and made to feel they are ‘illegal aliens,” Haynes said.
“Ain’t no child of God illegal, and no one is an alien unless you come from Mars.”
Haynes is famous throughout the country, especially in the African American community for his dynamic oratory skills, which he often puts to use to advocate for universal health care.
“I got sick when I was over in England studying for my first doctorate degree. I had an asthma attack…they rushed me to the hospital via ambulance, put me on a machine, and gave me a prescription.
“I’m wondering how much will all of this cost in a foreign country? I then pulled out my wallet and I was embarrassed when the receptionist said, ‘Oh you must be from the United States. Here in this country, we believe that health care is a right for everyone, and not just a privilege for the few!’” Haynes recalled.
Haynes regularly speaks about environmental racism, as well: “It’s something sick in this country, where your life is determined not by your genetic code, but by your zip code. In too many instances, the billionaires create pollution that poor people end up inhaling
“We have toxic air that we inhale right here in Dallas…. You can live 15 minutes from someone who has a longer life expectancy, not because of genetics, because of environmental injustice.”
Haynes is a favorite to win District 30, which is about 50% African American and 30% Latino.
Hafeez is running against Julie Johnson, the current representative of District 32, and Colin Allred, also a former Representative from District 32 and recent candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Texas in 2024.
Johnson decided to run in District 33 after the gerrymandering chopped up District 32, connect its urban Dallas neighborhoods with rural areas far out east. By diluting the power of Dallas voters, District 32 has become a likely Republican seat.
At the “Not My President’s Day” rally organized by the Next Generation Action Network at Dallas City Hall on Feb. 16, Hafeez said, “It is time to get corporations out of our politics by ending Citizens United out of our politics! It is time to get AIPAC out of our politics! It is time to get the billionaires out of our politics!”
He said what’s needed in the country is a “fight for the oppressed people, people like brother Keith Porter, Jr., like brother Alex, like sister Renee who have lost their lives because ICE is murdering people on the streets.” He called for justice “for the 32 people that have died in ICE Detention Centers in the last year” and “the women that have been raped in detention centers.”
Hafeez pledged to struggle in Congress “to end the slavery practices in our prison system today.” He said, “The time for the billionaires, the oligarchs, and the corporatists is over; now is time for us, all of us!”
Both Haynes and Hafeez have been endorsed by a range of progressive groups.
Hafeez has been endorsed by Track AIPAC, Track Oil PACS, Progressive Democrats of America, Sunrise Movement, Dallas County Young Democrats, Next Generation Action Network, Dallas County Young Democrats, Palestinian liberation activist Linda Sarsour, and more.
Haynes has secured the backing of the Texas AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers in Texas, Justice Democrats, Next Generation Action Network, and many more groups. Haynes has also been endorsed by Sarsour. The Texas AFL-CIO issued no endorsement for District 33.
Ana-Maria Ramos, chair of the Progressive Caucus of the Texas Legislature, endorsed Hafeez over establishment incumbent Democrats Julie Johnson and Colin Allred. Dallas-area State Rep. Terry Meza also endorsed Hafeez.
Both candidates are connected to grassroots movements. Haynes’ roots are in the civil rights movement, specifically a local North Texas civil rights organization, the Next Generation Action Network. He’s said that the labor movement and civil rights movement need to unite. Hafeez is very supportive of the labor movement and backs groups like the Alliance for Retired Americans and the Young Active Labor Leaders. He calls labor the “backbone of this country.”
These two candidacies are reflective of the rising people’s resistance movement in the face of the fascist and white supremacist movement embodied by the extreme right wing, the MAGA movement, and the Trump regime.
Early voting for the primary election started Feb. 17 and goes until Feb. 27. Election Day is March 3. During early voting, Dallas County residents can vote in any part of Dallas County. However, a new law was passed in order to suppress the vote by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature that makes it so you can only vote at one location in your precinct on Election Day.
Follow them on Instagram at @zeeshanfortexas and @haynesforcongress, Zeeshan Hafeez, Haynes for Congress and Frederick D. Haynes III on Facebook, Zeeshanfortexas.com and haynesforcongress.com.
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