In the 1974 Bollywood classic Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Kumar portrayed the eternal struggles of ordinary people fighting for the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. It was a film about survival, sacrifice, and betrayal – where even the noblest intentions could be crushed by circumstance and shifting loyalties.Decades later, that cinematic metaphor has found unexpected resonance in Hamtramck, a quiet city in Michigan. Here, Catrina Stackpoole, a lesbian former councilwoman who once championed the cause of Muslim immigrants – helping them find food, clothing, and housing – now feels deeply betrayed. The city’s Muslim-majority council recently banned the Pride flag and refused to stand with LGBTQ+ groups during public celebrations.Stackpoole’s words, emotional and raw, have gone viral on X (formerly Twitter), sparking a national debate. “We welcomed you,” she told the city council in a public meeting. “We created nonprofits to help feed, clothe, and find housing. We did everything we could to make your transition here easier, and this is how you repay us? By stabbing us in the back?”For many, her remarks captured the bitter rupture of a once-progressive alliance, now fracturing under the weight of cultural tension.
Pride flag ban sparks outrage in a city once seen as a model of diversity
Hamtramck, a small enclave north of Detroit known as “the world in two square miles,” once symbolized multicultural success. With a population of just 28,000, it saw a significant demographic shift over the last few decades, from being predominantly Polish to becoming majority Muslim, with large Yemeni and Bangladeshi communities. In 2021, the city elected what is believed to be the US’s only all-Muslim city council, with a Yemeni-born mayor, Amer Ghalib.But in 2023, that same council voted unanimously to ban Pride flags and all non-governmental flags from city property. LGBTQ+ residents and their allies were stunned, especially those who had once advocated for the rights and inclusion of Muslim immigrants. The decision felt targeted. And in June 2025, during Pride Month, the tension reignited as city officials reportedly refused to march alongside LGBTQ+ groups in a local Labor Day parade, prompting Stackpoole’s viral remarks.Source: The Washington Post, (Sept 16, 2023)
From allyship to accusation, ‘We helped you, you betrayed us’
Catrina Stackpoole is no outsider. She served on the Hamtramck city council from 2008 to 2012 and worked closely with immigrant communities, helping them find housing, food, and social support. Her deep involvement made her heartbreak more visible. When the Pride flag was banned, she didn’t just see it as a policy change, she saw it as a rejection of the very values that once united the city.Online reactions exploded after journalist Adam Wren shared her comments, with thousands of reposts and replies. Some called it a cautionary tale about multicultural coalitions collapsing under ideological differences. Others defended the council’s move as a matter of religious or cultural principle. Yet the emotions driving Stackpoole’s viral moment seemed to strike a broader nerve, the pain of feeling abandoned by those you once helped rise.
Hamtramck’s Muslim mayor and others in Michigan back Trump, despite Trump’s past Islamophobic rhetoric
Hamtramck’s mayor, Amer Ghalib — the same man who led the charge to ban the Pride flag — recently endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024. Despite Trump’s previous anti-Muslim policies, such as the 2017 travel ban, Ghalib publicly declared Trump as “the right choice for this critical time.” In a Facebook post written in Arabic, he stated he had spoken to Trump about issues ranging from Yemen to Arab-American voting trends in Michigan and declared, “Let the caravan begin its journey.”Ghalib is not alone. Across Michigan, a critical swing state, growing numbers of Muslim leaders have begun endorsing Trump, citing frustration with the Biden administration’s support for Israel in the Gaza conflict and a desire for more conservative social policies. Trump’s promises to limit US military involvement abroad and his alignment with “traditional family values” have resonated with many conservative Muslims.What many see as an ideological betrayal — Muslims supporting a candidate previously seen as hostile to their faith — is for others a strategic pivot. Figures like Imam Belal Alzuhairi have even called Trump the “peace candidate” and praised his Middle East diplomacy under the Abraham Accords.
Political fallout and national attention
With the post of Stackpoole’s remarks circulating widely, Hamtramck has become a flashpoint in the ongoing national debate over identity politics, immigrant integration, and LGBTQ+ rights. The situation is being compared to other global instances where early alliances between liberal and conservative communities fractured once political power shifted. Some online commentators even drew parallels to post-revolution Iran, where secular and religious groups clashed over control and culture.Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is openly lesbian, also weighed in and urged the city to reverse what she called a “wall of exclusion.” Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ advocates in Hamtramck have reported increased vandalism and harassment since the ban. Incidents include teens egging homes with Pride flags and long-time residents expressing fear about being openly queer in their own city.What began as a flag policy has now become a symbol of something much deeper—a crisis of trust and shared values in America’s most diverse communities. For Stackpoole and others, the betrayal is not just political; it’s personal. And for those watching from afar, Hamtramck now stands not just as “the world in two square miles,” but as a mirror reflecting the difficult questions facing multicultural democracies everywhere.
