South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign stop at Buford's beer garden in downtown Austin, Aug. 10. [STEPHEN SPILLMAN for STATESMAN] ▲

Which candidates are Austin African Americans watching in Thursday's national Democratic Party primary debate?

Joe Biden, yes; Kamala Harris, check; Cory Booker and Beto O'Rourke, of course. But there's another name on their radar that might surprise: Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Several African American activists and leaders liked what they heard from Mayor Pete during his swing through Austin last month. Specifically, Buttigieg's comments about how to address systemic racism and white privilege – even among white liberals – grabbed their attention, given Austin's political landscape and a rising tide of white nationalism across the country.

Quincy Dunlap, who attended the hourlong meeting at Hoover's Cooking in East Austin, put it this way: "He (Buttigieg) took the time to listen to African Americans in Austin and hear why we want to see our community obtain equity in economics, education and quality of life. He is the first to do that."

Dunlap, president and CEO of the Austin Area Urban League, made clear his comments don't represent the Urban League, a nonpartisan organization that doesn't endorse in political races. But speaking from personal experience, he said, "I've been here 18 months. I've learned that there are good people in Austin – and many are liberal. But there is always a conservative undertone, which many don't see but it comes to the surface and hits you in the face. It's important that (candidates) understand what is being presented to African Americans and speak to that."

Meme (pronounced mee-mee) Styles, president of Austin nonprofit Measure, said she went to the Buttigieg event with low expectations after years of hearing candidates make big promises to African Americans during campaigns, only to forget them when they're elected. Nonetheless, she said, Buttigieg "got her attention with his agenda for black America."

"When any candidate puts Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as a priority for education, I see that as a form of reparations that builds a stronger foundation for the African American community," she said.

The latter, which calls for investing $25 billion in HBCUs, is among several key reforms outlined in Buttigieg's Douglass Plan, named for former slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. The initiative, often compared to the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe after World War II, would steer government and private investment to black communities, which were denied economic and political resources to recover from slavery and segregation.

Buttigieg has been widely criticized by black leaders for his handling of a June police shooting in which a South Bend police officer shot and killed a black man who reportedly was breaking into a car with a knife. The officer's camera was turned off. But the mayor's relationship with the city's black community already was strained by his firing of South Bend's first black police chief.

Trailing badly in the polls among African Americans, a key Democratic Party constituency, Buttigieg is reaching out to African American leaders, "who know their communities best," his campaign told me. His Douglass plan is key to that effort, as are meetings, such as the one he convened in Austin.

Roxanne Evans, a member of East Austin Coalition for Quality Education, noted that Buttigieg's Douglass plan is sensible and "doesn't pander." All good, but what grabbed her attention most, was Buttigieg's straight talk on race and white privilege.

"It's important to have conversations about what different communities need," Evans told me. "It's equally important for someone to have those conversations regarding African Americans with the white community. Talking to us is well and good, but it's not the whole equation. He (Buttigieg) can be an effective messenger on race and privilege because he can – and is – talking to his peers."

And yes, all of the above said they are watching Buttigieg on Thursday.

A former member of the American-Statesman editorial board, Phillips retired from the newspaper in 2018.