Civil Rights Commission meeting in Grand Rapids has full agenda

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– LEGAL NEWS PHOTOS BY CYNTHIA PRICE

PHOTO #1: Michigan Civil Rights Commission members and Department of Civil Rights staff present at the Grand Rapids meeting included, left to right: Agustin Arbulu, Secretary; Bradley Voss; Deloris Hunt; staff member Shawn Sanford (standing); Director Matthew Wesaw; Arthur Horwitz, Chair; Rasha Demashkieh, Vice-Chair; Linda Lee Tarver; and Ron Robinson, attorney for civil rights from the Attorney General’s office. Not present: Mumtaz Haque and Ricardo Resio.

PHOTO #2: Attorney Richard D. McLellan, Chair of the Michigan Law Revision Commission, reported about statutory language.

PHOTO #3: Legal interns serving the Michigan Department of Civil Rights working with Ron Robinson are, left to right, Moses El-Sayed, who attends MSU?College of Law; Esther Acosta, also at MSU College of Law; and Vanette Garmo, from University of Detroit Mercy Law School.


By Cynthia Price
Legal News

When the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, the public board of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights?(MDCR), met in Grand Rapids Monday, its agenda covered a wide range of issues that are the stuff of the nightly news.

From marriage equality and LGBT rights to the history of the Civil Rights Movement to the image of Arab-Americans, the Commission not only considered but acted on important measures to address discrimination.

The Commission holds meetings around the state, and Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, Kent County Administrator Daryl Delabbio, and Belinda Bardwell, Chair of the city’s Community Relations Commission (CRC) were present to welcome commissioners and staff to the city.

Chair Arthur Horwitz opened up the meeting by asking for a moment of silence in honor of Ingrid Scott-Weekley, for which Mayor Heartwell thanked the Commission.

Bardwell emphasized the close relationship the CRC has with the MDCR, including participation in the state’s Leadership Collaborative and in ALPACT (Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust).

MDCR?Director Matt Wesaw introduced area resident Martha Gonzalez-Cortes as a new department employee.

After Wesaw’s oral report, which included a “shout out” to the Division of Deaf DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing for helping to start an active caucus of state legislators, Horwitz turned to the failing grade the state of Michigan had received from the Southern Poverty Law Center regarding teaching about the civil rights movement. He noted that Governor Rick Snyder had expressed concern about that assessment when he came to the January Commission meeting.

While the Law Center’s report mentioned that there is an expectation that high school students will know a number of the key facts in the movement’s history, it says, “...by specifying little required content the state offers little direction to teachers.”

Wesaw said that the Michigan Department of Education has the lead on addressing that problem, but has invited MDCR to the table.

Later, the Commission approved a related effort: recognizing former Michigan Governor George Romney for his role in the civil rights movement. Romney was a leader in the 1963 Constitutional Convention that created the Civil Rights Commission, and it was at the very beginning of his tenure as governor that the MDCR came into existence.

Romney said in his State of the State address, "Michigan's most urgent human rights problem is racial discrimination—in housing, public accommodations, education, administration of justice, and employment." He went on to become a national leader in civil rights, supporting Dr. Martin Luther King and urging, unsuccessfully, that the 1964 Republican convention adopt a strong civil rights policy.

The honor coincides with the 20th anniversary of Romney’s death July 26.

A focal point of Monday’s meeting was a report from attorney Richard D. McLellan, chair of the Michigan Law Revision Commission.

The MLRC’s charge is to “examine the common law and statutes of the state and current judicial decisions for the purpose of discovering defects and anachronisms in the law and recommending needed reforms.,” work now done by volunteers and college students.

“Most of our job is to go through the current laws and look for discovery defects and anachorinisms in need of reform based on later decisions. I assure you it’s a never-ending battle,” McLellan said drily.

“With the Supreme Court’s ruling in DeBoer overturning the ban on gay marriage and creating marriage equality, I knew it would create instantly some defects.”

McLellan and team found 142 sections that referred to “wife,” 132 that used the term “husband,” and 199 referring to “marriage.” (He said there were also many that used the more neutral term “spouse.”)

While many of the “marriage” references will need more substantive revision, the MLRC will make recommendations about the others to the legislature.

Also pursuant to the SCOTUS ruling, the commissioners were asked to reaffirm their Nov. 24, 2014, position asking for Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act protections to extend to LGBT individuals. They voted unanimously to do so.

Among many other considerations, the Commission also voted to sign on to the Campaign to Take on Hate, a national grassroots movement to promote positive images of Arab and Muslim Americans, and to help build a community that eliminates all forms of hate, bias, and discrimination.

Commissioner Linda Lee Tarver said in support, “The recent Chattanooga killings have definitely stirred up comments that go beyond that individual to take on hate attitudes for an entire people. We definitely need to be intentional in our support of the Arab-American community.”

To learn more visit: www.takeonhate.org.
 

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