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BY JAKE NEHER Michigan Public Radio Network
A fight over American Indian-themed school mascots could result in a three million dollar budget cut for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
The money would be used to reimburse schools that may be forced to switch mascots.
The Department of Civil Rights wants the federal government to pressure school districts with Native American mascots to change them. It said the mascots harm American Indian students and their performance in school. State Representative Bob Genetski is sponsoring a bill that would require the Civil Rights Department to help pay for any mascot changes.
"We hope that the department will rescind that complaint and then nobody's got to worry about any of this." Genetski said.
The state Department of Civil Rights said it has no plans to withdraw its complaint with the U.S. Department of Education.
BY RICK PLUTA Michigan Public Radio Network
A group of Lansing-area local elected officials are calling for a common anti-discrimination policy for the entire region surrounding the state Capitol. It would include protections for gay and lesbian people.
Some cities and townships in the Capitol area already have LGBT anti-discrimination ordinances. Others would have to adopt one. 23 local governments across Michigan have similar anti-discrimination laws. Nathan Triplett is on the city council in East Lansing, which has had an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance since 1972.
"If we have a common policy across the entire region, it sends a very clear message that this is an area that values diversity and inclusion and is open for business," Triplett said. Triplett says he and other local officials hope the growing number of communities adopting L-G-B-T protections will persuade the Legislature to amend Michigan's civil rights law. A bill to do that could be introduced soon. There is also a measure under consideration that would preempt local civil rights laws.
BY AMY ROBINSON
It's not a man's job or a woman's job. It's a job.
That was the message from a national civil rights advocate Wednesday night in Mt Pleasant. Lilly Ledbetter has been pushing for equal pay for equal work since 1998. That's when she discovered, through an anonymous note left for her at work, that she was not being paid the same as her male counterparts.
Lilly Ledbetter has talked to presidents, testified before congress and had landmark legislation named after her. No surprise perhaps that she easily filled Plachta Auditorium on the campus of Central Michigan University.
Hundreds of people turned out to hear how, after working for 19-years in management at Goodyear, Ledbetter learned through an anonymous note that she was earning roughly 40% of her male counterparts.
Ledbetter's lawsuit against Goodyear took nine years to resolve.
"I thought about letting it go, I was two years away from retirement. I just couldn't. That's just not who I am. It was not right. The law was on my side. I had been mistreated, and I couldn't let a major corporation do me and my family that way without standing up and saying 'this is not right'" Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter's suit went to the US Supreme Court, which ruled against her in a close 5-4 vote. It turns out the ruling wasn't the end. Ledbetter, it seems, was just getting warmed up. The Alabama grandmother, who turns 75 next month, has become the poster child for pay equity. She travels the country talking to groups, like the one at CMU, about the need to fix a broken system that allows men to earn more than women doing the same work.
"Every single person is affected by the wage gap. It hurts women, it hurts men and it hurts their families. In the vast majority of families, both women and men are in the workforce, when women are paid less, whole families suffer." Ledbetter said.
When Ledbetter began her fight, women earned, on average, 59-cents to every dollar earned by men. Today more than a decade later, women earn around 77-cents for every dollar earned by men. Still a 23-cent an hour gap. And that's adjusting for education and career type.
"When women lost 23-cents, every hour, every day, every paycheck, every job, over their entire lives, what we lose can't be measured in dollars. Women are a vital part of the economy, and deserve to be recognized for our contributions, just the same as men." Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said progress on equal pay has been slow in coming. Recent paycheck fairness legislation; which would allow workers to discuss their pay levels without fear of retribution by employers, continues to stall in the US Senate.
Ledbetter said she's proud that her namesake bill had bipartisan support. Pay issues today, she said are highly politicized.
She said there has been progress. The statute of limitations on lawsuits over pay equity was extended under the Lilly Ledbetter law.
"And another thing today, that I like and what I am seeing across the nation, is more women are supporting each other. In my day, even back in the early days at Goodyear, the few women that were there, they didn't support me. In fact one of 'em threw me in. But that's what they used to do, but now, today, women are understanding that they need to support each other." Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter is showing no signs of slowing down. Last year she wrote a book about her legal journey; titled Grace and Grit.
This year the book is being translated into Japanese. And she's signed a contract for a movie based on the book She's said she's already spoken with Reese Witherspoon about playing her.
This gentle, fearless woman is intent now on taking her message to the next generation.
Students in Professor Laura Orta's Women and Politics class at CMU, they invited Ledbetter in, also put to music the fact that they hear and support her work.
BY JAKE NEHER Michigan Public Radio Network
Hundreds of people came to the state Capitol Wednesday to voice their support for pro-gun legislation. Many openly carried firearms, which is allowed in and around the Capitol building. Jim Gulliksen is with the Michigan Militia Corps of Wolverines. He said he's happy that state lawmakers have taken up a number of pro-gun bills recently.
"Lansing has shown some trends lately to reduce some of the restrictions, as far as like the pistol purchase permit and some of the controls on where you can carry weapons. We do like to see that." Gulliksen said.
There are several gun-related bills in the Michigan Legislature. Very few have moved out of committee so far this year.
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said things like road funding and other budget issues are more pressing.
BY RICK PLUTA Michigan Public Radio Network
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights has asked the federal government to order schools to stop using American Indian nicknames and mascots or risk losing education funds.
Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta reports the complaint was filed Friday with the U.S. Department of Education.
The complaint cites research that finds the use of American Indian mascots and nicknames affects student performance. Leslee Fritz is with the state Department of Civil Rights.
"We now know that, based on a variety of new studies, that these images perpetuate stereotypes that harm students." Fritz said.
Fritz said the mascots and nicknames create a, "unequal learning environment."
The complaint names 35 Michigan high schools, although a U.S. Department of Education decision could affect hundreds of schools across the country. In 2005, Marshall changed its mascot to the Redhawk. The complaint does not name colleges or universities that have American Indian mascots.
BY CONSUELO MCABOY
One of the many things Martin Luther King was known for is his dedication to service.
That's why some state organizations are making MLK Day a day of service by distributing more than 8 thousand dollars in mini grant funds across the state.
Twenty one organizations will use the funds to put on service projects that address issues within the community.
Things like disaster preparedness, education, and health.
Paula Kaiser VanDam is the Executive Director of the Michigan Community Service Commission.
"We as partner organizations come together to review the nominations of the applications that came forward, and then we make a selection of which entities will receive the funding. Of course we take things into consideration like geographic diversity and even organizational diversity. We want projects that are focused on engaging individuals from different target populations like college students, or seniors, or youth, or that kind of thing." VanDam said.
Kaiser VanDam said the grants range from 200 to 500 dollars.
She said she hopes service opportunities like this one will encourage communities to make a difference.
BY DAVID NICHOLAS
The nation today is observing the holiday for the late Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In Washington D.C., the nation's first African American president, Barak Obama, will be sworn in for a second term.
NPR's Michele Norris came to the campus of Saginaw Valley State University last Wednesday to keynote the Great Lakes Bay Regional MLK Celebration.
David Nicholas sat down with her to talk about the state of race relations today, tied to the message of Dr. King and the man taking the oath as President today.
The conversation began with how Norris wanted to and wants to bring the message of Dr. King to younger generations, now very distant from his time and work in the 1950s and 1960s.
Michele Norris took a sabbatical from NPR while her husband worked on the president's re-election campaign. She returns to the network now, not to once again host All Things Considered, rather to work on long-form profile pieces and to further develop The Race Card Project, an initiative she began while on leave from the air.
BY DAVID NICHOLAS
The nation today is observing the holiday for the late Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In Washington D.C., the nation's first African American president, Barak Obama, will be sworn in for a second term.
NPR's Michele Norris came to the campus of Saginaw Valley State University last Wednesday to keynote the Great Lakes Bay Regional MLK Celebration.
David Nicholas sat down with her to talk about the state of race relations today, tied to the message of Dr. King and the man taking the oath as President today.
The conversation began with how Norris wanted to and wants to bring the message of Dr. King to younger generations, now very distant from his time and work in the 1950s and 1960s.
Michele Norris took a sabbatical from NPR while her husband worked on the president's re-election campaign. She returns to the network now, not to once again host All Things Considered, rather to work on long-form profile pieces and to further develop The Race Card Project, an initiative she began while on leave from the air.
BY DAVID NICHOLAS
The nation today is observing the holiday for the late Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In Washington D.C., the nation's first African American president, Barak Obama, will be sworn in for a second term.
NPR's Michele Norris came to the campus of Saginaw Valley State University last Wednesday to keynote the Great Lakes Bay Regional MLK Celebration.
David Nicholas sat down with her to talk about the state of race relations today, tied to the message of Dr. King and the man taking the oath as President today.
The conversation began with how Norris wanted to and wants to bring the message of Dr. King to younger generations, now very distant from his time and work in the 1950s and 1960s.
Michele Norris took a sabbatical from NPR while her husband worked on the president's re-election campaign. She returns to the network now, not to once again host All Things Considered, rather to work on long-form profile pieces and to further develop The Race Card Project, an initiative she began while on leave from the air.
BY CONSUELO MCABOY
Gun ownership rights are a hot topic across the United States right now, in light of several mass shootings over the last year. Now, gun rights advocates say they're celebrating their Second Amendment right this Saturday, at what is being called "Gun Appreciation Day."
Tomorrow, people are being encouraged to show up at their local gun store or shooting range, and support their gun liberties.
The citizens are also encouraged to come equipped with signs and flags.
Larry Hunter is a co-organizer of the first ever, national Gun Appreciation Day.
"Why shouldn't we celebrate our freedom to own, to bear, and use firearms in our own self defense" Hunter said.
Hunter also said it's important to show the government that banning guns isn't the right solution.
"People are afraid, they're angry and they know that this latest gun grab doesn't pass the smell test. It doesn't pass the smell test because if people are truly concerned about reducing the kind of horrific violence we've seen at Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech and Columbine and the numerous other episodes, you're not gonna solve all those problems by confiscating or what I call short-arming innocent law abiding citizens." Hunter said.
And Hunter said the day is meant to support a natural, fundamental right.
However, gun control advocates feel Gun Appreciation Day is insensitive because it comes two days before Martin Luther King Jr. day, and just over a month after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.
Ladd Everitt is with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. He said Hunter's partner in the event, Larry Ward, has been callous in his messages.
BY CONSUELO MCABOY
With Martin Luther King day a week away, one community is using a unique approach to help residents and honor Dr. King.
The Great Lakes Bay region will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. by collecting unwanted cell phones.
The phones will be sold for recycling and the money raised will benefit the Underground Railroad Inc. It's a nonprofit that serves victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
J.J. Boehm is a spokesperson for Saginaw Valley State University, one of the universities that's collecting cell phones.
He said since becoming a regional collaboration in 2010, the Great Lakes Bay region has always incorporated a service component into its annual MLK Celebration.
"The Underground Railroad by collecting cell phones can then turn those in to a recycling program and will receive a reimbursement for each phone that they turn in and that will help their organization." Boehm said.
Boehm said drop off sites are at the Bay Area, Midland Area and Saginaw community foundations.
He said Chemical Bank will also collect phones at its branch locations in Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties.
By Rick Pluta At the state Capitol, a Democratic lawmaker has called for expending Michigan's civil rights law to protect people who are gay, lesbian or transgender from many types of discrimination. State Senator Rebekah Warren says expanding the civil rights law would send a message that Michigan is trying to attract creative workers and entrepreneurs. "It's still true in Michigan that you can be evicted from your place of residence or fired from the job that you hold because of your sexual orientation or the perception of your sexual orientation and this is something we need to fix." Warren said the legislation would have no effect on the amendment that outlaws same-sex marriage and civil unions in Michigan. She doubts her bill will clear the Legislature in this session, but she wants to make sure the issue doesn't go dormant. She also wants the bill to serve as a counterpoint to another bill that would outlaw local gay rights ordinances like the ones on the books in 18 Michigan communities. Copyright 2010, MPRN
By Rick Pluta The debate over abortion is expected to resume Tuesday at the state Capitol. The state House is expected vote on measures to make it a crime to intimidate or coerce a woman into aborting a pregnancy. The legislation would create a new crime of coercing a woman to have an abortion against her will. It would cover anything from the threat of violence to refusing to pay child support or getting a woman fired from a job. No one is arguing in favor of allowing people to intimidate a woman into having an abortion. But opponents of the package say it should not single out as victims only women who are coerced into having an abortion. They say women who are threatened because they want to end a pregnancy should have the same protections. There is also a fight over the use of the phrase "unborn child" in the legislation to define the fetus. Abortion rights supporters say that's a loaded term and it should be not be used as a legal definition in a state law. Copyright 2010, MPRN
By Rick Pluta Unions in Michigan have launched a petition drive to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. The ballot campaign is a push-back against Republican dominance at the state Capitol and about 80 measures before the Legislature that would restrict union organizing and fundraising. It would also preempt any effort to make Michigan a right-to-work state. Jeff Bean is a teacher from Flint. Bean said he's concerned about his union's ability to negotiate effectively on his working conditions. "...because when I look at the body of legislation that has come out and is pending in Lansing, all those things seem to be threatened." Bean and other union activists have until July 9th to collect about 323 thousand signatures from registered voters. Democratic Party leaders hope a ballot question would also help them with voter turnout. Republicans say the question is a bid by labor leaders to gain a political advantage in November. Copyright 2010, MPRN
By Amy Robinson
People around the country used Martin Luther King Day yesterday to commemorate the birthday of the great civil rights leader.
Ferris State University has announce that it's working on improving and expanding a permanent exhibit to educate people about racism in all its forms.
The Jim Crow Museum on the campus of FSU houses some 9,000 racist artifacts; from sheet music and children's books to fishing lures and ashtrays.
Sandy Gholston is a spokesman for Ferris.
"The Jim Crow Museum of racist memorabilia is one of the projects that we've really been working on and focusing on because we feel that not only does is promote education of intolerance, but it also talks about objects that have racist meaning in everyday life, so we feel like it's not only an important tool for diversity, but it's also an important learning and educational tool as well."
Gholston said the Ferris Board of Trustees recently approved $200,000 to relocate and expand the Jim Crow museum collection.
By David Nicholas The immigration debate when it comes to politics has become very divisive, a question of "with us or against us." Philosopher scholar Michael Blake visited Central Michigan University this month and sat down with me in our studios talking about his research that, as he said, tried to separate the heated political rhetoric from the questions of undocumented workers as human beings Dr. Michael Blake is on the faculty for the University of Washington and a joint fellow at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy at UWA. Blake's research article, "Immigration, Causation and Complicity" was published by Cambridge University Press. Blake's visit to CMU was one of a series of events sponsored by the Center for Professional and Persona Ethics for November's Human Rights Month. Copyright 2010, MPRN
By Rick Pluta A court has thrown out a lawsuit by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's lawsuit. Schuette wanted to block a new policy that allows unmarried state workers to put live-in partners on their insurance plans. The attorney general went to court after attempts by Governor Rick Snyder and Republicans in the Legislature failed to halt the new benefits for unmarried live-in partners which includes people in same-sex relationships. The independent state Civil Service Commission earlier this year approved contracts with state employees that allow live-in partner benefits. The court said the commission acted within the scope of its authority when it approved the contracts. But it's not settled that state employees will be able to continue to list domestic partners and their children as dependents on their benefits plan. The attorney general could appeal the court ruling. A state Senate committee has also approved legislation that would ban public employers such as the state, school districts and universities from offering contracts that allow unmarried partner benefits. © Copyright 2010, MPRN
By Rick Pluta A Republican state lawmaker wants to forbid local governments and state agencies from offering civil rights protections that are more expansive than those in the state's civil rights law. The measure would forbid extending civil rights protections to gay or transgendered people. At least 18 local governments have ordinances that offer protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. State Representative Tom McMillan's bill said state agencies, school districts, city councils, and other public bodies would not be allowed to protect any classes not mentioned in Michigan's civil rights law, which does cover race, gender, weight, and marital status, among other things, but not sexual orientation. Jay Kaplan is with the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes the bill. "Why do this? Why do you care? If communities wish to ensure that it's a fair place for all people who live there, why should the Legislature be concerned with something like that?" Kaplan said the measure would violate the rights of cities, counties, and school districts to manage their affairs. Copyright 2010, MPRN
By Rick Pluta
The state Senate has approved legislation that would allow private citizens with a concealed weapon permit to carry an electric "stun gun" for self-defense.
Right now, only prison guards and law enforcement officers are allowed to carry stun guns. State Senator Rick Jones is a former sheriff who backs the legislation. The Republican lawmaker said it makes sense to allow private citizens who are qualified to carry a concealed pistol to have a non-lethal alternative.
"You know, 43 other states allow this. Why shouldn't somebody who can have a gun and fire bullets in defense of their life or as a defense against rape, why shouldn't they have the option of having a 'taser?'"
Jones said instances of people dying from "stun guns" are rare.
People carrying "stun guns" would have the same restrictions as other conceal-and-carry permit holders for example, it would be a crime to have a stun gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
By Rick Pluta A federal judge has struck down the Michigan law banning protests at funerals. The judge said the law went too far in trying to stop protests at military funerals. The decision says the law is too vague to enforce and violates free speech rights. The law was adopted primarily to stop members of the Westboro Baptist Church from showing up at military funerals with signs blaming the deaths on tolerance of homosexuality. But also caught up in the effort was Army veteran Lewis Lowden and his wife Jean. They were removed from a funeral procession and arrested because of signs criticizing President George W-Bush taped to their car windows. They missed the burial of a family friend who was killed in Iraq. Dan Korobkin is the American Civil Liberties Union attorney who represented the Lowdens. He said the decision should be a lesson for lawmakers. "When we try to legislate against people we hate, we end up harming the people who really deserve to have their freedoms protected." Said Korobkin. Korobkon said it is still against the law to physically interfere with or disrupt a funeral. © Copyright 2010, MPRNBy JCWilmore (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0
(www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
BY RICK PLUTA The Michigan Civil Rights Commission has filed a brief with a federal appeals court in Cincinnati. It opposes an effort by Republican state Attorney General Bill Schuette to get the court to uphold Michigan's ban on using race or gender in admissions decisions. A panel of the U-S Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ban on affirmative action in admissions policies last month. The Michigan attorney general is now asking the entire court to reconsider and reverse that decision. He said the court should give deference to the wishes of Michigan voters who approved the ban in 2006. The Civil Rights Commission is an independent agency. The members of the commission were all appointed in recent years by Democrat Jennifer Granholm when she was governor. The brief filed by the commission says universities not voters should be trusted to make decisions in the best interests of their students, and it was unconstitutional to single-out admissions policies dealing with race and gender diversity on the ballot. There is no word on when the court may decide whether to reconsider the decision. © Copyright 2010, MPRN
The Michigan Supreme Court has refused to hear a custody dispute between two women. As Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta reports, that lets stand a lower court ruling that people in same-sex relationships do not have custody rights over children they helped raise.
Michigan does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. Nor does it allow couples who are not married to adopt children together. The Michigan Supreme Court let stand a state Court of Appeals ruling that said Renee Harmon has no legal right to parenting time with the children she helped raise for nearly a decade before her relationship with Tammy Davis broke up. The Republican majority on the court let the decision stand with a terse and standard order that said it saw no reason to take the case.
But the dissent from Democrats led by Justice Marilyn Kelly said the case raises significant issues regarding the state constitution and parents' rights that have never been considered before, and it deserves a hearing and a ruling from the state's highest court.
BY RICK PLUTA Capital Bureau Chief, Michigan Public Radio NetworkLANSING -- The Michigan Civil Rights Commission has adopted a resolution condemning the behavior of Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell for his personal campaign against the University of Michigan's openly gay student body president. The resolution also calls on his boss, Attorney General Mike Cox, to launch an investigation. The commission wants the attorney general's office to look into whether state resources were used to harass Univeristy of Michigan student president Chris Armstrong. Andrew Shirvell is on leave from his job. Attorney General Mike Cox says Shirvell will face a disciplinary hearing if and when he returns to work. Shirvell targeted Armstrong in a blog called "Chris Armstrong Watch" and showed up at campus events where he knew Armstrong would be. Shirvell said his campaign was against Armstrong's "radical homosexual agenda." Shirvell has been threatened with arrest if he sets foot again on the University of Michigan campus. The commission also called on Cox to support passage of a hate crime law that offers protections based on sexual orientation and an anti-school-bullying law. © Copyright 2010, MPRN
BY BOB ALLEN Michigan Public Radio Network
TRAVERSE CITY -- Traverse City officials are reviewing a proposed ordinance that would include sexual orientation and gender as categories that are protected from discrimination.
Right now, state law does not offer those protections.
A couple of city commissioners question the cost for handling complaints of discrimination against gays and lesbians through the city manager's office.
And a few of them are uncomfortable with the new ordinance applying to all businesses, not just city offices.
That lead Yvonne Cameron to wonder if she made a mistake when she moved back to Traverse City after living in Chicago for sixteen years.
"Part of what made my partner and I choose to move back to this town was the open-minded open-arm feeling that we got here," Cameron said. "And it troubles me a little bit to hear that's not the universal voice of our city commissioners."
City Commissioners were quick to respond that they were just trouble-shooting the language in the ordinance.
And that they all support the idea of extending protections in housing and employment to gays, lesbians and transgendered people.
The City's Human Rights Commission will rewrite sections of the ordinance and return it to City Commissioners for their approval.
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