Michigan Department of Civil Rights

Department of Civil Rights
Michigan Department of Civil Rights logo
Department overview
Formed 1965
Headquarters Lansing, Michigan
Department executives
  • Laura Reyes Kopack, Co-Chair
    Mumtaz Haque, Co-Chair

    Rasha Demashkieh, Secretary
  • Alma Wheeler Smith, Commissioner
    Ricardo Resio, Commissioner
    Jeff Sakwa, Commissioner
    Ira Combs, Commissioner[1]
  • Agustin V. Arbulu, Doctorate in Management, MBA, LLM(in Taxation), JD[2], Executive Director
Child agencies
  • Michigan Women's Commission[3]
  • Division on Deaf DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing
Website michigan.gov/mdcr

Michigan Department of Civil Rights is a department of the Michigan State Government created in 1965 to support the work of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission of Michigan's Constitution of 1963. The Commission directs the work of the department and has eight members.[3] The executive director is Agustin V. Arbulu, who was formerly a member of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission .

The Department of Civil Rights investigates and resolves discrimination complaints and works to prevent discrimination through educational programs that promote voluntary compliance with civil rights laws. The Department is a member of GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity .

History

In 1963, Michigan approved a new constitution which included the creation of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. In 1965, a principal department was formed to support the work of the commission. MDCR is an administrative agency with investigative and enforcement authority; it investigates complaints to determine whether unlawful discrimination has occurred under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and the Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act.

In 1991, the Michigan Women's Commission was transferred to the Department from the Michigan Department of Management and Budget by the Governor's Executive Order.[4]

By 1998, the Department also housed the Indian Affairs Commission, and the Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs.[3]

In April 2011, Governor Rick Snyder transferred from the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth to the Department the Commission on Disability Concerns, the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission and Hispanic/Latino Commission.[5] The Hispanic/Latino Commission (formerly known as the Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs) and the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission were transferred to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) by Executive Order in 2016.

Over the years, MDCR has produced a number of issue papers and policy documents. Beginning in 2006 through 2017, a series of reports on migrant and seasonal farmworkers were completed. In January 2013, the Department issued the Report on LGBT Inclusion Under Michigan Law for the Commission to review.[6]

In 2014, the department blocked the Twitter account then being used by Barack Obama from following its own Twitter account.[7]

In February 2017, the Commission and Department issued The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint on the contamination of the drinking water in Flint, Michigan and its impact on the civil rights of residents. The Report reviewed the role of structural/systemic racism and the history of segregation in Flint. . The Department through Agustin Arbulu is leading an initiative centered on embedding racial equity within local government to reduce and eliminate disparities affecting underserved communities in Michigan .

The same year, an "uproar" occurred after the civil rights commission, which oversees the department, unanimously voted to pay a $24,740 bonus to department executive director Agustin Arbulu in a secret meeting that violated Michigan's open meetings law.[8][9] The commission ultimately agreed to "redo the bonus vote" in open session.[10]. Arbulu rejected the bonus.

In 2018 Ira Combs, whom Michigan Radio characterized as "one of the most prominent and active anti-LGBT activists" in Michigan was appointed to the civil rights commission, which oversees the department.[11] The appointment was met with bipartisan concern.[11]

Department Commissions

Michigan Women's Commission

The Michigan Women’s Commission (MWC) was statutorily created in 1968 [PA 1 of 1968] with the mission of improving the lives of Michigan women. The MWC consists of 15 members broadly representative of numerous fields of interest to women. The Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints members to the Commission for three-year terms. The Governor also designates a chair and a vice chair from members of the Commission. Commission meetings are held quarterly, and the location rotates throughout the state.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Meet the Commission". Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Meet the Director". Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 MICHIGAN IN BRIEF: 1998–99 Chapter 2: About State Government (PDF). Public Sector Consultants, Inc. 1999. pp. 10–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-10-25.
  4. ↑ "The Michigan Civil Rights Commission & Department of Civil Rights". Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  5. ↑ Bomey, Nathan (February 23, 2011). "Snyder remakes Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth into regulatory affairs department". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Graham, Lester (January 28, 2013). "Discrimination against LGBT bad for Michigan economy". Michigan Radio. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  7. ↑ Hinkley, Justin (July 17, 2017). "Trump was sued, but Michigan blocked @POTUS, hundreds more on Twitter". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Civil Rights Director's $25K Pay Raise Behind Closed Doors Violates State Law". WWJ-AM. October 16, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ Haywood, Todd (October 13, 2017). "Michigan Civil Rights Commission bonus to director done in secret". Lansing City Pulse. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ Oosting, Jonathan (October 17, 2017). "Civil rights director rejects secret bonus". Detroit News. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  11. 1 2 Clark, Zoe (February 12, 2018). "Snyder ignites controversy with anti-LGBT appointment to civil rights board". Michigan Radio. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Michigan Women's Commission". Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
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