On Monday, June 22, 2009, beginning at 5:00 p.m., the Michigan Civil Rights Commission will host a Kalamazoo public forum on migrant and seasonal farmworker issues. The meeting will take place at the Multicultural Center (MCC), located at 1202 Adrian Trimpe Building on the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

As part of the forum, the Commission will hear expert testimony from Farmworker Legal Services (FLS) based in Bangor. Expert titles and topics will include:

• Thomas K. Thornburg, Co-Managing Attorney at FLS, will cover Farmworker Demographics and an Overview of the Issues
• Megan A. Reynolds, Attorney with FLS, will cover Familial Status Discrimination in Farmworker Housing
• Stephanie L. Little, a Law Graduate with FLS, will cover the Migrant Housing Licensing Crisis
• Rachel M. Udow, Pesticide Action Campaign Coordinator, will talk about Environmental Justice and Michigan's Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
• B. Daniel Inquilla, Co-Managing Attorney at FLS, will talk about issues related to Access to Vital Documents
  

More information on these topics is available on the attached program document submitted to the Department by FLS. Following the expert testimony, the Commission will also hear testimony from the community about civil rights issues relating to migrant and seasonal farmworkers.

The public forum will follow a general meeting of the Commission scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in the same location. Both the meeting and the public forum are open to the public with opportunities for public comment. Spanish interpretation service will be available during the public forum. Please call Harold Core at 517-241-3986 to request a reasonable accommodation to attend the forum.

For more information on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, visit http://www.michigan.gov/mdcr. For more information on Farmworker Legal Services, visit www.farmworkerlaw.org.