The Michigan Civil Rights Commission was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963 to carry out the guarantees against discrimination articulated in Article I, Section 2. As further stated in Article V, Section 29, the state constitution directs the Commission to investigate alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race, color or national origin and to "secure the equal protection of such civil rights without such discrimination". Public Acts 453 and 220 of 1976 and subsequent amendments have added sex, age, marital status, height, weight, arrest record, and physical and mental disabilities to the original four protected categories.

 

Chair: Alma Wheeler Smith       Vice Chair: Stacie Clayton

MCRC Flint Water Crisis Report and Hearing Information

After a year-long investigation, three public hearings, testimony of more than 150 residents, community leaders, experts, academics and government officials, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission finds that race and racism played a significant role in causing the Flint water crisis, and all races were victims. 

Read the full Commission report, "The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint" here and the Executive Summary and Recommendations here. 

Read  A One-Year Update on the Recommendations in "The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint" here.

At the July 24 meeting of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, Equality Michigan (EQMI) asked the Commission to issue an interpretive statement to clarify that the prohibition against sex discrimination in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) includes protection against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Commission accepted public comments on the EQMI request from July 25 through August 15, 2017, which are accessible below. The Commission will address the request at their September 18 meeting in Lansing.