[nfbmi-talk] not much detail on ada here

[joe harcz Comcast]

MICHIGAN CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION 

Monday, December 9, 2013 - 2:00 P.M. 

Michigan Department of Civil Rights Executive Office 

8th Floor Commission Room 

Capital Tower Building – 110 W. Michigan Ave. 

Lansing, Michigan 48933 

  MINUTES 

 Present: Commission Chair, Mike Zelley 

 Commission Vice-Chair, Lisa Peeples-Hurst 

 Commission Secretary, Jared Rodriguez 

 Commissioner Agustin Arbulu 

 Commissioner Rasha Demashkieh 

 Commisisoner Linda Gobler 

 Commissioner Arthur Horwitz 

 Commissioner Deloris Hunt 

 I. CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME 

  Commissioner Mike Zelley called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m., brought 

welcoming remarks, and each Commissioner introduced themselves. 

 II. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA 

  On Motion duly made (Commissioner Peeples-Hurst) and supported (Commissioner 

Demashkieh), the meeting agenda was approved with an amendment from Chair 

Zelley (Burton Gordin Report update during the Chair Report). Motion carried 

unanimously. 

 III. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 7, 2013 

  On Motion duly made (Commissioner Gobler) and supported (Commissioner 

Demashkieh), the meeting minutes from October 7, 2013 were approved. Motion 

carried unanimously. 

 IV. DIVISION REPORTS 

  Director’s Report, Matthew Wesaw 

  In addition to Director Wesaw’s submitted report, highlights included: success of the 

2013 MIAAHC Response to Hate Conference; overview of various meetings 

(DODHH Advisory Board, MAPAAC); meet and greet meetings (MDCR Colleagues, 

HLC Chair and Executive Director, partner agency leaders). Director Wesaw indicated  that the major focus of the Department will include the Bullying Initiative, the statewide 

ALPACT effort, and MIAAHC.   Enforcement Division Report, Lori Vinson 

  Ms. Vinson reported that in closing the 2013 fiscal year, 2123 formal complaints were 

processed, 2247 complaints were closed, resulting in monetary awards of $1,545,180; our 

federal contracts with EEOC and HUD were satisfied; thus far for the 2014 fiscal year, 

249 complaints have been investigated since October 1, 2013 resulting in monetary 

awards of $96,987. 

  Several colleagues have retired from the Enforcement Division after many years of 

service: Lena Scott, Lillie Johnson, Dyann Gatlin, Elaine Tell and Chris Priebe. Two 

additional retirements are forthcoming: Armando Garcia, after 39 years of service, 

December 2013; Wanda Saxson, after 45 years of service, January 2014. 

  Several new colleagues have been hired into the Enforcement Division: Alicia Powers 

and Gloria Trevino, Administrative Support, Detroit Office; Elizabeth Taylor, LaShea 

Sharp, Matthew Galvan, Investigators, Detroit Office; Sherri Bailey, Investigator, 

Lansing Office. 

 Hearings and Policy Report, Dan Levy 

 In addition to Ms. Elliott’s Legal Affairs submitted report, Mr. Levy reported on the 

DODHH Administrative Rules process regarding certification of interpreters; and a news 

article from Petoskey News regarding bullying legislation. 

  Public Affairs/Budget Report, Leslee Fritz 

  With regards to Public Affairs, Ms. Fritz reported on MDCR’s 50th Anniversary 

Celebration Tour, 35 of the 50 cities are complete; approximately 2,500 participants 

have attended our events, more events to be planned for January 2014 - dates and 

locations will be communicated to Commissioners; results of the Employee 

Engagement Survey will be sent to state department directors this week for review 

and determination of next steps; Autism Partnership tour. 

  With regards to the budget, Ms. Fritz reported that MDCR applied for 14 HUD grants, 

and were awarded for 5 grants totaling $150,000 – funding for Enforcement activities; in 

closing out the 2013 fiscal year, MDCR finished with a positive balance; fiscal year 2015 

requests will be submitted by state department CFO’s by the close of this calendar year. 

 V. COMMISSION MATTERS 

  Chairman’s Report, Commissioner Mike Zelley 

 • Nominating Committee for 2014 Election of Officers 

 The following slate was proposed for the 2014 Election of Officers at the January 2014 meeting: 

 Chair: Commissioner Arthur Horwitz 

Vice-Chair: Commissioner Rasha Demashkieh 

Secretary: Commissioner Jared Rodriguez 

 On Motion duly made and supported, the slate for the 2014 Election of Officers was approved. 

Motion carried unanimously. 

 • Burton Gordin Resolution 

 Dan Levy reported that Commissioner Arbulu is leading a subcommittee in an effort to re-open 

the unsolved murder investigation of former MDCR director Burton Gordin. Commissioner 

Arbulu read the following resolution into the record: 

 As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, we pause to honor and 

recognize one of the unheralded giants of the struggle to secure equality for all Michiganders, and to 

reflect upon one of the great unsolved mysteries in the story of that struggle. 

While serving as the first Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, Burton I. Gordin was 

gunned down as he left our Detroit office on March 20, 1970. His murder remains unsolved, the 

motive unknown, and the historical implications unanswered. 

Upon hearing of the murder, a "deeply shocked" Governor William Milliken declared, "The tragic 

death of Burton Gordin stills a major voice in the civil rights struggle. He served a great cause with 

great dedication. His death is a profound loss to that cause and to the public who he so well served." 

Burton Gordin was a native of Philadelphia who had served as a captain in the US Army and a 

reporter for the Philadelphia Record before joining the Philadelphia Fair Employment Practices 

Commission as a field representative and research associate in 1949. Three years later he joined the 

newly created and first-of-its-kind Philadelphia Civil Rights Commission where he would rise to 

become Director. 

In 1964, after being created as the first (and still only) such body established within a state 

constitution, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission conducted a nation-wide search and selected 

Burton Gordin as our first Director. Under Director Gordin's leadership, the Commission quickly 

grew in size and in stature, becoming a model other states would follow. 

Following Burton Gordin's death, the Michigan Chronicle noted, "Angry militants in the battle for 

civil rights progress declared him too conciliatory. Antagonists in the battle found him too 

contentious." The Chronicle concluded, "That speaks more eloquently than any rhetoric that comes to 

mind for his unswerving determination to conduct himself with both compassion and dignity in a most 

sensitive spot in these times of strife, turmoil and terror." 

Burton Gordin's lifeless body was discovered lying face up in the garage where he parked while at 

work, just feet away from his running car, his wallet intact, nothing missing, and no apparent signs of 

a struggle. He had been shot twice at close range, once in the back upper left shoulder (possibly while 

seated in the car) and once in the chest (likely while already on the ground.) No eyewitnesses were ever identified, and no suspects were ever named. 

Theories and suspects were numerous however, and reflected the tumultuous nature of the times. 

Public reports of the investigation, in which the Detroit Police Department was assisted by the 

Michigan State Police and the Attorney General's organized crime unit, reflected a wide variety of 

possible motives. Possibilities included a robbery gone awry (the motive favored by most investigators), 

but also the possible involvement of angry whites, militant blacks, disgruntled staff, the Weather 

Underground and Students for Democratic Society, and law enforcement from outside the Detroit 

area. None of these motives were ever proven or (publicly, at least) completely refuted. 

The Michigan Chapter of the NAACP at the time called the killing a "political assassination of a civil 

rights leader until proven otherwise." More than 40 years later, there remains no firm basis for 

concluding there was any political motivation for the killing, but neither has it been proven there was 

not.  The murder of the first Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights may yet prove to be a 

robbery gone wrong - one of those truly tragic coincidences that are so hard for us to accept – or it 

might have been a deliberate act and thus an event of historic significance. 

We may never know who killed Burton Gordin and why. While we may have to accept that the 

important historical questions of his death will forever be unanswered, we must not allow ourselves to 

forget the life of Director Gordin. He gave tirelessly to the struggle to ensure equal treatment for all, 

and he played a vital role in helping Michigan and the nation first to correct course and then to 

weather the storms of the civil rights era. To paraphrase the words of abolitionist Theodore Parker, 

Burton Gordin helped to bend the long arc of the moral universe towards justice. 

 Today we pay tribute to Burton I. Gordin’s life's work. His accomplishments were too important, his 

impact too profound, and his legacy too significant to be forgotten. 

 We stand on his shoulders. 

 On Motion made (Commissioner Zelley) and duly supported (Commissioner Peeples-

Hurst), the Commission adopted the Resolution on Burton Gordin. Motion carried 

unanimously. 

 Director Wesaw indicated that he has convened initial meetings with the Michigan State Police 

and the Detroit Police Department; plans to convene a meeting with the Subcommittee and the 

Cold Case Team to determine next steps. 

 • Proposed 2014 Meeting Schedule 

 The following dates were proposed for the 2014 Commission Meeting Schedule: 

January 27, March 24, May 19, July 28, September 22, November 24. 

 The September date will be confirmed at a later time, as the Commission may have an 

opportunity to convene jointly with the DODHH in the Upper Penninsula in October 2014. 

 On Motion duly made (Commissioner Arbulu) and supported (Commissioner 

Demashkieh), the 2014 Commission Meeting Schedule (with the exception of September) 

was approved. Motion carried unanimously. 

  Awards Presentation, Director Matthew Wesaw 

 Director Wesaw presented an award honoring Chair Mike Zelley for seven years of service; and 

an award honoring Vice Chair Lisa Peeples-Hurst for five-and-a-half years of service. 

  Attorney General Report, Ron D. Robinson 

 Mr. Robinson cited the case Barash v. SMART, indicating that the case was remanded for appeal 

review in Circuit Court; the Thomas Sakewich case was also cited, indicating that the case has 

been elevated to the Supreme Court – the petition was denied, and the Department will not 

pursue the case any further. 

 VI. DEPARTMENT INITIATIVES UPDATES 

 Bullying Initiative, John Golaszewski 

 In John Golaszewski’s absence, the Bullying Initiative report was waived. However, 

written reports were submitted to the Commission. 

 Global Michigan Initiative, Mary McLellan 

 In Mary McLellan’s absence, the Global Michigan Initiative report was waived. 

However, written reports were submitted to the Commission. 

 VII. OLD BUSINESS 

  There was no old business. 

 VIII. NEW BUSINESS 

• ADA Presentation by Sharon Ellis, Statewide ADA Compliance Director 

 IX. PUBLIC COMMENT 

  There was no public comment. 

 X. ADJOURNMENT 

  The meeting of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission adjourned at 3:48 p.m.