The Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) is providing an inside look at key steps the department is taking to address systemic racism in communities across the state, including extensive work with the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) framework developed by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF).

The action steps are detailed in MDCR’s latest report, which is a one-year progress update on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission’s year-long investigation and subsequent report, The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint.

“In 2017, the commission outlined seven principal recommendations in the Flint Report. Many are beyond the control of the department or the commission; some are generational at best,” Agustin Arbulu, director, MDCR said. “Though the commission’s recommendations may be aspirational, they provide us with a road map to follow and make incremental steps forward.”

MDCR details the steps it’s taken following the 2017 report, not only in Flint but in communities across the state.

In the report, MDCR said it has adopted the TRHT framework, working in collaboration with WKKF and CMF, by committing resources to the TRHT framework in the four Michigan TRHT sites; Flint, Lansing, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo.

The WKKF's TRHT effort is a comprehensive, national and community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism.

CMF is supporting the Michigan TRHT effort through a $4.2 million grant from WKKF, which is currently underway in the four Michigan sites. 

The report shares that MDCR assisted partners in Grand Rapids in the launch of a critical body of racial equity work, centered on healing and transformation, following reports of racial incidents involving law enforcement and the African-American community. The MDCR is also linking its engagement with TRHT to its Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust (ALPACT) initiatives in Michigan, utilizing the framework to serve as an effective facilitator between communities of color and law enforcement statewide. The 10 ALPACT communities have engaged in conversations in an effort to share perspectives and build trust.

As CMF has reported, MDCR is also leveraging the TRHT framework working in partnership with the Kalamazoo Community Foundation where racial equity efforts are working to address fair housing in Kalamazoo, training of city employees and more.

MDCR states in the report that it’s “also working with CMF and the TRHT State Advisory Council to maximize possibilities for positive impact and success in these communities, promoting engagement and identifying opportunities to bring this process to other communities across the state.”

In addition to the TRHT work underway, MDCR outlined several action steps the department is taking, highlights include:

• Integrating a racial equity framework into all MDCR internal processes and public initiatives.

• Hiring the first racial equity officer within Michigan state government. The officer, Alfredo Hernandez, will work to build capacity to operationalize a racial equity lens and sustain long-term implementation of equity with local government.

• Building the department’s capacity and knowledge base in the areas of implicit bias and structural racism, with a special focus on educating local units of government in providing racial equity training to all personnel. MDCR is working with the Michigan Department of Education and other organizations to develop comprehensive racial equity training for leaders statewide within the government and school systems. They will be launching a pilot program at the end of this year.

• Increasing community engagement efforts by assigning MDCR staff to community liaison positions in vulnerable communities throughout Michigan.

• Placing civil rights investigators on-site at organizations in various Michigan communities to provide education on civil rights issues and take complaints, with an initial emphasis on reaching African-Americans, Hispanic Americans and Arab Americans in Flint, Detroit and Grand Rapids. Investigators also provide presentations and education on civil rights laws, housing, employment and other important topics. In about 17 months, investigators working on-site in a Grand Rapids neighborhood received 173 requests for service and investigated 64 complaints. MDCR says it would like to expand this work to other areas including Muskegon, Jackson, Western Wayne County and Macomb County.

“The Flint Water Report was a groundbreaking examination of the role race and racism played in creating a public health crisis of historic proportions,” Arbulu said. “The department of civil rights is committed to learning from this crisis and using the tools and resources at our disposal to realize real change. We have a long way to go before we achieve racial equity in Michigan, but we are committed to the journey.”

Want more?

Read MDCR’s full report.

Learn more about TRHT.

Check out WKKF’s new report: The Business Case for Racial Equity.