Dear Stakeholders of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR):

Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2023 Civil Rights Summit a success. A great number of partners, sponsors, attendees, speakers, and staff helped us to create another great tribute to the everyday civil rights work happening across Michigan. 

This year's topic was the "Impact of Discrimination on Health." Approaching bias through the lens of personal and social consequences helps us to further demonstrate the absolute need to stand against intolerance. The scholarly expertise and life experience shared at the summit made it absolutely clear that unlawful discrimination directly impacts the well-being and even survival of marginalized groups.

Whether you attended the summit or not, we hope you will find value in the brief recap and linked videos below. It is my hope that we have once again helped to move the fight for equality and access forward.  

2023 MI Response 2 Hate Conference

On September 14, 2023, MDCR and the Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes are once again presenting the MI Response 2 Hate Conference. This year the topic is Legislating Against Hate. During the event we will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of the deaths of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. 

Confirmed speakers include:

• Michael Lieberman, Southern Poverty Law Center
• Becky L. Monroe, California Civil Rights Department
• Louvon Byrd Harris, The Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing
• Judy and Dennis Shepard, Matthew Shepard Foundation

Pre-registration is required and ends September 1, 2023. For more information or to register: https://bit.ly/435zaKd. 

John E. Johnson, Jr., J.D.

Executive Director

Michigan Department of Civil Rights

(Photo of Executive Director Johnson)

Held on June 27, the 2023 Civil Rights Summit was a full day of information, discussion and networking with more than 250 attendees. While it is impossible to replicate the full experience now, this recap will capture some of the more salient points. 

(Image of 2023 Civil Rights Summit logo)

Morning Plenary

MORNING KEYNOTE:

Hon. Tommy F. Stallworth III – Senior Advisor; Office of the Governor

As we examine the impact of discrimination on health and its effect on communities of color, it is important to celebrate accomplishments and the tremendous improvements to human lives. Representation matters when it comes to policies to combat discrimination and remove barriers to access, so it is important that our current Governor has done so much to ensure an inclusive government. Examples include:

• Appointing more than 500 African American Michiganders to boards, commissions and full time positions.
• Over 60% of the Governor's appointees are women or people of color, including the first Black woman on the Michigan Supreme Court.
• Creation of a task force to examine and reduce disparities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Call to Action:

According to Stallworth, Michigan needs advocates for legislation and participation in efforts to solve problems and improve community services. He asked each attendee to leave the summit with a personal list of actionable items and initiatives to drive results. 

MDCR Executive Director John E. Johnson, Jr

Executive Director Johnson provided a brief recap of the work done on the action plans from last year's summit. He also urged attendees to continue collaborative efforts to move the needle. 

Watch the Full Morning Plenary on Youtube

(Photo of Tommy F. Stallworth III)

Morning Breakout Sessions

Education and Health

Key Points/ Action Steps:

• Replacing culturally competent with the phrase "culturally responsive and respectful." Education needs to move from coercion, control, acculturation and compliance to creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and collaboration.
• Representation matters: We need to increase diversity among educators, and use literature and classroom tools that reflect the diversity of Michigan. 
• Teachers need to be paid more and have training on implicit bias and culturally responsive teaching practices.
• Real institutional and systems change will only come with antiracist policy changes.
• Student and parent/community engagement is necessary. Ask students to identify what inclusivity issues exist in their learning environment.

Watch the entire Education and Health Breakout

Environmental Justice and Health

• All living creatures and the planet itself are impacted by Environmental Justice (EJ). We can’t talk about EJ without talking about climate change. 
• Discrimination is at the heart of environmental injustice and we must consider historical patterns. During redlining, environmental pollutants were placed in poor neighborhoods and communities of color.  
• Highlight the draft Michigan Environmental Justice Screening Tool.

Watch the entire Environmental Justice and Health Breakout

Social Determinants of Health

Key Points / Action Steps:

• Lack of access to quality education, living in food deserts, and other social barriers shape social determinants of health as they impact entire populations (e.g., policies in Flint influenced water crisis). 
• Social determinants of health shape disparities and are based on differential access to resources, power, and services in the community.  
• Language interpreters, including interpreters for the Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing are needed in hospitals and clinics.  
• We must recognize implicit/explicit bias and its impact on interactions between patients and practitioners, and practice cultural humility. 

Watch the entire Social Determinants of Health Breakout

(Photo of a wide shot of the well attended summit)

Lunch Plenary

Dawn M. Shanafelt, MPA, BSN, RN MDHHS Director – Maternal & Infant Health/Title V Maternal Child Health Block Grant Program

Shanafelt shared that when it comes to healthcare, inequality literally destroys lives. Whether it is due to the actual disease or unjust systems, the cost of injustice is literally death. We are each the world’s foremost expert on our own bodies, but unfortunately systems often push our concerns aside or otherwise refuse to listen.

From 1900 to now the overall infant mortality rate has continued to drop, reaching 6.2 per 1000 deaths in 2021. Each of these deaths represents a devastated family and the loss of the hopes and dreams for a new life. However, the disparity ratio of infant deaths offers a sobering reality. In 2021, Black non-Hispanic children were 2.67 times more likely to die than White non-Hispanic children. In 2021 that number climbed to 3.09. Disparities of this nature do not represent the failures of individual people or medical professionals. 

Call to Action:

• Implicit bias training to help medical professionals understand their own biases. 
• Doula Initiative: Doulas can provide additional care, serve as an advocate for mother and child, and provide critical information and support.
• Perinatal Quality Collaborative and Maternal Infant Health Summit: Create inclusive opportunities for people to come together and discuss ways to improve the health of mothers and children. 

Watch the entire Lunch Plenary

(Photo of Dawn M. Shanafelt)

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

LGBTQ+ and Health

Key Points / Action Steps:

• With respect to preventable differences in burden of disease, the LGBTQ+ population is at high risk for mental health issues like depression and anxiety, as well as substance use and abuse, and suicides. Certain populations are also at increased risk for cancers, sexually transmitted illnesses, or acts of violence. 
• LGBTQ+ communities are often refused care because of their orientation or gender expression. They can also encounter communication barriers and unintentional bias from health care providers and staff.
• It is critical to start by asking patients and the larger LGBTQ+ community what they need and incorporate those needs into communication interactions, treatment routines, staff training programs, and organizational strategic plans. 

Watch the entire LGBTQ+ and Health Breakout

COVID-19 Racial Disparities Taskforce

Key Points / Action Steps:

• The Task Force understood the historical tension between science and community. We used the data to educate the community – and in mobile units we trained and recruited parents to become advocates of the work.
• The pandemic taught us to adapt and change in efforts to mitigate the virus as much as possible, but systemic problems can't be solved without representation from those impacted.
• Misinformation put lives in jeopardy. We needed to combat misinformation in order to dismantle disparities and effectively counter resistance to the science behind the strategies for reducing the spread of the virus.

Watch the entire COVID-19 Racial Disparities Taskforce Breakout

Disability and Health

Key Points / Action Steps:

• Many medical professionals never received training or instruction related to serving people with disabilities so they don't understand their responsibilities, cultural competency, or the tools available. This must change.
• We need people with disabilities in the room when decisions are made about policies and practices. A wide variety of choices from the width of sidewalks and doorways to data collection can result in barriers or disparate impacts for people with disabilities. Nothing about us, without us.
• We need better long-term partnerships between healthcare centers, medical schools and advocates/service agencies for people with disabilities.

Watch the entire Disability and Health Breakout

(Photo of a wide shot of a panel discussion)

Closing Plenary

Renee Canady – Chief Executive Officer – Michigan Public Health Institute

Roshanak Mehdipanah, PhD, MS –  

University of Michigan School of Public Health