Michigan Coalition for Human Rights

07/18/2026

Come out on Saturday if you can!

06/26/2026

Calling all Metro Detroit High School Students - this one’s for you!

Founded in 1989, The Freedom Tour returns to Detroit this summer. Inspired by the Freedom Riders, this free program will incorporate a 2 part series from July 30 to August 2 to engage students in activism, history, racial justice, and community organizing skills.

Beginning with a two-day conference with guest speakers, workshops and activities followed by a two-day field trip to civil rights and community landmarks across the Metro Detroit area, this program is set to be a memorable milestone and experience for students interested in justice, civil rights and Detroit history.

The lectures, workshops and tours are led by incredible historians, experts and community leaders. Topics include the greater history of Detroit, race and policing in America, housing issues, food security and environmental issues, youth-led movements in Detroit, union history, digital rights and surveillance and more!

All 4 days will run from 9:00 AM–5:00 PM and will include breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The program is geared towards 9th to 12th grade students from the Detroit metro area and is application based. Student participants will also receive certification indicating that they successfully completed this program.

This program is organized by the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) and the Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity (CRIO) department at the City of Detroit. We would like to kindly thank our sponsors and collaborators, the ACLU of Michigan and Wayne State University Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative.

Applications are due by Wednesday, July 15 by 11:59pm. Scan the QR code to sign up!

06/22/2026

06/17/2026

[Detroit Event] Keynote presentation and fireside chat with Keith Ellison on defending democracy, protecting our communities and the ongoing legal battles against the Trump administration.

From immigration and climate change to federal contracting and civil rights, we are going to be discussing it all! 

Fireside chat will be conducted by Civil Rights Attorney Julie Hurwitz.

Saturday, July 18
2:00-4:00pm

Address released after registration

Tickets:
$35 tickets available through online purchase prior to July 18
$40 tickets available at the door, day of the event
$20 student discount tickets available through online purchase prior to July 18

Event hosted by the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR)

Keith Ellison was sworn in as Minnesota’s 30th attorney general on January 7, 2019. As the People’s Lawyer, Attorney General Ellison’s job is to help Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity, safety, and respect. His guiding values are generosity and inclusion.

From 2007 to 2019, Keith Ellison represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he championed consumer, worker, environmental, and civil- and human-rights protections for Minnesotans. He served for 12 years on the House Financial Services Committee, where he helped oversee the financial services industry, the housing industry, and Wall Street, among others. Among his legislative accomplishments are passing provisions to protect credit-card holders from abusive practices and protect the rights of renters and tenants. While in Congress, he founded the Congressional Antitrust Caucus and the Congressional Consumer Justice Caucus. He also served as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which he helped build to more than 100 members.

Before being elected to Congress, Attorney General Ellison served four years in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Prior to entering elective office, he spent 16 years as an attorney specializing in civil-rights and defense law, including five years as executive director of the Legal Rights Center. As the leader of this public-interest law firm, he oversaw a team of attorneys focused on delivering justice for Minnesotans who had nowhere else to turn. He was also a noted community activist.

Attorney General Ellison received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1990. He is the proud father of four adult children: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, and Amirah. He is the first African American and the first Muslim American to be elected to statewide office in Minnesota.

02/25/2026

Thursday, February 26 at 7pm EST, the National Council of Elders is launching a 2-year series "Begin Again." You're warmly invited to join the conversation! We'll welcome Roshi Norma Wong + Prof. Eddie Glaude + singer Melanie DeMore into our first session.

The title Begin Again is taken from a remark James Baldwin made in the wake of violent pushback against early civil rights gains. Baldwin wrote, “Not everything is lost. Responsibility cannot be lost - it can only be abdicated. If one refuses abdication, one begins again.” Prof. Eddie Glaude, Jr. used Baldwin's remark as his point of departure for the marvelous 2021 book that inspired us to create Begin Again.

Begin Again is designed as an ambitious cascading content stream featuring elders, youngers, and all who believe that nothing less than a total reconstruction of our broken culture will suffice. As the Rev. James Lawson, Jr.-- co-founder of the National Council of Elders--told us before he left us, we need uprisings now that will make the uprising of the 1960s look minor by comparison.

Here's the link to register:
https://kingandbreakingsilence.org/

01/27/2026

Abayomi Azikiwe is a prominent Detroit-based author, activist and political analyst who specializes in the political economy of the African continent and the Caribbean. He is the founder and editor of the Pan-African News Wire, and is the co-founder of several Detroit-area grassroots organizations.

As imperialism stretches globally and deepens its chokehold, Abayomi is sharing his expertise about “what the hell is going on” both here and abroad. Join MCHR on January 29th to hear more.

01/27/2026

Lifelong Detroit community and labor activist, Elena Herrada, sat with us to share some of the most imminent issues impacting our communities today. Emphasizing the need for intergenerational connections and the overlap between our global and local realities, Elena is one of our panelists set to share "what the hell is going on" on Jan 29 with .coalition
Elena Herrada received her degree in Criminal Justice and majored in Chicano Boricua Studies