Guest Writer: Chioma Lewis
Hundreds gathered in Lansing on Monday, January 20, for the 41st annual Day of Celebration honoring the life and legacy of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the region’s longest-running MLK Day events hosted by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Mid Michigan.
Speakers and performers emphasized the importance of love, dialogue, and everyday acts of kindness, while also urging the community to actively defend civil rights and democracy. Civil rights leader Diane Nash urged attendees not to become complacent with injustice, emphasizing that meaningful change requires organization and accountability, not just marches.
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden also spoke, with Bolden stressing that representation and collective responsibility shape a better future for the next generation.
Visit mlkmidmichigan.com to view Day of Celebration archives and to stay informed about other similar events.
Downtown Lansing has a rich black history, with many trailblazers who deserve celebration.
Rudolph “Rudy” Wilson”
Rudolph “Rudy” Wilson was the first Black chemist and salaried employee hired by Oldsmobile, in 1955. He negotiated continuously over the years to ensure that the company followed equitable hiring practices. He retired in 1987. Wilson served as branch president of the local NAACP from 1977 to 1986. He was appointed in 1987 to serve on the Ingham Intermediate School District board. He died in 2015.
A. Gregory Eaton
A. Gregory Eaton became Michigan’s first Black lobbyist in the mid-1960s. He joined Karoub Associates in 1968 and is counsel to the firm. Eaton has owned several businesses and is the president and owner of Gregory’s Soul Food Restaurant. He also is a former executive assistant and legislative counsel for the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association.
Joel Ferguson
In 1967, Joel Ferguson became the first African American elected to the Lansing City Council and the youngest person, as well. He was also the first African American to serve on the Ingham County Board of Supervisors. He is co-founder of F & S Development Company, and the developer of multi-family residential complexes throughout Michigan. He was a co-founder of Lansing television station WFSL-TV (Channel 47) and the founder of Lansing’s WLAJ-TV (Channel 53) television station. He is owner and developer of many office buildings in the Lansing area and one of the original organizers of Capitol National Bank. Ferguson was first elected to the MSU Board of Trustees in 1986 and has been re-elected three times. He now serves as vice-chairman.
Sam Hopkins
Sam Hopkins became the Lansing Fire Department’s first black fire chief in 1988. He hired in as a firefighter in 1965 at No. 1 Fire Station, then located at Shiawassee Street and Grand Avenue. He also was the first black engineer, lieutenant, and captain. Hopkins retired from LFD in 1994. He became the first black fire chief in Ann Arbor in 2005 and was there until 2009. Roger Roberts was the first black firefighter hired by the Lansing Fire Department. He served from July 8, 1962 to Feb. 17, 1973.
Able Sykes Jr.
Able Sykes Jr. was the second president – and first black president – of Lansing Community College. He held the position from 1990 until he retired in 1999. Sykes was the first black person to serve as chairman of the Association of Community Colleges board of directors. The college’s Able B. Sykes J. Technology and Learning Center is named in his honor.
Claude Thomas
Claude Thomas was the first black Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor, one of Lansing’s first black police officers, and Lansing’s first black District Court Judge. He was also the first black student and graduate of Cooley Law School. He died in 2008.
Dr. Eva Evans
Dr. Eva Evans has been a leader in education since 1965. She served in a number of administrative positions in the Lansing School District, from director of elementary education to being the first female deputy superintendent of Lansing public schools. Presently she is chair of the Lansing Community College Foundation. In 2006, Evans was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. She died in 2020.
Paula Cunningham
Paula Cunningham started her career with Lansing Community College in 1981 as an associate professor. She rose to become the school’s first female president in 2000. In 2006, Cunningham became the first female president and CEO of Capitol National Bank. Cunningham was also the first African American woman to chair the board of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce. Cunningham was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
Grady Porter
Grady Porter became the first black person elected to the Ingham County Board of Commissioners in 1968, having been encouraged by family and friends to run for political office. Grady served on the commission for 24 years, retiring from politics in 1992. In 1992 the Ingham County building at 313 W. Kalamazoo was named the Grady J. Porter Building. Porter died in 2007.
Malcom X
Malcolm X, eloquent spokesman for civil rights and for the oppressed everywhere, lived in Lansing in the 1930s (adjacent to downtown) on a site that is now a registered historical landmark. In prison he converted to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and read widely in history and philosophy. Released in 1952, he joined his family in Detroit, and began his new life as a Muslim. When his talent for preaching was recognized, he moved to New York to head Temple Seven. He founded the Nation of Islam’s weekly newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, and traveled the country organizing new temples among its followers. In 1959 a television program brought him to public attention as the principal minister of the Nation. His influence continues through his recorded speeches and the Autobiography of Malcolm X, a landmark of twentieth century social thought.
Source: Choose Lansing/Historical Society of Greater Lansing
