The former Lewis Cass Building in downtown Lansing has been renamed the Elliott-Larsen Building by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Her office announced on Tuesday the governor would honor the state legislators behind Michigan’s civil rights law, the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, which was approved in 1976 and signed into law by Governor William Milliken in January of 1977. Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist says “Daisy Elliott and Mel Larson’s landmark legislation has removed barriers to equity, progress, and participation for Michiganders in every part of our state.” Regarding Lewis Cass, the governor’s office said, “No one can deny the important role that Lewis Cass played in Michigan’s and the nation’s early history. But Governor Whitmer recognizes that the names we elevate express our values,” noting that Cass owned a slave. Whitmer on Tuesday also called on the Michigan Legislature to expand the Elliott Larsen Act to protect LGBTQ Michiganders.
