Pride flag flies for first time at Mackinac Policy Conference during LGBTQ Pride Month
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MACKINAC ISLAND − For the first time at the annual Mackinac Policy Conference held by the Detroit Regional Chamber, pride flags waved from the porch of the Grand Hotel.
The flags celebrate the beginning of LGBTQ Pride Month Thursday and the passage earlier this year of an expansion of Michigan's civil rights law to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment, education and public accommodations. The conference brings together business and policy leaders, and has focused this year on bringing new residents to Michigan and retaining those already in the state.
Conference speakers, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, have emphasized establishing Michigan's reputation as a welcoming place as a key to making the state an attractive place to live.
The decision to put up the flag goes back to 2014, said Brad Williams, vice president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber. During the policy conference that year, the chamber announced a coalition to support adding LGBTQ protections to Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA).
Whitmer signed Senate Bill 4 to expand ELCRA earlier this year. The bill was supported by every Democratic lawmaker along with three Republican lawmakers in the state Senate and eight in the state House.
More: Gov. Whitmer signs bill expanding Michigan civil rights law to include LGBTQ protections
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"So when the bill got signed this year, we thought this was a great opportunity to really celebrate particularly because Pride Month falls during Mackinac. And we thought what better way to do this than just take one of the most iconic flagpoles in Michigan and let the pride flag fly from that to celebrate Pride Month," Williams said.
The chamber purchased the flags and the Grand Hotel agreed to let the chamber put them up, he said.
The specific flag flying at the hotel is called the "Progress Pride Flag," which features the traditional rainbow along with white, pink and light blue stripes to represent the transgender community and black and brown stripes to represent communities of color, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. On its website, the organization notes that "the black stripe is also a nod to the thousands of individuals that the community lost during the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1980s and 1990s."
Mackinac Policy Conference Chair Matt Elliott, Bank of America's Michigan President, wanted to honor Pride Month during the conference, Williams said. The chamber backed the idea of the flags which have received positive feedback during the conference, he said.
For instance, State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel − who are both gay − posed for a picture in front of the flag. "In Michigan, we value our #LGBTQ community and recognize our civic, cultural, and economic contributions to our state," Moss wrote in a tweet.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mackinac Policy Conference flies pride flag at Grand Hotel
