Mason City Council rejects resolution honoring Malcolm X

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 — The Mason City Council voted 5-2 Monday night to reject a resolution declaring a Malcolm X Observation Day.

Councilwoman Rita Vogel, who introduced the resolution, called the rejection part of a pattern of “white supremacy” in Ingham County’s county seat.

“Creating a culture of trust for all City of Mason residents is crucial to the effectiveness of our local government and the initiatives we put into action,” Vogel said in a prepared statement. “Making decisions around the white experience does not gain community trust. Gatekeeping representation by refusing to create space for people of color in Mason is white supremacy. We are in a time of truth for real history honesty and real conversation. And a part of that must start with us having a reckoning around Mason’s role.”

The remainder of the Council said nothing before voting.

Malcolm X lived in Lansing for a time in his youth. When his father was killed and his mother was committed to a mental health facility, he was placed with a foster family in Mason. He did well in school and was elected eighth-grade class president. At 16, he left mid-Michigan and headed east. The state recently replaced a historical marker honoring the civil rights leader on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The elementary school he attended, located at the corner of Pleasant Grove and Holmes roads in Lansing, is being redeveloped to honor him as well.

Mason Mayor Pro-Tem Leon Clark challenged Tuesday Vogel’s claims that the city has an issue with white supremacy.

“Councilmember Vogel portrays our whole community as something we are not,” he said. “Are we perfect? No. Can we do better? Absolutely.”

He said he had discussed the community with “many, many” residents who were minorities who lived in Mason.

“Some moved from Detroit and other areas because of the people in the community and the way they feel welcome,” he said. ”I am not sure what her motives are or why she's trying to do what she's trying to do. There's a whole different side of this that does not get portrayed.”

Clark said he didn’t support the resolution because it contained “cut and paste” material and “wasn’t original.”

Vogel said he resolution represented a “unified message” from communities across the country. She noted that the city had included the word “welcoming” in the 20-year master plan.

For Clark, the passage of a resolution that is strictly focused on a local resident who has made contributions to the city leads to redundancy.

“There's no reason why we couldn't, but when does it end?” he said of the plethora of national and state recognition months and honoring them. “When does it end and we get on with the business we need to do?”

Vogel said Clark “has no issue with proclamations being made for coaches, sports teams and other residents of note, which are routinely passed as part of the consent calendar with no debate and carry the same force of law.”

She pointed to a resolution that declared Feb. 7 “Brian Ingram Day,” honoring a local coach.

“It would seem that he’s OK with recognition of people as long as they are people he deems worthy,” she said. “Evidently he does not deem BIPOC people worthy or worth the city’s time.” BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

Clark pointed out that last year he introduced a resolution to honor Black History Month that he crafted based on interviews with local residents.

“That wasn't good enough for her either,” he said. “It did pass the City Council.”

He said the three people who spoke in support of the resolution represented “bullying” to force people to “fit their agenda. That kind of puts you off right away.”