MI Response To Hate (MIR2H) Conference 2025

The MI Response To Hate (MIR2H) Conference is a gathering of community members, activists, and leaders who are committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable society. This in-person event will take place on Thu Sep 10, 2025 08:00:00 am (Eastern Daylight Time) at 219 South Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI 48824.

Welcome to the MI Response to Hate Conference (MIR2H)! This year, the theme is “Standing Aginst Hate: A Community Response.” Join us at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center for a day filled with engaging discussions and workshops aimed at combating hate in our communities. This in-person event will bring together activists, educators, and community leaders to share strategies and resources for promoting tolerance and understanding. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the change! Our goal is to provide a platform for individuals and organizations to share their experiences and strategies for combating hate in our communities.

The day will be filled with inspiring speakers, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and make a difference in your community.

Morning Plenary:

"Standing Against Hate: Insight Through the Lens of Sport"

This presentation will discuss foundational principles of hate and the consequent dangers and destruction it causes to the soul of humanity. It will illustrate ways in which sport offers a lens by which to view social change, and a unique platform that inspires our courage, strengthens our resilience, fosters our respect and appreciation for differences, and enables us to combat hate. This presentation will also elucidate the alluring and unifying power of sport that beckons us to celebrate a community of oneness. Presenters : Ketra L. Armstrong, Ph.D.

Lunch Plenary:

A Community Response Displayed: In late 2022, South Dakota Voices for Peace led a rapid community response to support the Neighborhood Halal Market in Sioux Falls, SD after it was targeted in a series of hate-driven vandalisms. Interfaith volunteers mobilized quickly to clean and restore the space, demonstrating solidarity and resilience. Soon after, South Dakota Voices for Peace in collaboration with the Department of Justice - Community Relations Service, hosted a forum for local law enforcement and BIPOC business owners to discuss hate crimes and strategies for community safety. This event fostered critical dialogue and education while also uplifting the concerns the BIPOC business owners have with law enforcement. South Dakota Voices for Peace CEO Taneeza Islam and COO Jen Dreiske will talk about the response from nonprofits, community, business owners and law enforcement and the key lessons learned.

Presenters: Taneeza Isalm, Chief Executive Officer, and Jen Dreiske, Chief Operations Officer of South Dakota Voices for Peace.

Attendees will select two of the following workshops:

• Policing Hate during Uncertain Times- This workshop will show how law-enforcement and private-sector partners can identify, vet, and share hate-related tips. Drawing on recent cases, they outline practical ways to separate protected speech from actionable threats while safeguarding civil liberties and strengthening community trust. Presenters: Matthew Helmkamp of the Michigan State Police Intelligence & Operations Division joins Sarah Schoenbart—now an analyst with the Jewish Federation and former Detroit Southeast Michigan Information and Intelligence Center.

• Prosecuting Against Hate:While hate speech itself is not a criminal act, it is more important now than ever to know what laws are in place to protect us against bias-motivated crimes. The past year has seen some very important updates to Michigan’s laws. The Michigan Department of Attorney General’s presentation would begin with defining what is (and is not) a hate crime. Next, the historical significance of Ethnic Intimidation. Finally, the presentation would end with the most recent legal updates: Institutional Desecration and Hate Crime (formerly Ethnic Intimidation). These new statutes expand the class of protected characteristics and the scope of penalty in aggravating circumstances. Presenters: LaDonna Logan, Assistant Attorney General, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Head of Hate Crimes & Domestic Terrorism Unit.

• Corporate Complicity- We will examine the role of corporations during the Holocaust, beginning with the Nazification of industry in Germany and the destruction of Jewish businesses. You will hear stories about those who were sent to camps and forced into slave labor and learn about individual business professionals who chose to stand up against hate. While reckoning with the role of businesses in enabling industrialized mass killing, we will reflect on the importance of social responsibility and diversity in business ethics today. Presenters: John Shuler, Law Enforcement Specialist at The Holocaust Center, and Rebekkah Bowen, Education Research Specialist at The Holocaust Center.

• Again? How did WE get HERE? Again? WE Never left: The Art of Oppression Somnambulism!: History is not repeating itself; it is static. How an entity is constructed or willed into existence defines the social relationships throughout its lifespan. Symbolic rather than substantive changes alter how people perceive systems of domination, allowing the systems to coexist in periods of a seemingly changing tide. This presentation explores the necessity of oppression, driven by a culture of fear that justifies the normality of domination. Presenter: Kalvin DaRonne Harvell, Ph.D., Ed.S. (Henry Ford College).

AGENDA

8:00-8:45 am Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:45-9:30 am Welcome

9:30-10:30 am Morning Plenary

10:30-10:45 am Break

10:45-11:30 am Concurrent Workshops

11:30-11:45 am Break

11:45 am-1:00 pm Lunch Plenary

1:00-1:15 pm Break

1:15-2:00 pm Concurrent Workshops (same as morning workshops)

2:00-2:15 pm Break

2:15-3:00 pm Final Plenary and Closing

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights will make reasonable modifications to policies and practices to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to fully participate in all programs, services and activities. There is an opportunity in the registration process to request an accommodation.

Attendees shall refrain from wearing personal fragrant products, (fragrances, colognes, essential oils, lotions, powders, and other similar products) as these items may trigger adverse health reactions in some attendees. Please refrain from smoking or using other nicotine products near the entrances of the building in order to minimize exposure to others. One table will be set aside at each session for attendees who require minimal exposure to personal fragrances.

There are areas of green space around and near the parking lot of the facility for service animals to use. Handlers are responsible for cleaning up after their service animal.

Anyone who requires additional auxiliary aids or services for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures should contact Kimberley Williams [email protected]. No surcharge will be placed on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy.

Host or Publisher Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes MIAAHC