Midland Black Coalition
Organized officially in 1972, the Midland Black Coalition (MBC) offered support for Black families and worked to address challenges and concerns related to being Black in a predominately white community. It was not intended to be a civil rights or political action group, but rather a point of connection for Black people in Midland. Dr. Betty Jones wrote, “The MBC set the agenda and established an African American presence, and [asserted] the needs of … Black citizens.”
The idea for the Coalition first came about at a gathering at Rudy and Sarah Lindsey’s home on Haley Street, with the planning stages taking place in private homes. Carl Brown carried the idea forward and gathered a group to discuss next steps. The first official meeting was held at the United Church of Christ. The Rev. Glenn Bauman had made a particular effort to welcome the Black community, and so the MBC was invited to use the church for its monthly meetings.
Designed to be adaptive and flexible, the MBC had an executive committee along with rotating chairs to head specific initiatives that had been identified by the group. Carl Brown served as the first chair of the executive committee until he moved away from Midland; Lin Dorman then served. The first six subcommittees and their respective chairs were:
Consumer products, Barbara Thrash
Employment, Ronald Haughton
Housing, Thurman Sanders
Cultural Impact, Betty Jones
Social, Marian McKinnie
Education, George Gant
MBC worked to connect Black families to each other and to resources. They held an annual picnic at Plymouth Park, which was a great social event. They established a Welcome Wagon to reach out to new community members, and they also produced a Midland Black Directory of Information so that resources could be readily shared. The first directory published in 1972 listed forty-three Black families, ten single households, two organized groups for children (Tiny Tots Club for kids ages 3-6 and Young Black Warriors for boys ages 10-12 years), and four local sources of Black consumer products. The first local business to market personal products for Black people was Community Drugs on Ashman Circle. Soon Giant Foods began to carry food products such as collard greens and frozen black-eyed peas.
The Education subcommittee met with the superintendent of Midland Public Schools, George Owen, along with the Midland Community Relations Council and discussed the importance of hiring Black teachers. Owen listened and agreed and by the next school year five Black teachers had been hired, among them Ernest Carter.
The MBC had many cultural, social, and educational successes in their early years. In collaboration with the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library, MBC held a Minorities Book and Art Fair in 1973 to highlight books, games, and records by and about Black people, Native Americans and Latinx peoples. MBC also held two Christmas galas: Moonlight and Mistletoe, a dinner and dance, and a Black Children’s Christmas Party at the Community Center featuring a Black Santa. The organization also held the first Black History Celebration with the theme “Black Voices, Our Song for the Future.”
Over the two decades, MBC collaborated with Midland cultural, educational, and consumer institutions to represent and celebrate the Black community. It seems 1984 was the year to be here for music lovers. MBC collaborations brought both Ray Charles and Dizzy Gillespie to Midland for separate performances! Annual Black History Month activities and Martin Luther King, Jr. events offered both opportunities to teach children and outreach to the broader community.
By 1987, interest and energy around the MBC waned, likely due to members investing their time in other community organizations. Having always been an umbrella organization, members began to recognize the needs of a stand-alone organization had changed. At this point, Midland also had local chapters of sororities, fraternities and professional organizations. The last publication of the MBCnewsletter was October 1990.
See:
Betty Jones, Stories of My People: A Celebration of the African American Community in Midland, MI (1994).
