Denizens of the dome: State Capitol shines light on African-American history 

Michigan State Capitol exhibit highlights Black history tomorrow and Tuesday 

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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 3 — Why is there a Black History Month?  

One answer is found in a study of Detroit newspapers.  

The Michigan Manual of Freedman’s Progress, a little-known trove of Michigan Black history, tells us the word “negro” appeared 232 times in English-language Detroit newspapers from Dec. 1, 1914 to June 30, 1915. Of these, 139 were references to “criminals,” 35 to “prejudice and discrimination” and 22 to ex-boxing champion Jack Johnson. Only 36 were “commendatory.” 

The Freedmen’s Manual of a century ago, much like Black History Month today, pushed against negative images of African-Americans that fog public discourse and obscure the brighter lights. 

The manual bursts with statistics, stories and photos of Black doctors, musicians, lawyers, soldiers, inventors, farmers and musicians in Michigan, lists of Black-owned properties across the state, Civil War soldier rolls from the 102nd Colored Infantry and much, much more. 

How it came to be written, under the leadership of an African-American State Capitol clerk named Wilmot Johnson, is one of several bright stories that will come to light in two free online programs sponsored by the Michigan State Capitol tomorrow, Feb. 4 and on Tuesday, Feb. 9. 

Legislators excel at sucking up oxygen, but Capitol historian and curator Valerie Marvin wanted to tell the stories of clerks, sergeants-at-arms and other unsung denizens of the Dome. 

“They’re the ones who made things work, made the trains run on time — quite literally, in the case of the Railroad Commission,” Marvin said. “These people are also more relatable to us and you’ve probably never heard of them.” 

Johnson was probably born into a Virginia slave family in 1852. He came to Lansing in 1899 to work in the auditor general’s office when most government offices were housed in the Capitol. A period photo shows him hard at work, spittoon at his feet, the only Black employee in the office. 

Marvin was surprised to find that Johnson made the same salary as his white colleagues. 

“So there’s something the state government did right,” she added. 

In 1914, Johnson was asked to lead a unique and remarkable project as chairman of the executive committee of the Freedman Progress Commission. A group of Black leaders in Illinois were planning a jubilee to celebrate the 50th anniversary of emancipation. With state support, commissioners put together a Michigan-themed exhibit for the event and compiled a wealth of records on African-American life in Michigan — the Michigan Manual of Freedmen’s Progress. 

“You can tell it was a labor of love,” Marvin said. “You can feel their pride.” 

When the state Capitol’s new underground visitors’ center, Heritage Hall, opens in 2022, Johnson’s picture and a copy of the manual will feature prominently. Johnson died in 1932 at age 84 wearing his auditor general’s boots and is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery. 

Marvin is looking forward to fleshing out the story of another unsung denizen of the Dome. 

Lillie Lester, the first Black woman to serve as sergeant-at-arms at the Capitol, got her job through Rep. Daisy Elliott, co-author of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and another subject of this week’s history program. Lester drove Elliott from Detroit to the capitol five days a week. 

She is widely reported to have been the first Black woman to serve as sergeant-at-arms for any legislature in the country, although Marvin said her research on that title is not definitive. 

In 2019, at age 98, Lester was introduced on the House floor and lingered for a visit with Capitol staff. She told Marvin that as a young woman growing up in Georgia, she was inspired by watching a group of Black pastors protest a lack of government jobs for Black workers. 

At the close of World War II, after a “Rosie the Riveter” gig testing detonators at a Georgia munitions factory, Lester came to Detroit to visit family. She liked Lansing so much that she stuck around, got an insurance job and became active in the NAACP and the Urban League. 

In the mid-1960s, after Elliott was elected to the Legislature, she helped Lester get the sergeant at arms post. The two women knew each other from attending the same church in Detroit. 

Lester was delighted with the job, except for the late night sessions. 

“I never drank coffee in my life, but I had to at the Capitol or I wasn’t going to make it,” she told Marvin. 

She retired in 1976 after falling on the ice near the Capitol. She broke her knee and could no longer stand up during long legislative sessions. During her 2019 visit, Lester talked with many admirers, including Fawn McHenry, the only woman currently serving as a House sergeant. 

Marvin finds that inspiration can come in many forms — an old photograph, a forgotten document, or, if you’re lucky, a living, breathing person. She and her staff are eager to share what they’ve learned about the African-Americans who have helped keep the Capitol dome lit. 

“It’s easy to focus on elected officials, but for me, as a woman, one of the most powerful things I’ve been able to do is to learn more about the women who have worked at this building over the years,” Marvin said. “They’ve been the face of change in this building over time. And they were here a lot earlier than people imagine.” 

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