Founding After a series of meetings of community leaders in Detroit in the summer of 1977, the Michigan Organization for Human Rights (MOHR) was founded at an organizing conference attended by 50 people and held in
Lansing, Michigan, on October 15 and 16, 1977. The mission of the organization was broadly conceived, so that it could serve as a resource for the numerous local, state, and national human rights organizations engaged in efforts to eliminate
discrimination.
Growth In its early years, MOHR meetings rotated around the state, primarily being held in
Southeast Michigan. In September 1978, a staffed office was established in Detroit and an executive director was hired to guide the organization's lobbying, outreach, and fundraising efforts. By 1979, the funding of a staffed office and time commitments required for MOHR work were causing unforeseen pressures on both the organization and those who directed it. The resulting resignation of the first executive director led to the first in a series of reorganizations. MOHR's dependence on financial contributions from its constituent organizations proved untenable and, by the early 1980s, the organization had shifted its primary fundraising efforts to individuals. In 1985, the organization hired an executive director from Ohio,
Craig Covey, in part because of the large and successful Gay and Lesbian civil rights marches he organized in Columbus—which would be helpful later when the organization organized a gay and lesbian march.
Conflicts and closure While the
Michigan Privacy Challenge (1988–90) was helping advance the organization's policy efforts, internal problems continued with personality conflicts and disagreements over financial commitments and priorities. The latter half of the 1980s included frequent resignations, reform proposals, and dire predictions from factions of the
board of directors. These struggles resulted in decreased support from the organization's constituents and funders. Decreased supported, combined with the founding of new lesbian and gay social and political organizations in
Southeast Michigan, resulted in the organization being less effective in their political and fundraising efforts. After one final reorganization attempt, the Michigan Organization for Human Rights disbanded in the spring of 1994. Many of the organization's assets, including their offices, were transferred to
Triangle Foundation (today
Equality Michigan) as the organization added public policy advocacy to their existing anti-violence work. Many board members, including
Henry D. Messer and John Monahan, also joined Triangle Foundation. Most of their community support efforts became a part of the work of Affirmations, the LGBT community center in
Ferndale, Michigan. The archives of MOHR were transferred to the
Bentley Historical Library at the
University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor. Bentley has gone on to house the historical archives of many of Michigan's LGBT organizations, including Affirmations, Triangle Foundation, and Equality Michigan. ==See also==