A Legacy of Leadership: Lansing, Michigan

The Golden Flyer II arrived in Lansing, Michigan’s capital city — and the hometown of one of the most consequential champions of women’s equality in American history.

Martha Griffiths served in the U.S. House of Representatives and, in 1972, was among those most responsible — alongside Shirley Chisholm and Gerald Ford — for the Equal Rights Amendment passing Congress with the required two-thirds majority. Her name belongs in every conversation about the ERA. (Read more about her legacy in our Daily Diary entry from the Detroit Historical Society.)

Michigan’s record on women’s leadership is among the strongest in the nation. The state has elected two women governors — Jennifer Granholm and Gretchen Whitmer — and women now hold approximately 40 percent of seats in the Michigan Legislature, well above the national average. From suffrage to the ERA to today’s women leaders, Michigan has repeatedly demonstrated the power of women’s full participation in public life.

Our Lansing stop was organized by ERA supporters Gail Johnson and Denise Quarles of Zonta, and Susan Anderson of the Blue Brigade — community leaders who brought together legislators, activists, and advocates from across the region. The Michigan Zonta Clubs arranged special events that put ERA champions front and center.

On the steps of the Michigan State Capitol Building, Gail Johnson — District 15 Governor for Zonta International — served as MC for a rally where legislators delivered remarks of support and, as at so many stops on this Tour, lined up for the chance to make history in the Golden Flyer II.

Representative Julie Brixie opened the rally by pointing out, “When I first got elected to the legislature in 2018, we made history by electing three women to the highest offices: Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Attorney General Dana Nessel.”

“I wore a pin with the number 53; the number of women elected to the legislature in that year. Today, we make up about 40% of the House of Representatives and have the largest number of mothers serving. All this matters more than ever because as we elect more women, we see more movement on policies that directly impact women,” she added.

Representative Brixie also highlighted a landmark victory: last year, a women-led state senate passed the Momnibus — a package of bills to improve Michigan’s maternal health system and address the disproportionate rates of maternal and infant deaths among women of color.

Jeryl Schiever, author of the book that helped jumpstart the Equality Tour, told the group, followed by adding, “In 1916, Nell Richardson and Alice Burke became the first two women to drive cross-country and back, over six months. If these two women and their cat could do this because they believed in something – that women deserve the right to vote, then we can continue to fight for the ERA. We have air conditioning. We have better roads. We have maps. We have communications. We have networks, and we vote. They did it. So, let’s get it done.”

Members of the Michigan legislature continued to join the rally, including Rep. Carol Glanville from Grand Rapids, who added,

“I’m pleased that here in Michigan we are prepared to pass our own Voting Rights Act and ensure that the vote will be safe here in the state of Michigan.” — Representative Carol Glanville

And Representative Jeniffer Conlin noted:

“I am probably the oldest of this group, and I remember the 1970s when we all had our ERA signs. We need these more than ever today. When I see the SAVE Act — which would require a woman to have a marriage certificate, birth certificate, a driver’s license, or a passport — this is nothing more than a female poll tax. In Michigan, we have our own rights around voting, and we will be fighting anything that might be done federally to block people from voting.” — Representative Jennifer Conlin

As the rally concluded, the local CBS affiliate WLNS-TV set up for a live shot from the Golden Flyer II — a piece that captured the spirit of the day and carried the story of suffrage, the ERA, and women’s leadership to audiences across the region. Throughout this Tour, local media have consistently connected the past drive for suffrage to the fight for the ERA today. That link is the story.

That afternoon, the Tour moved to East Lansing, where a lively group gathered for pizza at Red Cedar Spirits Distillery — a meeting place that welcomed activists from the Blue Brigade, Zonta, the League of Women Voters, and beyond. Co-owner Diane Holman hosted a private tour of the distillery, offering exactly the kind of warm community space where organizing feels less like work and more like belonging.

The next morning, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor made time in a packed schedule for an early City Hall visit, adding his name to the growing list of Mayors for ERA. Zonta’s Denise Quarles presented an ERA Champions Award with words that fit the moment perfectly.

Mayor Schor — a former county commissioner and state legislator now serving his third term as mayor — embodies the kind of sustained, community-rooted public service that makes local leadership matter. Like so many leaders met on this journey, his commitment to equality is grounded not only in policy but in raising a family in the community he serves.

More than a century after suffragists Nell Richardson and Alice Burke crossed the country in their Golden Flyer, and more than fifty years after Martha Griffiths helped move the ERA through Congress, the journey continues. Lansing reminded us that progress is never inevitable. It is hard-fought and won by people willing to organize, advocate, and persevere.

Michigan’s history is filled with such leaders — women and men. Their example continues to inspire every mile of this drive.