Warren’s City Council has adopted its first-ever anti-discrimination ordinance, bringing Macomb County’s largest city in line with others across the state, and following an ugly fight with a Bangladeshi cultural group.
“I commend my colleagues for joining me to swiftly pass this long-overdue legislation that brings Warren into the 21 st century,” Council President Patrick Green said in a statement. “This ordinance will help us increase the transparency and accountability that our residents and businesses expect from city government. There is simply no excuse for the third largest city in Michigan not to have an anti-discrimination law.”
The ordinance prohibits discrimination based on age, ethnicity, disability, education, familial status, gender expression, gender identity, height, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or weight.
The vote was 6-1, with council member Eddie Kabacinski (District 5) as the lone dissenter.
According to a press release sent by Warren’s city council secretary, the second reading of the proposed ordinance passed during the council’s July 11 meeting. Under the city’s charter, the mayor had 96 hours to exercise veto power, but Mayor Jim Fouts chose not to veto the ordinance.
The city made headlines after a group called the Bangladeshi Association of Michigan (BAM) alleged that it was denied approval for its annual festival at Warren City Square, where it had been held since 2009, and was told the public square could not host an “ethnic” festival.
“Without any reason park recreation are canceling the event just because we are a people of color?!” BAM President Jabed Chowdhury told Warren City Council in a letter, adding, “We are being racially discriminated … We are really upset and feeling violated of our rights!”
People from Bangladesh are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S. About 1.6% of Warren’s population’s population is Bangladeshi, or about 2,600 people, making it one of the biggest Bangladeshi enclaves in the country.
“It sounds like a potential civil lawsuit against the city,” Councilman Jonathan Lafferty said at a council meeting in April. “We don’t tell people you can’t do something because of your race or ethnic heritage. That is not what we do.”
After learning about the festival’s cancellation, the city council discovered that Warren did not have an anti-discrimination ordinance, and Green vowed to pass one. (Fouts claimed the festival was denied due to a misunderstanding, and also said he received criticism and threats after the festival was denied, including being called a “Nazi.”)
Under the new ordinance, discrimination is punishable by fines, and victims may bring a civil lawsuit for appropriate injunctive relief or damages or both against the violators of the ordinance. The ordinance also provides protections for expression and religious freedom, citing the United States Supreme Court decision on June 30, 2023 that protected a Colorado web designer from making a wedding website for a gay couple due to her religious beliefs. (Curiously, the alleged party who according to court filings ordered the wedding website denies ever making the request or even being gay.)
The Bangladeshi American Festival is scheduled for July 22-23 at Warren City Square.
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