The excitement is building here as Partner Gregory J. Fioritto co-presents the third lecture “The Frank Lloyd Wright Smith House and Segregation in Metropolitan Detroit” on Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. EST as part of Cranbrook’s Bauder Lecture Series “Unsettling Landscapes at Cranbrook”! The Bauder Lecture Series starts this Sunday, April 11th and continues weekly through Sunday, April 25th.
The 2021 installment of the annual Bauder Lecture Series, Unsettling Landscapes at Cranbrook, brings six historians and experts to the Center’s virtual auditorium where they will help us explore, expand, and enrich our understanding of the histories with Cranbrook’s original 1904 Booth Estate, the 1915 Japanese Garden, and 1950 Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House.
Thomas Sugrue will examine how federal, state, and local governments systematically imposed residential segregation in Detroit—and across the nation. As part of this presentation, he will assess the role that home and property owners’ associations played in enforcing restrictive covenants and promoting segregation throughout Detroit and its suburbs.
Gregory Fioritto will answer the question: What can the members and boards of homeowners’ associations do to change existing deeds—including that of the Smith House—to ensure they are never again used as tools to promote exclusionary practices? He will provide an overview of both the current Michigan laws governing community associations as well as a bill introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives—the Prohibited Restrictive Covenant Act—that addresses racist restrictions and offers permanent solutions.
You can use the link below for more information and to register for this series.
“UNSETTLING LANDSCAPES AT CRANBROOK” BAUDER LECTURE SERIES
This lecture series is free and open to the public. Advance Registration is required. You do not need to register for each lecture separately; your registration will provide access and Zoom links to all three virtual lectures.
- Gregory J. Fioritto is a partner with the law firm of Zelmanski, Danner & Fioritto, PLLC. A 2000 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he has spent nearly his entire legal career practicing in the field of community association law. He has lectured on the subject for various organizations, including the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the United Condominium Owners of Michigan (UCOM), and is a Co-Chairperson of CAI’s Legislative Action Committee for Michigan. He also serves as President of his own condominium association’s Board of Directors in Canton, Michigan.