metro >> on the cover
Who
Killed
Burton
Gordin.
Four decades later,
the civil rights leader's
murder remains unsolved.
••• Does anyone remember?
Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher/Executive Editor
BURTON GORDIN from page 1
On this particular Friday afternoon, Burton Gordin chose
to leave his Cadillac Square office at about 4:30 p.m., earlier
than usual. While colleagues, among them Thomas Peloso
Jr. and Andronike Tsagaris, would often join him for the
six-block walk to the one-level parking structure at East
Lafayette and Beaubien that sheltered their vehicles, on this
day, March 20, 1970, he walked alone.
And something was about to go terribly wrong.
Between the time he reached his metallic green 1967 Ford
Galaxie 500 XL coupe, estimated at 4:45 p.m., and about 6:15
p.m., when Tsagaris discovered his sprawled body in a pool
of blood next to his car, Burton Gordin, 50, the first execu-
tive director of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, the
state's highest-ranking civil rights professional and a member
of Gov. William Milliken's cabinet, was murdered.
Forty-three years later, the murder remains unsolved. The
case is cold.
Protecting Civil Rights
Michigan voters went to the polls on April 1, 1963 — 50
years ago this week — and ratified their new constitution.
Its language protecting the civil rights of its residents was
among the strongest in America: "No person shall be denied
equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person be denied
the enjoyment of his civil or political rights or be discrimi-
nated against in the exercise thereof because of religion, race,
color or national origin7 It remains the only state constitu-
tion that includes a nonpartisan Civil Rights Commission of
appointed laypeople to investigate alleged acts of discrimina-
tion.
The Civil Rights Commission convened in January of
1964 under the co-chairmanship of Damon Keith and John
Feikens. On April 1, Gordin arrived as its top professional,
leaving his native Philadelphia and his position as head of
its Commission on Human Relations. Via executive order
signed in 1965 by then Lt. Gov. Milliken, the Department of
Civil Rights was formed, with Gordin as executive director,
to hire staff and develop procedures to handle the commis-
sion's growing workload.
Murder Is Big News Then
Burton Gordin
a great cause with great dedication. His death is a profound
loss to that cause and to the public whom he so well served7
The Michigan House of Representatives passed a resolu-
tion adopted shortly after Gordin's death "... Today, the State
of Michigan stands shocked and deeply saddened at the
senseless and tragic brutality of this slaying of one who had
devoted his life to the active battle for minority rights ... His
forceful and continued efforts led Michigan to the forefront
of state attempts to combat prejudice and minority group
oppression and gained for him an international reputation in
civil rights ... Resolved, by the House of Representatives, that
the highest tribute be extended, in memoriam, to Michigan
Civil Rights Commission Director Burton I. Gordin, a domi-
nant and effective leader of the struggle for human dignity
for all peoples7
Case Goes Cold
As Detroit police continued their investigation, they devel-
oped and accepted a theory that Gordin had been the victim
of a robbery gone wrong. When they arrived on the scene,
the Ford's 390-cubic-inch V-8 engine was purring, and the
massive driver-side door of the 2-ton vehicle was ajar. He
was shot in the chest at point-blank range by, according to
published reports, at least one and as many as three bullets.
Published reports said Gordin's fedora was found under the
car's chassis and that "a pool of coagulated blood, a blood-
stained man's handkerchief and a plastic glove were found
near the car:' Police reported that no blood stains were found
in the car.
Police speculated the robbery was botched because Gordin
still possessed his wallet and its contents, and none of his
personal or professional effects was missing. With no wit-
nesses, no suspects and, despite reward money offered by
the Detroit News and the Michigan Legislature, no new leads
came in, and interest waned in the case. It morphed from
white-hot to lukewarm to cold.
At deadline for this story, it could not be confirmed
with the Detroit Police Department if the files relating to
Gordin's case still exist and are accessible. Also unanswered
at deadline are the number of Detroit's unsolved murder
cases, the number of staff assigned to investigate these cases,
and whether any federal agencies were involved in assisting
Detroit police in their probe.
It appeared few believed the robbery-gone-bad theory. Jim
Watts, the Michigan NAACP president, proclaimed Gordin's
murder a "political assassination:' Prior to Gordin's March
23, 1970, funeral at Temple Beth El on Woodward and
Gladstone, Rabbi Richard Hertz scribbled on an envelope
some basic information about Gordin's family ("wife Paula,
son — Eric 10") and noted he was "assassinated in a garage
on way home from work7 The envelope is contained in
Temple Beth El's Leo M. Franklin Archives.
The Civil Rights Commission's own history, compiled on
its 40th anniversary in 2004, states that "Gordin was mur-
dered in 1970 by an unknown gunman in what some believe
was an assassination because of his civil rights activity:'
Bruce Miller, now 85 and still in Metro Detroit, was
Gordin's close friend, neighbor on Detroit's Chateaufort Place
and the attorney responsible for the legal affairs of his estate.
To this day, he believes Gordin was assassinated and claims
to know who did it. But more on that in a moment.
While the memory of Gordin's service to the state and his
role in its civil rights progression has faded with time, such
was not the case in 1970.
As Detroit police officers and detectives secured and ana-
lyzed the murder scene, department public relations officers
received their own all-points bulletin. As reported in the
March 21, 1970, edition of the Detroit Free Press, "the entire
police public information staff was called into headquarters
to handle the crush of telephone calls coming from all over
the country to inquire about the slaying"
Gordin's murder was big news. "Civil Rights Chief Slain In
Garage" shouted the March 21 front-page Detroit News head-
line. "Civil Rights Chief Slain Downtown" read the same-day
front-page Detroit Free Press headline. "No Motive Is Found
In Detroit Slaying" read the headline in the March 22, 1970,
edition of the New York Times.
A front-page story in the March 21, 1970, edition of
the Lansing Journal included a United Press International
sidebar story that was picked up by newspapers around the
country. Under the headline "Gordin Dies With Hopes Alive,"
its first paragraph read: "Burton I. Gordin spent his life fight-
ing for the underprivileged. He died brutally
at a time when he saw faint signs of hope in
the distance and considerable racial polariza-
tion much closer7
Milliken, now governor, was shocked by
the death. He issued a statement saying: "The
tragic death of Burton Gordin stills a major
voice in the civil rights struggle. He served
Rabbi Richard Hertz jotted down the notes in preparation for Gordin's
funeral: "assassinated in a garage on way home from work."
8
April 4 • 2013