Civil Rights Group Demands Chelsea Cross’s Removal

CHELSEA, MI -- Civil rights activists have petitioned the state Department of Natural Resources to remove a white cross from Sackrider Hill, inside the Waterloo Recreation Area in Chelsea. The cross stands roughly a mile from I-94 on Mount Hope Road and has anchored a sunrise Easter service since its installation in 1950.

The Michigan Association of Civil Rights Activists (MACRA) cited a complaint from an area resident in writing the DNR to ask it to "take immediate action to remove the offending cross."

"What authority did the state think it had to allow a permanent religious symbol on public land?" asked Mitch Kahle, MACRA’s co-founder told mLive. "We expect the state will remove it. Courts are not favorable to crosses on public property."

MACRA doesn’t oppose the sunrise service, or even the use of a cross, but thinks the cross should not be permanent. Beginning around 1930, a cross was transported to the site each year and removed after Easter. The Grass Lake Ministerial Association plans to hold the annual sunrise service April 1.

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Photo via MACRA.