Overview:
Activist Natasha Atkinson is pushing for more civic engagement and immigrant rights for Haitians across Michigan. From translating “Know Your Rights” materials into Haitian Creole to a civic tour, Atkinson hopes to expand access, representation and political power in the region through programs.
MICHIGAN— One of Natasha Atkinson’s earliest memories is of the day she attended her first protest, at age 7. Living in Miami at the time, her family dressed up as they would for church, took a jitney, a van that winds through Little Haiti, and met with thousands of other people downtown to decry the erroneous association of Haitians with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“To watch my grandmother, who was born in 1920, pack all of us up and tell us we’re standing outside and we’re going to protest,” she recalls in a recent interview, “meant something to me.”
“It awakened me to the fact that we didn’t have to settle and we didn’t have to be silent,” she explained. “We don’t have to hide.”
Decades later, Atkinson uses her voice to steer conversations with high-ranking political leaders in her advocacy for people most vulnerable to political policies. After earning her master’s degree from Michigan State and holding numerous political roles, including serving as an Obama campaign campus organizer in 2008, Atkinson is a leader in community activism.
These days, she evokes the mindset her grandmother cultivated, paying particular attention to how Haitians in her state are faring. Through grassroots and volunteer efforts such as translating materials into Creole and launching a Civics 101 Tour, she hopes to drive toward more access, representation and political power for the region’s budding Haitian community.
“When you think of Haitian people, you think New York, Boston, Miami,” said Atkinson, who first moved to the state because of a relationship. “No one is really thinking of the Haitian folks in the Midwest.”
Through her role as chief of staff for Michigan State Representative Emily Dievendorf, Atkinson became associated with the local ACLU. She noticed then that resources and pamphlets for immigrant communities were translated into Arabic and Spanish, but not Creole.
With her community top of mind, Atkinson began working to get those resources translated into Haitian Creole.
She took her advocacy a step further, serving as the political action chair for the Lansing NAACP to encourage younger people to participate in civic life.
“I shared my vision of moving the branch to an engaging level of political advocacy,” said the NAACP’s branch President Harold Pope.
This past election year, with the help of Atkinson, they delivered on this promise. According to Atkinson, 15% of registered voters went to the polls in the 2021 local elections. In the most recent election, 22% of registered voters showed up.
In 2024, she helped organize the largest voter registration event in the tri-county area, including “Souls to the Polls” and the Karaoke Kickback “Get Out and Vote Edition.”
“Natasha doesn’t just show up for ‘Souls to the Polls’ – she makes it happen,” said Khadija Erickson, housing chair of the Lansing NAACP branch. “She’s the person coordinating rides, recruiting volunteers, and keeping the energy high from the first canvass to the last voter who walks out of the polling place. She makes sure our events are joyful and welcoming, with music, food, and a sense of celebration around our right to vote.”
“As a single mom, as someone who’s worked several jobs,” says Atkinson, who has four children. “I recognize politics sometimes takes a backseat, [but] we cannot afford to not pay attention.”
Since January 2025, Atkinson has dedicated most of her time to empowering Haitians living in Michigan. About 5,000 call the state home, according to an MLive report referencing census data — a 40 % increase from five years ago.
Under the current administration, the community is navigating mass deportation policies being implemented nationwide. ICE arrests in Michigan increased 154% since January 2025, affecting immigrants across the board. ICE raids have caused staffing shortages in meatpacking plants and factories. Even minors have been detained, leading some parents not to drop off their children at school.
Given the climate, Atkinson is working to empower those affected, starting with teaching the community their basic rights. As of November, she was preparing to launch a Civics 101 tour, in collaboration with the Voter Access for All Coalition, to inform Black citizens and immigrant communities about how the political process operates at the local and national levels.
“Once a rebel rouser, always a rebel rouser,” Atkinson declared, summing up her path in social activism from childhood to prominent local activist.
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