LANSING, MI — Joel Ferguson was an accomplished businessman, broadcaster and civil rights activist, but he was perhaps best known as a supporter of Michigan State University athletics and longtime school board member.
Ferguson passed away last Friday at the age of 86.
Ferguson was a real estate developer whose work included the Red Cedar Project on Michigan Ave, which transformed a derelict former Red Cedar Golf Course into a multi-million dollar multi-use project with retail spaces, a hotel and apartments, according to media partner 6 News WLNS. He also was one of the first major developers to invest money in Lansing’s Old Town. His company also built the headquarters for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The building was originally developed as a headquarters for the Michigan State Police in downtown Lansing.
He was first elected to the MSU Board of Trustees in 1986 and served four terms on the board. Ferguson was extremely involved in Spartan athletics as a major donor and fundraiser.
Ferguson’s family posted a note on social media following his death. Here it is in its entirety:
Lansing, MI – A prominent businessman, philanthropist, father, husband, friend and mentor, Joel Ferguson was born on November 14, 1938, in Lansing, Michigan, to Josephine Wharton and Rollin Ferguson. After a lifetime of astonishing accomplishments, Joel Ferguson peacefully passed on October 19, 2024 in Lansing, MI. Only fitting that it be on the same morning of the MSU Homecoming, which he dedicated so many years to. He was a true Spartan, through and through.
Joel will be remembered for his kind heart, his charismatic smile, his natural born ability to redefine business hustle and his lifelong purpose to create positive change, in which he did. Joel’s impact on the state of Michigan and beyond will be felt for many generations to come.
He received his bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1965 from Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Michigan.
Ferguson served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1957 to 1959. After college, he taught elementary school and adult education and was assistant director of the job training center for the Michigan Catholic Conference for two years. He served as the director of the Greater Lansing Urban League On the Job Training program from 1967 to 1969.
In 1967, he became the first African American elected to the Lansing City Council, where he served three terms, until 1970. In 1968, he chaired Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in mid-Michigan and the Michigan Delegation to the Democratic National Convention. From 1969 to 1973, Ferguson was development director at the Mid-West Urban Construction Company of Flint, Michigan. In 1972, he worked on George McGovern’s presidential campaign and has had a role in every Democratic presidential campaign since. In 1973, Ferguson co-founded F & S Development Company, which became Ferguson Development LLC in 1996, in Lansing. In 1980, Ferguson became co-owner of the property management firm First Housing Corporation and, in 1982, founded WFSL-TV in Lansing, later WSYM Fox47, where he served as president. He co-founded Lansing’s Capitol National Bank in 1983. Ferguson founded Lansing’s WLAJ-TV, an ABC affiliate, in 1990, where he served as president. Ferguson has developed buildings across Michigan, including for the Michigan State Police and the Michigan House of Representatives.
Joel’s work extended far beyond the business world. As an influential figure in the political and educational spheres, he served as Michigan campaign manager for Reverend Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. In 1986, Ferguson was elected to the Michigan State University board of trustees, where he served twelve years as chair and was the longest-serving member, ending his tenure in 2021. In 1988, Ferguson became an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee, where he later served on the Standing Committee on Credentials.
He joined the board of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation in 1989, of which he became vice-chair in 2004, and served on the board of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) from 1995 to 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he was vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus. He also has served on the boards of the Michigan Broadband Development Authority and the Flint Receivership Transition Authority, as a senior advisor for Detroit Mayor Coleman Young’s reelection campaign, on the Ingham County Board of Supervisors, the Greater Lansing Safety Council, and the Citizens Commission to Improve Michigan Courts.
Ferguson received the A. Philip Randolph Institute Award in 1987, an NAACP Truth & Justice Award, a Lansing Black Lawyers Association award in 2005, a doctorate of humane letter from Adrian College in 2008, an award from the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission Award. In 2022, Ferguson was awarded the Xavier DeGroat Autism Foundation award.
Joel Ferguson’s life story was documented in the Library of Congress in March of 2022.
Joel Ferguson’s life was a testament to what it means to serve one’s community with passion, integrity, and vision. He leaves behind a legacy of kindness, generosity and leadership that will continue to inspire those who knew him. He will be deeply missed but never forgotten.
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