Lansing Made

The Recovering Perfectionist LANSING MADE BY MELIK BROWN

Photo by: Melik Brown

Rishan Butler is an iceberg. I mean that in the nicest way. You see her, but do you really know her? After several conversations and a nearly two-hour interview, I feel like I barely peeled back the layers of her story.

She will tell you that she is a recovering perfectionist. I would say she’s not doing very well on that recovery, and it is very endearing.

Going to school in Cleveland, Ohio, she didn’t like the way black children were treated. This was at the beginning of desegregation, and she felt that the schools could be integrated, but it was impossible to influence how teachers were going to treat students. Although she was treated well, she saw others that weren’t and felt that was unfair. Butler’s mother always wanted a girl. Because of that, her mother “dressed her to the T.” Butler attributes that as part of the reason that she wasn’t treated poorly by teachers at her school, along with being a naturally gifted athlete. She would reach out and embrace those who were treated differently. She would invite them to her house and stand up for them.

When she graduated high school, she sought a job at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She worked as a transfer clerk and in alumni affairs. Her mother became a caterer specializing in Italian cuisine while they lived in a Jewish neighborhood. Butler laughingly exclaimed to be a non-pork-eating lazy vegetarian. She said that means that she has low blood pressure. When her blood pressure is down, that chicken looks pretty good. However, she doesn’t like looking at the veins, she said with a laugh. Butler gives her mother much kudos for how her life is.

“I am the daughter who hit the lottery the with her parents – 23 plus 23,” Butler said. “I have tried to live the way life should be lived on earth. The trait I have from my mother is compassion for other people and respect for differences. My mother is very compassionate. I never heard her say a cruel word about anybody.”

Butler was Deputy Director of Health & Community Services under Virg Bernero until 2013. She also taught health & human services at Lansing Community College. Butler went into semi-retirement in 2013 to care for her ailing mother. Daily meal time visits continued for 3 years and 8 months. Now she is fully retired often giving back by assisting family members face death with dignity. She happily accepts the role of gatekeeper because her family gave so much to her.

“It’s the circle of life”, she says with a smile.

Her best advice?

“Align yourself with someone you want to be like,” Butler said. “Understand the social stratification chart and make a decision of where you want to live on that chart. Do what’s necessary that will guide you in that direction.” ■

Melik Brown is a Lansing resident most known for #LansingMade, with a mission to highlight the positive, initiate enlightening conversation and bring people together. Brown has a family of five plus one dog. He enjoys spending time with good people

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