by Jessica Carreras
National Coming Out Day is just around the corner, and though the National Equality March is drawing thousands to Washington, D.C. that weekend to rally for LGBT rights, some Michigan organizations are keeping the fight – and the fun – right at home.
Though the day falls on Oct. 11, events are happening to celebrate being out in the days before and after.
West Michigan
At Grand Valley State University, student-run organization Out 'N' About celebrated coming out day on Oct. 8 with a drag show and informational tables for students to check out LGBT resources and news.
In Grand Rapids, local group Speak Equal is making their voices heard in media with advertisements and with a big, musical event.
The group began with a local honoring of the Great Nationwide Kiss-In this summer, and is continuing their efforts in October to bring the west Michigan LGBT community together. "Speak Equal was born out of a discussion with several members of the west Michigan community who were interested in seeing a variety of large-scale, city-wide and regional events that put forth positive messages about the LGBTQ community," explained founder Brooke Murphy. "We are committed to organizing all-inclusive, peaceful rallies, protests, petition opportunities and educational events that provide insight into the Human Rights Campaign."
With that in mind, Speak Equal has teamed up with West Michigan Pride board members to host Rock Out 2 Come Out on Oct. 11 at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids. The four-hour concert and celebration will feature performances by West Michigan Pride favorite Jo Gage, Flying Without Wingz and Whitney Dawn, plus a host of local drag kings and queens. The event, closed out by folk singer Dawn, will include a candle lighting in honor of people who do not yet have the strength to come out.
Metro Detroit
Affirmations is coming out in all kinds of different ways in honor of the day, including community discussions, their annual Homocoming dance for youth and even a very quirky one-man play.
"Jesus Phreak: The Story of a Very Unlikly Disciple" is a one-man show written and performed by Dale Smith and showing at Affirmations on Oct. 13. This 90-minute show tells the story of a young church pianist who becomes alienated from Christianity due to his habit of wearing clothes made from different fabrics – a practice prohibited in Leviticus 19:19. "The tale is a parable about the difficulty homosexuals have sometimes had finding a place within Christianity," explained the openly gay Smith, who came up with the idea for the monologue in a seminary course about artistic images of Jesus.
Smith has since toured the country, showcasing the contradictory nature of those who would condemn LGBTs because "the Bible says so."
In a completely different celebration of National Coming Out Day, Affirmations will also host a Fall "Family" Photo Session with student photographer and recent Pittmann-Puckett exhibitor Tony Lowe.
Lowe will be on site at the center Oct. 10 to take family photos – no matter what that family consists of.
"LGBT couples and families may not be out and may have a hard time getting photographs of themselves together," explained Kathleen LaTosch, chief administrative officer at Affirmations. "The Fall 'Family' Photo Session offers metro Detroit's LGBT people a friendly, low-cost and professional way to cherish their relationships."
The photo session costs just $10 (regardless of the number of people in the shot) and provides each family group with five digital images.
Interested parties can also opt to participate in a pilot media project that day by agreeing to have their photo included in a visual journal of metro Detroit's LGBTQIA community. This is part of a larger coming out visibility and educational project that Affirmations hopes to grow over the next year.
Detroiters can also show their out, loud and proud attitude at any number of LGBT-friendly Coming Out Day religious services, including an event by Dignity Detroit, which will feature a Catholic mass and a toaster oven giveaway, and several Standing on the Side of Love celebrations by Universalist Unitarian Churches such as East Libery and Farmington.
"We believe that no one should be dehumanized through acts of exclusion, oppression, or violence because of their identities," the Unitarian Universalist Association explains of the Coming Out Day campaign on their Web site.
Lansing
Mid-Michigan residents have reason to celebrate, too. On Oct. 11, Michigan Pride will host their first-ever Coming Out Day Celebration, aimed at LGBT high school and college students who are out – and proud of it.
The event will include a pizza party at Sir Pizza Grand Cafe, where students from local high schools, as well as Central Michigan University, Michigan State University and Lansing Community College are invited to share pizza, ideas for action and coming out stories. Families and friends of the students are also invited to attend this free event.
There will also be a drag performance and DJ and possibly a LGBT student talent show.
