Without fanfare or discussion, the Village of Holly Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring June 2022 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month at their Feb. 8 meeting. Introduced by Council member Ryan Delaney, the resolution states that [...]
“Started from the bottom; now we here.” Incoming councilperson Melanie Rutherford chose the popular Drake song lyrics as part of her swearing in speech Sunday. Rutherford is one of seven new Pontiac councilpersons after voters [...]
The Oakland County village of Holly's first Pride was a sea of smiling faces, rainbows and Pride Flags. For participants, the event, which took place on June 29, was much more meaningful than these outward [...]
FERNDALE — When Dave Garcia came back to his old job as Executive Director of Affirmations community center after five years working for the nation’s largest LGBTQ community center in the nation, his return was [...]
PONTIAC - The Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday evening to update the County’s non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity and gender expression. The newly approved policy states that the county [...]
PONTIAC — Like the various shapes, colors and patterns that are part of a kaleidoscope, the artwork created and inspired by the LGBTQ community doesn’t just form a rainbow but an ever-changing mosaic.
This story originally appeared in Oakland County Times Oak Park – With Council members Carolyn Burns and Ken Rich voting no, Oak Park City Council adopted a policy to govern all flag-flying requests, as well [...]
After nine years serving as Mayor of Ferndale, Dave Coulter will not be running for another term. He announced this decision at the State of the City Address Tuesday, April 16, at the Rust Belt [...]
HUNTINGTON WOODS — Over 150 residents and supporters packed the gymnasium of the Gillham Recreation Center for Tuesday night’s Huntington Woods City Commission meeting after news broke over a California-based organization’s intent to protest the [...]
Ferndale, Mich. – A crowed of mourners gathered on the front lawn of Jewish Ferndale for a ceremony Sunday afternoon. Rabbi Herschel Finman addressed the group. “In the face of adversity, we look for an [...]
HUNTINGTON WOODS, Mich. - Story time in Huntington Woods got a little more interesting with the announcement of guest readers for December, January and February. The Huntington Woods Library has begun hosting what is believed [...]
ROYAL OAK - AIDS Walk Detroit is under new management and kicking off 2012 with some big resolutions for the year. Their goals are to have 3,500 walkers and to raise $200,000 to help funding [...]
Over 500 people packed the First United Methodist Church of Ferndale and the lawn in front overlooking Woodward Ave. Sunday evening to share a message of love and justice following violence in Charlottesville, VA connected [...]
Ferndale Pride committee members. Photo courtesy of Ferndale Pride FERNDALE - Ferndale's annual celebration of love and diversity for the LGBTQ community - Ferndale Pride - is not just an event that brings people [...]
Following the Oct. 11 decision by the Village of Holly Council not to adopt a human rights ordinance that would have given LGBT people the same civil rights at other marginalized groups, the folks at [...]
Holly - The Village of Holly voted 6-1 against adopting a human rights ordinance that would have prohibited discrimination against LGBT people. Several members of the public spoke against the ordinance. "There's a natural, inherent [...]
Lake Orion residents listen as comments are heard on moving ahead with a Human Rights Ordinance. Photo: Crystal A. Proxmire Updated Tuesday, Sept. 27 The Village of Lake Orion on Sept. 26 joined the [...]
On March 7 and 8, a peaceful vigil was held protesting the Courage workshops put on by Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Detroit. DETROIT - When Tom Nelson and Linda Karle-Nelson learned that [...]
Cass Varner joined Affirmations staff when it was still housed at the Frontier Building. She is currently working on a number of activities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Center. File photo: Andrew Potter [...]
FERNDALE - The criminalization of HIV is a reality with far-reaching consequences, and it's time to have a serious discussion about it. A coalition of LGBT and HIV specific groups are hosting a community forum [...]
Human Rights Campaign Michigan Field Organizer Allison VanKuiken who was one of the organizers of the One Royal Oak Campaign. BTL photo: Crystal Proxmire "We need to live in a country where you can [...]
{ITAL "The LGBT communities have an excellent health infrastructure, but when you ask our leaders about our top health issues, smoking is rarely even in the list. It really is time for smoking to come [...]
Clawson United Methodist Reverend Peggy Garrigues. BTL photo Crystal Proxmire CLAWSON - When Clawson United Methodist Reverend Peggy Garrigues issued a challenge to her congregation in August, she had no idea what the [...]
Enrollment opportunities and campaigns encouraging people to sign up for insurance coverage on the Healthcare Exchange are everywhere, but for LGBT individuals it can be a daunting task. "Many LGBT individuals and their families have [...]
After 13 years working in the nonprofit world, 36-year-old Angela Gabridge has landed her dream job as the Director of Development for Affirmations Community Center. She joins at a time when ally involvement is becoming [...]
Detroit police officer Danni Woods meets LGBT community leaders. She is the new LGBT liaison for the Detroit Police Department. She and Commander Charles Wilson met with leaders form KICK!, Equality Michigan, Ruth Ellis Center, [...]
Jayne Rowse, right, gets a hug from a flag-wielding Linda Lombardini outside the federal courthouse in downtown Detroit. The plaintiffs Rowse and Alice DeBoer appeared at a press conference before court Mar. 3 at which [...]
After 13 years working in the nonprofit world, 36-year-old Angela Gabridge has landed her dream job as the Director of Development for Affirmations Community Center. She joins at a time when ally involvement is becoming [...]
Illustrated by Lili Chin. www.Doggiedrawings.net Some dogs need their space. Whether it's because they are recovering from an injury, still in the stages of being trained, or simply not that social, some dogs are [...]
Jihannh Jones knows the comfort that having a pet can bring. After a long day of work helping service clients at the Michigan AIDS Coalition, Jones goes home to his adorable Shih-Poo named Buddy. "Sometimes [...]
Testimony in the historic case of DeBoer v. Snyder begins this week in Federal Court in Detroit as opening statements are set to start at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The case involves a Hazel Park lesbian [...]
Testimony in the historic case of DeBoer v. Snyder begins this week in Federal Court in Detroit as opening statements are set to start at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The case involves a Hazel Park lesbian [...]
There is more to the experience of transgender youth than whether or not they can use the proper restroom at school, and ACLU Staff Attorney Jay Kaplan was at the SOGI Education Conference on Feb. [...]
When welcoming the conference attendees including teachers, counselors and students, SOGI Initiative Director Timothy Larrabee gave a perspective that guided the tone of the day's learning. "The SOGI Education Conference is about sexual orientation and [...]
Nikk Selik took care to stress that every persons journey is unique and that most journeys are always ongoing. An idealized appearance is not necessarily an endpoint. He also said that gender is not binary. [...]
Exiting Michigan Log Cabin Republican Chairman Joe Sylvester has high hopes for the new leadership of the organization he ran for the past five years. In a recent press release he announced that Brian Savage [...]
DETROIT - Uganda treats LGBT people like second class citizens. But how deep is the systemic violence in Ugandan society? How cruel is its media in the portrayal of sexual minorities? How little does the [...]
As parents and students become more demanding of inclusive educational environments, teachers and administrators are sometimes at a loss for where to find the resources they need. That's why Oakland University created the School of [...]
"People need to have LGBT friendly resources. As we age, many of us have to depend more on others for help. People in the community are less likely to have family, less likely to have [...]
"From the first day I knew she was perfect in my life," said 32-year-old Demi. "I was not scared coming here because I wanted to see her again so bad." Demi grew up in Greece, [...]
Whatever the relationship, be it with a partner, family member, children, friends or co-workers, there is always more that can be done to improve it. That's why Affirmations is offering a Relationship Skills Class for [...]
With the potential for same sex marriages to be permitted in Michigan, couples who want to tie the knot should be ready. But what clerks and clergy are ready for them? Equality Michigan has launched [...]
In late October several hundred people gathered outside the courthouse in Detroit to await Judge Bernard Friedmans ruling. Judge Friedman decided to hear expert witnesses instead of ruling in a summary judgement which the state [...]
Executive Director Dave Garcia will be departing Feb. 1 for a position as LA Community Center Director of Policy and Community Building. BTL file photo: Andrew Potter After two and a half years running [...]
Jon Hoadley has been at the helm of Unity Michigan helping work with partner agencies to build momentum and pass 10 ordinances in 2013. A groundswell of local organizing has helped educate communities across the [...]
Raquel Garcia-Anderson and Marcos D. Carrillo. The two work together on Michigan United projects. Carrillo is fundraising in order to attend the 26th Annual Creating Change conference taking place in Houston at the end of [...]
Christopher Neumann and Todd Lloyd . Todd Lloyd, 51, and his partner, Christopher Neumann, 38, of Birmingham, were killed Monday morning when their single-engine Mooney M20 plane crashed shortly after take-off. The men left [...]
Editor's note: A community-wide gathering will be held on Monday, Jan. 20 to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of the men. The event will be from 6-9pm at Lovett Hall at The Henry Ford, 20900 [...]
Currently there are no openly gay legislators in Michigan. But if all goes well in the 2014 elections there could be as many as five - four in the State House and one in the [...]
Three Detroit area teens have been arrested in the murder of a 71-year-old Ann Arbor man police say they targeted off a dating site. According to a report by MLive, David Maurer invited the three [...]
