From the outside, LGBT Detroit might look like many similar nonprofit organizations, but if one digs a little deeper they'll find that it's been making history both in the city's LGBTQ and African-American communities since [...]
From the outside, LGBT Detroit might look like many similar nonprofit organizations, but if one digs a little deeper they'll find that its been making history both in the city's LGBTQ and African-American communities since it was founded over 20 years ago.
Renowned for its ability to bring LGBTQ activists of all kinds together, the national Creating Change Conference is also known for recognizing those who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to make change in their own way. This year, the conference will be held from Jan. 23 through 27 at the Detroit Marriott in the Renaissance Center and will honor five chosen individuals and one organization for their work and dedication toward the LGBTQ movement. Each of whom will speak about their work as they receive their individual awards.
Having existed for more than 20 years as a safe space for all members of the LGBTQ community, LGBT Detroit's mission has been to increase awareness about LGBTQ culture through "education, cohesion and advocacy."
It had only been a few weeks, but Jennifer Johnson's daughter had started to look forward to Fridays; that's when she'd visit Affirmations and take part in the youth programs available there. Fridays were also the day that Johnson had come to trust that she'd have a reliable, safe space in which her openly LGBTQ daughter could be herself.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Monday at Affirmations, Michigan's largest LGBTQ community center, that broke new ground regarding civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community. Directive No. 2019-9 outlined that it would help instill policies to "promote public confidence in the fairness and integrity of state government" by ensuring all Michigan residents receive fair treatment in "employment, state contracting, and when accessing services from state government."
DETROIT — Equality Michigan, the only statewide advocacy organization representing Michigan’s LGBTQ community, praised action taken by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Monday, to prohibit discrimination in State employment, public services and state contracting based on a [...]
LANSING – Last week Sen. Jeremy Moss (D–Southfield) was selected to serve as the Assistant Minority Leader for the Michigan Senate Democratic Caucus. “I am honored to work with my Senate colleagues and our governor, alongside [...]
Originally established in 1991 as the Triangle Foundation, Equality Michigan has been dedicated for 25 years to helping Michigan's LGBTQ community achieve basic fairness and equality. Appointed interim executive director earlier this year, Erin [...]
Established 18 years ago, the goal of the Ruth Ellis Center is to provide trauma-informed services for homeless, runaway and at-risk LGBTQ youth and young adults of color. Today it serves as the only [...]
A Kalamazoo resident for more than 20 years, Kalamazoo County Commissioner Tracy Hall represents the 3rd District. Among her other priorities, Hall has said she is dedicated to increasing intergovernmental collaboration and cooperation and [...]
Corktown Health Center developed into reality from the idea of an LGBTQ-focused primary health care center five years ago. "After 30 years of providing services to thousands of persons living with HIV, it was [...]
A graduate of the Western Michigan University Law School, Cunningham has spent the past three-and-a-half years serving as a judicial staff attorney under Oakland County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan. The position has given [...]
Fair Michigan's goals are to ensure that in the era post marriage equality that LGBTQ peoples' rights are still being advocated for and affirmed through the prosecution of those who commit crimes against the [...]
The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce's mission is "to promote and empower our Metropolitan Detroit LGBT, allied business members, non-profit members, corporate partners and their employees through leadership, advocacy and education." In hose [...]
A registered social worker and licensed psychotherapist, Rachel Crandall-Crocker is also an international transgender activist and the founder and organizer of the International Transgender Day of Visibility. Asked about her 2019 goals in her [...]
Environmental sustainability, government transparency and LGBTQ visibility are just some of the goals Washtenaw County Board member Jason Morgan is looking to check off before the end of his second term. Morgan made history [...]
Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners’ first lesbian commissioner Katie Scott described her win this November as a victory for the blue wave, women’s wave and progressive wave. Advocating for labor unions and improving public [...]
Rev. Dr. Roland Stringfellow, among other titles, serves as the senior pastor and teacher at the LGBTQ-affirming Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit. When asked about the church's priorities in 2019, Stringfellow said its focus [...]
Created in 2015, the nonprofit Stand With Trans has dedicated itself to working with transgender youth and families who are struggling to cope with their child's transition. The organization's mission is to provide tools [...]
In 2018 the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan had a full plate working to defend and advocate for LGBTQ civil rights across the state. Staff Attorney Jay Kaplan predicts that 2019 will be [...]
SAGE Metro Detroit is an affiliate of the national Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders organization that is the nation’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to aiding the lives of LGBTQ older adults. Angela [...]
For more than a quarter of a century, Ann Arbor’s Jim Toy Community Center has been a beacon of hope for the Southeast Michigan community. In 2018 the center received unexpected news that the [...]
With elections a priority for the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party and its LGBT & Allies Caucus, Mark LaChey is setting his sights not only on 2019, but to 2020 and beyond. He [...]
She made history as the first openly gay attorney general in Michigan's history in 2018, running on a progressive platform of inclusion and a promise to pay special attention to prosecuting those who commit [...]
Ypsilanti Mayor Beth Bashert won out with 63 percent of the vote in her city last November. She ran on a platform that advocated for changing the city's budget, bringing back services and increasing development. [...]
Now set to serve a second term in the Michigan House of Representatives, State Rep. Tim Sneller represents the 50th House District in Genesee County which includes the cities of Grand Blanc and Burton [...]
Jeremy Moss made history in November when he was elected the first openly gay person to the Michigan State Senate.. Moss’s district includes the communities of Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, [...]
Democratic State Rep. Jon Hoadley represents Michigan’s 60th District. Due to term limits, 2019 will mark the start of his third and final two-year term representing the city of Kalamazoo and part of Kalamazoo [...]
Pride at Work Michigan is a nonprofit organization that represents LGBTQ union members and their allies that works to organize mutual community support between the organized labor movement and the LGBTQ members within it. Across [...]
It's the stuff of nightmares, learning that a loved one has died long before their time. For Orpheus, his beloved Euridice died because of a snake bite, but for composer Ricky Ian Gordon, his partner [...]
As 2018 comes to an end, Michigan’s LGBTQ community can look back on a year filled with both hard hits to our rights along with major political wins toward greater equality. On a national scale, [...]
A package of bills is moving through the Michigan Senate that could change the way Michigan health officials monitor and address the HIV epidemic. Introduced last May in the Michigan House of Representatives, the eight-bill package contains HIV-specific bills that are aimed at updating Michigan's existing laws that contain outdated language regarding issues like the spread of HIV, the role of local health departments in the virus' treatment and criminal punishment for those who do not inform their sexual partner of their HIV-positive status.
As stressful as coming out to one's family can be, it's an important step in the lives of all LGBTQ people who want to live open lives. In ideal circumstances, the change in the family [...]
Racism, gun violence and human rights violations; unless those are issues faced in their daily life, it's unlikely that the average American chooses to face them head-on. Detroit-born artist Charzette Torrence decided to change that. [...]
Whether escorting fans on a seasonal tour of the universe, providing a musical accompaniment to some of the brain's most key neurotransmitters or removing song titles from an EP altogether, Angel Vivaldi's artistic vision has [...]
In a Nov. 14 press release, Ferndale’s Affirmations LGBTQ community center announced that it has suspended its nearly year-long search for a replacement executive director and laid off three employees: Development Director Katie Koch, Education and Training Manager Becca Budde and Offices and Facilities Coordinator Ryan Fowler.
In a Nov. 14 press release, Affirmations announced that it has suspended its search for a replacement executive director and laid off three employees: Development Director Katie Koch, Education and Training Manager Becca Budde and [...]
On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Democrat Jocelyn Benson won out against her Republican oponent Mary Treder Lang in her second bid for Secretary of State — running for the first time in 2010 against Ruth Johnson. [...]
With results announced just after 2 a.m. via a tweet from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Sen. Jeremy Moss made history as the first openly gay person to be elected to the 11th state Senate [...]
Leading by tens of thousands of votes, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer won the race over Republican Bill Schuette by a nearly 10 percentage point lead. Addressing her constituents at MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, [...]
After overcoming a battle with drug addiction and an HIV-positive diagnoses, musician Brennan Villines jumped into the national spotlight with a showstopping performance on Fox's "The Four." Villines imprinted upon viewers not only his musical [...]
Shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2, to the cheers of "Go Gretchen go!" Gretchen Whitmer's gubernatorial campaign bus rolled up in front the ONE Campaign Office in Farmington Hills. As a part of [...]
For the LGBTQ community, Jennifer V. Kurland's race for governor is one to watch not only because of its progressive platform but especially because of her running mate: Charin H. Davenport. Beyond being a vocal [...]
Although her legal battle began in 2013, Aimee Stephens is still fighting for the right not to be fired simply for being transgender. A former employee of R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home, she announced to her team members that she would be transitioning from male to female and lost her job as a result. Now, even though the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the funeral home's actions are a form of sex discrimination, Stephens stands at the brink of a review by the Supreme Court of the United States — potentially reversing the ruling in her favor. Despite this reality, the ACLU has chosen to recognize Stephens for her landmark case at their Nov. 9 Annual Dinner, among four other honorees.
Last month the Human Rights Campaign recognized Michigan as high above the national average in its annual Municipal Equality Index. The state earned 73 out of 100 possible points — 15 points higher than the national average of 58. HRC is a national LGBTQ activism organization and releases its Index in an effort to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the LGBTQ-inclusiveness of laws, policies, benefits and services across 506 U.S. cities. These cities are chosen in an effort to fairly represent some of the largest communities of LGBTQ people across the nation.
With just under two weeks to go before Michigan's midterm elections on Nov. 6, LGBTQ voters are gearing up to cast their ballots for candidates who pledge to support the community. BTL caught up with [...]
Whether belting out a classic like "House of the Rising Sun," putting her own spin on Radiohead's "Creep" or performing a standing ovation-worthy "Wicked" duet with stars like Lea Michele, Ada Vox is bringing it. [...]
On Wednesday, Oct. 10, the Department of Homeland Security published a new regulatory proposal that will make it much more difficult for immigrants with documented status residing in the U.S. to remain in the country if they are using or likely to use programs like Medicaid Part D, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Section 8 housing vouchers and other forms of public assistance.
Even if it's the first time you're listening to Fortune Feimster's comedy, chances are it's going to feel like a chance meeting with a great friend; immediately comfortable. The kind of natural slide into a [...]
