The first meeting of the Creating Change 2019 Host Committee took place Monday, June 11, in the outdoor courtyard of LGBT Detroit. The four co-chairs of the Host Committee were introduced to the crowd of [...]
As BTL continues the Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination series, we hear from Jackson Mayor Derek Dobies who was first elected in 2011 as the city of Jackson's 6th Ward representative before winning the election in 2017 to serve his first term as Jackson Mayor.
Erica Spitzfaden Among Eight to Be Honored as Friends and Allies of the LGBT Community The third annual City Pulse LGBT Inclusion Awards will take place Thursday, June 14, at Spiral nightclub in Lansing. As [...]
Everyone has heard of drag, but drag queens and kings are not all the same. Drag is so much more than gay men dressing up as women for entertainment purposes. The art form is practiced by people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, and styles vary.
When Nick Daughtry first visited Metropolitan Community Church – Detroit four months ago, it was absolutely the right fit. “It was one of things where going in I instantly knew that it was where I belonged,” he said. “It’s a very calming feeling when you find a spiritual place and you know you belong there.”
As BTL continues the Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination series, we hear from Mike Duggan, who was elected Mayor of the City of Detroit on Nov. 5, 2013, and re-elected to a second term on Nov. 7, 2017. Duggan, born in Detroit, has spent his entire career working in the city to solve some of the most complex issues facing Detroiters, including crime, blight and access to jobs.
DJ CoolkidSue calls herself a "rebel," a "blast" and a "party animal." All of which make her a perfect fit to perform at this year's Ferndale Pride at 4:15 p.m. on June 2 on the Genisys Credit Union DJ Dance Stage.
A plethora of performers will keep people entertained during Ferndale Pride on June 2, but no one will be hotter than Alexa Rae.
The Affirmations board of directors voted in six new board members and saw three step down at its monthly meeting on May 16. Incoming board members are Nancy Cummings, Cheryl Czach, Hannah Hartley, Timothy Lantzy, Gregory Rice and Anthony Sherman. Those stepping down include Frank Aiello, Jodi Allen and Eric Martin.
The Human Rights Campaign released the results of their 2018 National Survey of LGBTQ Teens at a special press conference that took place at the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park on May 16. HRC President Chad Griffin attended the conference along with Ellen Kahn, director of HRC’s Children, Youth and Families Program.
Members of the Community Raise Concerns About Search for New Executive Director […]
A new web series is currently shooting its first season in Detroit. "Femme Queen Chronicles" seeks to tell the story of four trans women of color living in the Motor City. Created by activist Ahya [...]
Rebecca and Myranda Veal met a little more than a year ago at a PFLAG-Genesee County meeting and it was electric. The two quickly hit it off. So much so that in a month the [...]
DJ Melvin Hill to be honored For their spring fundraiser April 21, LGBT Detroit will pay homage to the Famous Door, a nightclub popular with the African-American LGBT community in the '70s, '80s and '90s. [...]
It’s been a month since the landmark ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals was decided. The 6th Circuit, which covers Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, ruled that Aimee Stephens was inappropriately fired from [...]
Menjos Entertainment Complex General Manager Tim McKee has reason to be proud of himself. The first in a three-part series of panel discussions, this one on the history in gay bars in Detroit, drew a [...]
Long before there was an Affirmations, they were the community centers of the LGBTQ world. You didn’t just go to the gay bar to dance and drink, you went to socialize and to seek solace and support. The gay community revolved around the bars which, for many, was the only place they could let their hair down and be free; their true authentic selves.
In an effort to explore another side of the fashion industry, Central Michigan University is offering a new course for the current term. Its name is Queer Fashion and it was conceptualized by fashion designer and CMU Associate Professor Michael Mamp.
On Saturday, March 24th, the March for our Lives will converge upon Washington, D.C. A student-led movement to end gun violence in our country, the march is an outgrowth of the activism of students from [...]
The year was 1991, and long-term plans were being set in motion. The Michigan Organization of Human Rights (MOHR) had created the MOHR Foundation as a separate legal entity to fight discrimination against the LGBTQ [...]
Royal Oak psychotherapist Joe Kort has teamed up with the Modern Sex Therapy Institutes to begin offering an LGBT-affirmative therapy certification program. Designed for those in the mental health and medical fields, the 50-hour online [...]
National Agency Connects Incarcerated LGBT People with Allies on the Outside Its mission is noble. Black and Pink bills itself as an “open family of LGBT prisoners and ‘free world’ allies who support each other.” [...]
It was early last month when more than 300 people came out to protest a workshop for girls at Metro Church in Riverview. Many said that the church-offered service was merely conversion therapy in disguise. One of the speakers that night was 17-year-old Seth Tooley of Brownstown.
Royal Oak-based psychotherapist Joe Kort has decided not to move his practice into the Huntington Medical Building in Huntington Woods as a result of a disagreement over signage in the building. Kort said that after he signed his lease that the complete name of his practice - Joe Kort & Associates and the Center for Relationship & Sexual Health - would be included on signage both inside and outside the building.
A small crowd of about 15 passed by the Ruth Ellis Center Drop-In Center in Highland Park Sunday for the annual Ruth Ellis Day celebration. The Ruth Ellis Day tradition actually began a few years before Ellis died in her sleep at age 101 in 2000.
Take a look at his picture, and there’s no getting around it: Detroit native and dance music sensation Simon Black is a little unusual. “I’ve always danced to the beat of my own drum,” Black said. “I used to think that was something bad. But now I don’t.” Black traces his love of music to his formative years in the 1980s. “I was an ‘80s baby and MTV was new,” he said. “The artists that were hot at the time are the ones who inspired me to be who you see today: Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson.” Madonna, especially, spoke to young Mr. Black.
Me, The Other, a locally produced documentary that tells the story of 12 students attending college in Washtenaw County, is returning to the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor on March 7. The diverse group featured in the film ranges from an African-American acting student from Flint who tells a personal heartbreaking story of the current water crisis in her community; a student from Mexico on the DACA program living in fear of deportation; a student from the storm-devastated island of Puerto Rico; a #metoo story of an orphaned immigrant from Cameroon; and a 65-year-old transgendered student who was homeless and alcohol and drug dependent but chose education over suicide.
As a musician, especially as the frontman of a group, it's important to be bold, and to hold nothing back while performing. For Sudden Death Symdrome's Emcee Motormouth, that's no problem at all. Born Jeff [...]
UNIFIED – HIV Health & Beyond Targets Cisgender, Heterosexual Women in Ad, Receives Mixed Reviews The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS – Detroit Chapter hosted a National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day conference on Friday [...]
Fashion and fine arts photographer Gregory Kramer might be at ease in New York City's fashion scene now, but — as with many artists — he had humble beginnings. Originally from the village of Pewamo, [...]
If you’re a regular reader of Between The Lines or its sister publication the PrideSource directory, you’ve probably seen the ads: Joe Kort and Associates and the Center for Relationship and Sexual Health. It’s [...]
It’s been nearly five years since Detroit-based recording artist Logan Mario sat down for an interview with BTL. Since that time, Mario has been busy. When last we spoke Mario had just released “Love is [...]
Selena Little, who might just be Michigan’s first out African American transgender evangelist, is making her presence known at pulpits across the state. As a member of the ministerial team at Whosoever Ministry United Church [...]
While they’ve been seeing patients since July, a private reception to thank donors and announce a collaboration with Wayne State University was held Dec. 7 at the Corktown Heath Center, Michigan’s first health center focused [...]
Detroiter Shyne Nelson has written his first book. "Things Unsaid" is a collection of poetry, essays and short stories. "I wanted to write a book my whole life," Nelson, 32, said. "The concept was pretty [...]
It's been about a month now since Whosoever Ministry United Church of Christ moved from their old space at the Detroit Ecumenical Theological Seminary in downtown Detroit to the Grosse Pointe Congregational Church in Grosse [...]
Group photo taken at the close of MCC Detroit's final service in Ferndale after more than two decades of renting their worship space from The Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church, who also had their final service [...]
In the early morning hours of Nov. 17, a transgender woman was robbed and shot near Palmer Park. The victim, a 36-year-old known to most friends only as Chocolate, was walking on Woodward Avenue near [...]
The 17th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance service in Detroit took place Nov. 17 at Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit. About 90 people came out for the service, which included the reading of the names [...]
SAGE (Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders) Metro Detroit will benefit from a $400,000 grant awarded to the ACLU of Michigan from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. The grant will fund [...]
LANSING - Despite pressing financial woes and an alleged lack of leadership, Michigan Pride in Lansing went off without a noticeable hitch on Saturday, June 30. A high spirited march kicked off at 1 p.m. [...]
DETROIT - The National Black Justice Coalition is hosting a reception honoring local LGBT organizations that are empowering and enhancing the lives of black LGBT men, women and youth. The July 10 reception will take [...]
LARGO, Fla. - Steve Stanton didn't think it would be easy. But he also didn't believe that his decision to transition into Susan and have gender reassignment surgery would manage to overshadow his 14 years [...]
ATLANTA - A new report issued by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention shows HIV infections rates continue to be on the rise in the African-American community. According to the report, published in the [...]
DETROIT - Members of the Triangle Foundation's board of trustees unanimously elected Roland Smith as their new chairman Feb. 4. Smith replaces Jackie Anderson, who chaired the board for 17 months. "Roland Smith has the [...]
DETROIT - It's become a local institution. But since opening in 1997, Avalon International Breads has always been an institution you can only visit and patronize five days a week. Having studied under Geri Larkin, [...]
SPRING LAKE - When Colette Beighley's 16-year-old son came out to her in 2005, her first response was to go in search of information. "We love and support our children unconditionally - no matter what [...]
FERNDALE - Bonnie Burke and Kathryn Watterson sometimes spend up to 12-15 hours a day at their veterinary clinic, Little Friends of Ferndale. So they designed it to be not just a space that houses [...]
FERNDALE - The Ferndale Chamber of Commerce unanimously elected floral designer Jerome Raska to a one-year term as chairman in January. Raska owns Blumz, located at 853 E. Eight Mile Road, as well as a [...]
MASON - She was boycotted for being gay friendly. Now, the proprietor of Davey's Basement, an independent music store in Mason, is hoping the support of gay-friendly folks across the state will help her keep [...]
