As the world continues to learn more about coronavirus and its spread, it's vital to stay up-to-date on the latest developments. However, it's also important to make sure that the information being distributed is from credible sources. To that end, Between The Lines has compiled, [...]
Ferndale Mayor Melanie Piana on Pride Month, Coronavirus and Being an Ally
Pride During a Pandemic While this is the 19th consecutive year that Ferndale is recognizing June as Pride Month, for a number of reasons it will be quite different from years past. Certainly, the obvious [...]
Ypsilanti Pride Festival Virtual Livestream at 5 p.m. on June 5
The Ypsi Pride festival is far from being canceled. But this year, rather than the traditional block party that takes up most of downtown Ypsilanti and South Washington Street, the festival will be held on [...]
Detroit to Host Drive-By Census Kick-Off
DETROIT — The extent to which Detroit can quickly recover from the novel coronavirus pandemic directly depends on how many Detroiters fill out their 2020 census form, Mayor Mike Duggan said. As of today, Detroit’s [...]
COVID-19 Crisis Care: Michigan Nurse Weighs In
In a seemingly positive trend overall, Michigan headed into Memorial Day 2020 with the fewest reported novel coronavirus deaths since March. And while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been called "cautiously optimistic" about those results, she's [...]
Be Queer Be Counted: LGBT Detroit’s Census Project Airs June 16
DETROIT — LGBT Detroit is a nonprofit organization that serves Detroit's LGBTQ community. It has announced the rollout of a series of “Get Out The Census 2020” during COVID-19, and the inaugural Be Queer Be [...]
Campaign to End Michigan LGBTQ Discrimination Falls Short on Signature Collection, Changes Course
Far short of the 340,000-plus signatures required to put its ballot initiative before the voters in November, Fair and Equal Michigan, the campaign to secure equal rights for LGBTQ Michiganders by expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil [...]
LGBT Detroit Addresses Intimate Partner Violence and Healthy Relationships Amid Pandemic
Increased Risk Stay-at-home orders designed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus have had some unintended victims: namely, those at risk of intimate partner violence who are forced to isolate with their abuser. And [...]
Donating Blood in the Time of Coronavirus: Activists Say Gay Men Still Face Discrimination
The Need is Great Only about 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood. That’s because of various restrictions like age and physical health of the potential donor plus factors intended to [...]
Stagecrafters Community Theater Virtually Covers ‘RENT’
In light of the isolation brought upon by the new coronavirus, members of the Royal Oak-based nonprofit community theater Stagecrafters presented a song from the popular LGBTQ musical "RENT." The featured singers include Justin Noroyan, [...]
Black LGBTQ Community Innovates Black Pride in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
LGBT Detroit, the city’s premier black LGBTQ service provider and producer of Hotter Than July, the world’s now longest-running, uninterrupted Black LGBTQ Pride celebration for the last 25 years, is taking its 2020 festivities digital. [...]
Detroit Gallery Hosts Virtual Exhibit to Benefit Ruth Ellis Center
In a blend of the virtual and tangible, the Detroit-based gallery Library Street Collective has created a new digital exhibition platform called SITE: Art and Architecture in the Digital Space. Set in Detroit’s historic State [...]
Motor City Pride to Host June 6 Virtual Pride Celebration
While summer Pride festivals are a great opportunity for celebration, they're also annual reminders of LGBTQ history and the important strides that activists have made in the fight for full equality. In that spirit, Motor [...]
South Korea Activists Form Task Force to Fight Coronavirus-Fueled Discrimination
A group of activists in South Korea have formed a task force to fight anti-LGBTQ discrimination related to the coronavirus pandemic. Sung-Uk So on Thursday told the Washington Blade in an email that seven LGBTQ [...]
Affirmations LGBTQ Community Center Offers Free Food Box Pick-Up and Delivery Service
The Affirmations LGBTQ community center has teamed up with Gleaners Food Bank and Wayne State University to offer free food box pickup every Friday for any LGBTQ person in need. From 10 a.m. to 2 [...]
LGBT Detroit Executive Director Appointed to Statewide COVID-19 Racial Disparities Task Force
LGBT Detroit’s Executive Director Curtis Lipscomb said that when he learned that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was putting together a Task Force on Racial Disparities to help fight the novel coronavirus pandemic he was thrilled. But he was honored [...]
Planned Parenthood: ‘Care. No Matter What’ — Even During a Global Pandemic
Tried and True It’s more than a slogan. “Care. No Matter What” is Planned Parenthood’s guiding principle and a mandate now more than ever as the organization faces its latest external threat: the novel coronavirus. [...]
BTL Awarded $100,000 From Facebook
LIVONIA - On May 8, Between The Lines received a $100,000 grant from Facebook to support the paper’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on Michigan’s LGBTQ community. “We are thrilled to receive this support [...]
Over 300,000 Transgender People at Heightened Risk for COVID-19
It's no secret that the health impacts of the new coronavirus are not yet fully understood. In fact, it's still uncertain what makes different populations more susceptible to the virus than others, but scientists do [...]
How the COVID-19 Outbreak and Quarantine is Affecting Local Queer Entertainment
The novel coronavirus has swept the nation clean of any summer 2020 plans, and with 2020 Pride events being canceled, too, many local queer entertainment groups in Southeast Michigan are now out of work and [...]
Corktown Health Center to Host May 9 Condom Distribution Event for Safer Sex Practices During COVID-19
DETROIT – Corktown Health Center, Michigan’s first LGBTQ-focused medical home, announced it will host a contactless condom distribution event called “Safer Sex in the Time of COVID” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, [...]
‘Stay Home, Stay Well’ Initiative Aims to Address Mental Health Challenges During Pandemic
Stress from the stay-at-home order, growing fears of the unknown about one’s livelihood or life itself — those are just some of the reasons the coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on the emotional well-being [...]
Transgender Michigan Helpline Continues to Take Calls Amid Pandemic
Rachel Crandall-Crocker is a licensed master social worker and the executive director of Transgender Michigan. In addition, she's the primary volunteer for the Transgender Michigan Helpline. She explained its function and that it serves a [...]
Kalamazoo Pride 2020 Canceled
The organizers of Kalamazoo Pride, OutFront Kalamazoo, recently announced that the annual summer event would be canceled this year. While it was initially expected that the June celebration would be merely postponed till April, OutFront [...]
Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Activists Call for Stricter Prison Release Guidelines During COVID-19
As the novel coronavirus pandemic has spread across the world, the respiratory illness' hit to dense population areas has been especially devastating. And while rural areas are impacted, too, it's clear that maintaining ideal social [...]
Nina West Hosts COVID-19-Inspired Broadway Week on ‘DragCast’
"RuPaul’s Drag Race" alum and all-around humanitarian Nina West is hosting a series of online interviews with famous Broadway stars this week via "DragCast with Nina West." Available from dragcast.net or Spotify, this podcast will [...]
HRC Lays Off 22 Employees Due to Coronavirus
The Human Rights Campaign on Tuesday laid off 22 employees because of the coronavirus pandemic. HRC told the Washington Blade that Alphonso David, the organization’s president, “personally reached out to every single person affected to [...]
Temporarily Shuttered, Menjo’s Serves Community as Food Pantry
Community Mainstay Menjo’s is perhaps the best-known gay bar in Detroit and has been a mainstay in the community for more than 40 years. Now, temporarily shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic, the adjoining theater [...]
Corktown, Unified, 170+ Organizations Call on Legislators to Address LGBTQ COVID-19 Concerns
Along with over 170 state, local and national organizations across the U.S., Corktown Health Center and Unified HIV Health and Beyond have signed two open letters to policymakers to address LGBTQ-specific new coronavirus concerns. These [...]
In the Age of COVID-19, Where are Our Leaders?
Over the last couple of months, we have seen the coronavirus rapidly transform from a small outbreak halfway across the world into a full-fledged global pandemic. What was once a news story in a different [...]
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Signs Executive Order Ensuring Equitable Access to Health Care Resources During COVID-19 Pandemic
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today signed Executive Order 2020-64, which reaffirms the state’s commitment to equitable access to health care, and requires health care facilities to develop protocols that ensure non-discrimination in the event [...]
As Sex Toy Sales Spike Globally, LGBTQ-Friendly Retailer Offers #StayHome Sale
A Rising Need Almost everyone's staying home. People are bored. And they're getting intimate. Or at least, that's what global sex toy sales show. Around the world, sex toy sales are rising sky high as [...]
LGBTQ Groups Seek Safeguards Against COVID-19 Discrimination
At least 170 national, state, and local LGBTQ and allied organizations on April 21 released a joint open letter to health care and public policy leaders calling for measures to prohibit discrimination in the treatment [...]
‘I Don’t Think I’ve Ever Been Sicker in my Life’: How House Candidate Brendan Johnson Survived COVID-19
“I don’t think I’ve ever been sicker in my life.” Those words were spoken by Brendan Johnson, candidate for Michigan’s 45th State House District, in a video message posted on his campaign Facebook page shortly [...]
Full Steam Ahead: State Rep. Candidate Brendan Johnson on Campaigning, Surviving COVID-19
Change of Plans Baking Irish soda bread in one’s kitchen while answering questions from potential voters might seem like an unusual way to campaign for office, but Brendan Johnson is not a typical candidate and [...]
Michigan State Treasury Providing Student Loan Assistance During COVID-19 Pandemic
LANSING – The Michigan Department of Treasury today announced Michiganders who have student loans guaranteed by the state will be provided assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collection activities on delinquent Federal Family Education Loan Program [...]
GLAAD to Present Livestream Highlighting LGBTQ COVID-19 Response, Benefiting CenterLink
GLAAD announced that it will host “Together in Pride: You are Not Alone,” a livestream event on Sunday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on GLAAD’s YouTube channel and Facebook Live. The event will highlight the LGBTQ response to COVID-19 [...]
COVID-19 is Not the New HIV
I have HIV. Amid the COVID-19 crisis sweeping the globe, people like me, people living with HIV/AIDS, are faced with a number of questions: Will our medications be delayed? Will we still be able to [...]
Unified Ramps Up HIV-Related Services as COVID-19 Increases Need
"Added Pressures" As governors across the U.S. extend stay-at-home orders, millions of Americans are becoming accustomed to a temporarily altered, home-bound way of life. But for HIV-positive people, those concerns are compounded due to their [...]
COLOURS Conference, Pride Awards Gala Postponed to 2021
DETROIT — The COLOURS Conference and Gala 2020 presented by the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Diversity Council has been postponed to May 2021. Kevin Heard, president of the DRLGBTCC said [...]
Motor City Pride 2020 Postponed
Originally scheduled for June 6 through 7 at Hart Plaza in Detroit, Motor City Pride 2020 has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Festival representatives released an official statement on their site explaining the decision. [...]
Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay Entertained
Whether working from home or not working at all, most people have extra time on their hands as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while it’s true in theory that one could pen their [...]
COVID-19’s Upset to WSU LGBTQ Campus Life
Shaking Up the Routine It's undeniable that coronavirus has drastically changed the patterns of daily life around the world. Whether one is temporarily unemployed and quarantined at home, attending work via Zoom meetings or ramping [...]
Ruth Ellis Center Faces COVID-19: An Organization That’s Used to Finding ‘Workarounds’ Adjusts
Creative Problem-Solving If there’s one thing the Ruth Ellis Center and the youth it serves are known for, it’s the ability to adapt and problem-solve when faced with challenges. And as the community navigates a [...]
Statewide, Local Efforts to Provide Food Banks Resources During COVID-19
Michigan National Guard helps out at food banks across the state The Michigan National Guard has offered its support to food banks across Michigan. A total of 10 airmen from the 127th Wing at Selfridge [...]
Fauci: Gay People Lifted Stigma With ‘Incredible Courage’ in HIV/AIDS Epidemic
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday the visibility LGBTQ people brought to themselves during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic helped change the tide for public perception. Fauci made the remarks during the daily White House [...]
Ferndale Pride Reschedules to Sept. 26
In light of coronavirus-related public safety concerns, the 10th-annual Ferndale Pride event has been rescheduled to Sept. 26, 2020. Event Chair Julia Music released a letter to the community today explaining this decision. Read it [...]
Mighty Real/Queer Detroit Art Show Postponed to Pride Month 2021
Mighty Real/Queer Detroit, the month-long, multi-venue LGBTQ art exhibition scheduled for June, has been postponed until next year. “In keeping with public health directives, the Mighty Real/Queer Detroit exhibition has been rescheduled for June 2021, [...]
Affirmations LGBTQ Center Writes Letter to the Community
Dear Aff Family, I hope as you are reading this that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. The past couple of weeks have been immensely challenging for us all. I want to [...]
White House: ICE to Consider Release of Vulnerable Detainees on ‘Case-By-Case’ Basis
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on Wednesday did not specifically say whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would consider releasing detainees who are at heightened risk for the coronavirus. “In some cases, we [...]
Detroit MoGo Bike Share System Offers Free Monthly Pass in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, the U.S. will begin what President Trump has called the "toughest week" of the crisis yet. That means that extra care should be taken to adhere to the [...]