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."
As the federal government shutdown moves into its third week, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights is reminding members of the community that they don’t have to wait to file a complaint about discrimination. Michiganders [...]
LANSING – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has requested a legal opinion from Attorney General Dana Nessel regarding the constitutionality of the recent Enbridge Line 5 pipeline legislation and the new Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority created by outgoing Gov. Rick Snyder.
Racist hate literature was found on cars in Ferndale New Year’s Eve. The fliers, created by a white supremacist group based out of Texas, were met with disdain and disapproval by local community leaders.
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 [...]
People from all over the country will visit Detroit Jan. 23-27 for the 2019 Creating Change conference. In an effort to make the conference financially accessible for everyone, the National LGBTQ Task Force is offering [...]
LANSING — Michigan’s improved MI Bridges portal is a self-service website where residents apply for public assistance benefits, manage their cases and explore community resources. Because of its streamlined offerings, it has been named a [...]
Creating Change will be held at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center from Jan. 23 through 27 in 2019. More information its included events, speakers and programs can be found online at creatingchange.org. Creating [...]
On January 19, 2019, thousands of women and their allies will come together in Washington D.C. to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington. In a show of solidarity with the [...]
Survivors of sexual assault and their supporters will have an opportunity to express their stories through creative means such as spoken word and storytelling beginning Sunday, Jan. 13. Through an 8-week group called Poetic Justice [...]
Offered as a way to introduce peace and healing to LGBTQ people in the Lansing area, the Salus center offers Queer and Trans Yoga every Thursday, with their next scheduled class on Jan. 10 from [...]
One of the founding board members of Out On The Lakeshore LGBTQ community center has resigned to spend more time with family and friends. Karen Prins, who was one of the initial board members for [...]
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, [...]
Starting in January 2005, a group of Metro Detroit women, ranging from mothers to students to careerists, craved an escape from their day-to-day lives and sought to discover their competitive and edgier sides. It was among the city’s roller derby rinks that they were able to familiarize each other with those aspects of themselves. Soon after joining together, they founded the Detroit Derby Girls league and held their first event in February 2006. In November of that year, the league announced it had officially changed its name to Detroit Roller Derby. Eventually, it became a group that stands out as a premier team.
Openly gay State Rep. Jeremy Moss was sworn in Sunday to his new role as state senator. An enthusiastic crowd of more than 100 came out to the Plumbers Local 98 headquarters in Madison Heights to hear speaker after speaker laud the young leader with praise before the oath of office was administered by Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack.
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.
For the Huntington Wood Library’s Drag Queen Story Time, a glittering drag queen comes to the library to read to young children once a month. The program, said to be the third of its kind [...]
Kelly Stough, known to some as Keanna Mattel, was laid to rest in fine style Saturday with a funeral at the James H. Cole Home for Funerals in Detroit with a memorial service later in the evening at the Affirmations LGBTQ community center in Ferndale. Stough was murdered Dec. 7 in the Palmer Park neighborhood and was remembered fondly by friends and family. That, her mother said, is the way it should be.
DETROIT — "A Christmas Story, The Musical" has announced a local partnership with the Michigan Humane Society during their Fox Theatre engagement running Dec. 20 through 22.
Hosted by by Chela Yoga from Waterford, all Affirmations-supporting community members are encouraged to come by on Monday, Dec. 24 from 9 to 10 a.m. to participate in a holiday-inspired yoga session.
his holiday season, hundreds of families in Detroit will not have clean water running through their homes, due to impending Detroit Water and Sewage Department shut-offs. Hydrate Detroit, a local 501(c)(3) water rights organization, would like to “Give the Gift of Water Restoration” to ensure that families and seniors who cannot afford to pay their water bills are able to enjoy a fully hydrated home throughout the holiday season. It is encouraging anyone who can to give to the organization via an online fundraiser to pay water bills.
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 [...]
Creating Change will be held at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center from Jan. 23 through 27 in 2019. More information its included events, speakers and programs can be found online at creatingchange.org. Creating [...]
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 [...]
Called the lame-duck session, it's the period in politics post an election but before newly elected officials can take office, and in the Michigan Legislature it's scheduled to last through Dec. 20. Currently, the Republican [...]
DETROIT — Last week a New York man was found guilty of a 2013 murder and body burning of a gay Detroit man. A jury found the accused, Andrew Czarnecki, guilty of first-degree murder, felony [...]
LANSING — Last month CNN released an investigative report regarding the destruction of rape kits before law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings had been completed. They reported that 25 police agencies in 14 states, including [...]
DETROIT - This week the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office charged Sterling Heights native Albert Weathers, 46, in connection with death of 36-year-old Kelly Stough of Detroit. According to a Human Rights Campaign report, Stough was [...]
Melinda Phelps did not initially set out to be a certified public accountant. Born and raised in Detroit, and a product of Michigan colleges, Phelps first started out as a stockbroker. But as a proud [...]
BTL Photo: Andrew Cohen “It’s a self-portrait,” said artist Michael Gute, describing "Detroit Figure," one of his paintings featured in the Together We Can Exhibition, whose purpose is to bring awareness to the [...]
A crowd of almost 60 gathered at Affirmations' community chat to discuss the future of the center. BTL Photo: Eve Kucharski Searching for answers and concerned about its future, a crowd of 56 [...]
“Some people only choose to be equitable because the law of the land will punish them for deviating from that behavior,” said Brumalis. “If trans people lose protections, there will be a surge in assaults, unemployment and homelessness because there won’t be anything to shield and protect us from bigotry.”
After 27 years as a beacon for those in Ann Arbor's and Southeast Michigan's LGBTQ community, Common Language Bookstore will be forced to close its doors one final time at the end of 2018. According to husbands and co-owners Keith Orr and Martin Contreras, this comes after years of market pressures that have made running the store unsustainable.
Equality Michigan has announced that Executive Director Stephanie White will be leaving her position effective Jan. 9, 2019. The organization's boards unanimously decided not to renew her contract. This decision, according to a press release, was made as a result of EQMI's efforts to retool for 2019 and years to come.
LGBT Detroit invites supporters of their services to celebrate the holiday season together with their 16th annual Holiday in December benefit. The benefit, happening on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2:30 p.m. that includes gifts and raffles, will support LGBT programs and services.
Last June, in honor of Wayne State University's 150 years in existence, the Wayne State University Library System's Reuther Library invited its student body and the local community to take part in exploring the school's history and "evolving relationship with LGBTQ students, staff and faculty." Though the actual event happened during a pride month panel already, the event is now up for viewing on YouTube.
A small crowd of about 20 came out Monday, Nov. 19 to the Wayne State University Student Center Ballroom for what organizers believe was the university’s first official Transgender Day of Remembrance service. The service, [...]
About 20 people came out on Tuesday, Nov. 20, for a Transgender Day of Remembrance service at the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park. The service was designed to be an intimate conversation among trans women and men of color.
It was supposed to be a quick run to pick up a few groceries, but when Jacqueline Street, a trans woman, stopped into the Walmart in Benton Harbor on Nov. 15, she got more than just bread and milk at an unbeatable price. Street said she was discriminated against and repeatedly misgendered while attempting to check out.
PLYMOUTH – In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, The Mary Kay Foundation announced in November that it is awarding $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters across the country. First Step has received a $20,000 unrestricted grant to support local survivors of domestic violence in southeastern Michigan. This year’s grant contribution brings the Foundation’s total investment in its shelter grant program to $50 million.
Creating Change will be held at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center from Jan. 23 through 27 in 2019. More information its included events, speakers and programs can be found online at creatingchange.org. Creating [...]
Two years ago, after the Michigan State Board of Education approved a set of policy recommendations for the support and inclusion of LGBTQ students, the father of a child attending Dexter’s Cornerstone Elementary School scheduled a meeting with principal Craig McCalla. He took issue with the school's bathroom policy: allowing students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.
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.
This month, Lambda Legal and Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service announced the successful settlement of a 2015 lawsuit filed on behalf of John Dorn against the Michigan Department of Corrections. Lambda Legal is an organization [...]
This month, through a collaboration between the Michigan Employee Resource Group for Equality or MERGE and the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce, LGBTQ organizations across Metro Detroit were given the opportunity to connect one-on-one [...]
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) named Wayne State University the winner of its 2018 Project Degree Completion Award during its annual meeting in New Orleans. The annual Project Degree Completion Award identifies [...]
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 [...]
