The Detroit LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Diversity Council are partnering to present a virtual conference called Colours. The two-day event will take place May 13 and 14 and will focus on the [...]
Last week the owner of the private gay Michigan campsite Camp Boomerang, Bryan Quinn, said on social media that the camp required men to have a penis in order to purchase a membership. Boomerang has [...]
Retired attorney and activist Mark LaChey was reelected to the post of first vice chair of the Michigan Democratic Party at the party’s virtual State Spring Convention Saturday, Feb. 20. More than 1,300 delegates voted [...]
The Ruth Ellis Center’s annual Ruth Ellis Day celebration is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 28. Like most events these days, the celebration will be virtual and feature a screening of Yvonne Welbon’s documentary "Living with [...]
In what one hopes is the final chapter on a controversy that’s racked the LGBTQ+ community in Michigan and their allies, as well as Kalamazoo as a whole, former House Speaker Lee Chatfield has abruptly [...]
It isn’t even open yet and already it’s causing controversy. The owners of Camp Boomerang RV Park and Campground in Orleans, which is about 50 miles northwest of Lansing, have announced they will ban trans [...]
We hold these truths to be self-evident: climate change is real and Republicans are terrible. Look no further than Texas, where, as I write this, millions of people are without power. No water, no heat [...]
KALAMAZOO — Equality Michigan Executive Director and Kalamazoo City Commissioner, Erin Knott, made the following statement regarding the announcement of Ex-House Speaker Lee Chatfield's support of Elliott-Larsen amendment. “It’s encouraging to learn Mr. Chatfield intends [...]
In an unexpected move that followed the Feb. 11 hiring of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield as CEO of economic development nonprofit Southwest Michigan First, the organization on Feb. 16 announced a new non-discrimination policy and [...]
On Saturday, Feb. 13, LGBT Detroit presented its second-annual Cold As Hell Winter Pride. A ticketed event highlighting LGBTQ sexual expression in the leather, kink and fetish communities, Cold as Hell was entirely prerecorded. Viewers [...]
Detroiters and architecture buffs alike are well aware of the city's reputation for historical buildings. And while many of the best-known are tied to the auto industry, animal lovers will be pleased to know that [...]
The Bingo Institute of Grooming, where would-be doggie-stylists train and learn the tricks of the trade, is expanding. Originally opened in 2015, the Institute, created by Bingo Pet Salon owner Brian Lane and Director of [...]
For many Americans, 2021 likely feels like a welcome political reset as the nation starts to settle in to the next four years under the Biden/Harris Administration. For the LGBTQ+ community, even in the short [...]
Southwest Michigan First, a Kalamazoo-based economic development organization, has named former House Speaker Lee Chatfield as CEO. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, Chatfield confirmed he would be moving to Kalamazoo. The former representative from Levering, [...]
Aug. 9, 1976 – Feb. 5, 2021 Lorenzo R. Blaylock, former model and exotic dancer, died Feb. 5 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 44. Blaylock grew up on Detroit's East Side but [...]
April 15, 1951 – Feb. 3, 2021 Gregory C. Piazza, author of two books chronicling the history and architecture of Detroit’s Palmer Park neighborhood, succumbed to his longtime battle with Parkinson’s Disease on Wednesday, Feb. [...]
A Detroit music icon beloved by the LGBTQ+ community has died. Mary Wilson, one of the original Supremes and a Motown legend, died suddenly Monday at her home in Henderson, Nevada. She was 76. Wilson [...]
An Outdated Law In a case that shines a light on Michigan’s antiquated surrogate parenting law, a couple in Grand Rapids has been ordered to endure the process of adopting their own biological newborn twins. [...]
Equality Michigan recently elected its new board leadership for 2021, with former State Sen. Buzz Thomas as chair of its board of directors. He has served on the board since 2017. The leadership team of [...]
Without holding committee hearings, last week Senate Republicans in the Michigan State Legislature voted to reject five of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s nominees for appointments to various state boards. Among them was Jason Morgan, openly gay [...]
A traditional wine pairing dinner at a favorite restaurant may seem out of bounds right now due to the constraints brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic, but Royal Oak’s Café Muse has found a [...]
LANSING — Fair and Equal Michigan, the campaign to pass Michigan’s first LGBTQ equal rights law through a citizen initiative, filed its annual campaign finance report today showing $2,932,837 raised from 1,407 individual grassroots donors despite [...]
Ferndale Pride is partnering with four local businesses this Valentine's season to raise funds for its 2021 festival, which was canceled last year due to concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic. The businesses, Blumz by [...]
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II released a joint video today to kick off Black History Month and reflect upon the contributions of Black Americans who have shaped history. The governor [...]
The Jim Toy Community Center has gone through a lot of changes in recent weeks. Simultaneously came the news that it would be forced to close its doors because of the novel coronavirus pandemic and [...]
April 4, 1941 - Dec. 29, 2020 Evelyn Josephine Fisher was a native Detroiter born to parents Josephine and Otto Fisher and raised in Detroit's Indian Village neighborhood. She attended the prestigious Country Day School [...]
In 2019 Dave Noble took over as executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan succeeding Kary L. Moss who held the position for two decades. Noble will be leaving because he was [...]
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order reversing the ban on Transgender military service Monday, January 25, the Los Angeles Blade learned Sunday. Reversing President Trump’s decision to ban Trans Americans from [...]
This week the nation felt a distinct political shift as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office. Within hours of taking on his new role, Biden signed 17 executive orders taking steps [...]
PONTIAC — More than 100 Oakland County Health Division employees will provide the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines by appointment only to about 3,000 residents from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23, at the [...]
The 5th annual Kevin’s Song Conference on Suicide will take place virtually this year from Thursday, Jan. 21, through Saturday, Jan. 23. The theme this year is Equity and Equality in Suicide Prevention, and the [...]
While the novel coronavirus pandemic has made it much harder to celebrate and acknowledge holidays, this year the Flint Institute of Arts is making the socially distanced observance of Martin Luther King Day much easier [...]
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the dates for special elections to fill vacancies in the 8th and 28th Districts of the Michigan Senate. The 8th District covers regions in Macomb County, while the 28th [...]
As state capitols across the country, as well as the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., prepare for possible danger in the coming week, so, too, are LGBTQ community centers on the west side of the [...]
The body of Natasha Keianna, a transgender woman missing since just after Christmas, was found Tuesday, Jan. 12, on Detroit’s west side. Keianna was found in her own Saturn SUV at Coyle and Vassar Streets [...]
When Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners Chair Jason Morgan was deciding where to attend college as an undergrad, a lot of people asked why he would want to head north to Marquette. But from his [...]
While most politicians running for their first full term in office can boast related experience and background, few can say they have firsthand experience. That's the case with Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, who, long [...]
Nicole Denson is the kind of person who would rather talk policy with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer than have her picture taken with Michigan’s semi-celebrity chief executive. And she had just that opportunity at a Planned [...]
Openly gay VP of Finance & Strategy at Corktown Health Center Mike Flores has been recognized by Business Equality Pride Magazine for his contributions to the LGBTQ community. He was featured on the 40 LGBTQ [...]
FARMINGTON HILLS – As of Jan. 1, 2021, Between The Lines and all associated publishing media products have a new publisher. Benjamin Jenkins of Ann Arbor has assumed ownership of the 28-year old LGBTQ publishing [...]
Meet the Council Cpl. Dani Woods and the newly formed Detroit Police Department LGBTQ Community Council have ambitious goals. Yet the council has already succeeded in convening, organizing and planning throughout the pandemic, not to [...]
Since early 2020, the Fair and Equal Michigan coalition has continued to push to amend Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2021, the group is continuing [...]
Ann Arbor — At its Nov. 4 meeting, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners adopted a county-wide equity and inclusion statement along with updated non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies. The Board also agreed to modifications to [...]
ANN ARBOR — Today the Jim Toy Community Center announced plans to close its physical office space, located at 319 Braun Court, at the end of the month. The organization, which will continue to operate [...]
Earlier this month Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray heard two cases regarding the denial of services to LGBTQ patrons in light of held religious beliefs. They involved Rouch World, a Sturgis park [...]
As 2020 winds down, conducting meetings via Zoom or phone calls seems like an average day of work for many Michiganders. But back in March when the first stay-at-home order was put in place by [...]
With only days until the long, hard haul that was 2020 is over, it's hard to remember a time that the novel coronavirus pandemic and challenges to the legitimacy of the presidential election weren't the [...]
May 17, 1961 – Dec. 18, 2020 Darryl Jones, affectionately referred to as Ferndarryl or the Mayor of 9 Mile, died Dec. 18. He was 59. Jones grew up on the West Side of Detroit [...]
Fulfilling a Need National statistics reveal that LGBTQ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their straight or cisgender counterparts. And while on average, 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, that [...]
Like most holidays this year, New Year’s Eve is going to be a little different: no crowded clubs or parties permissible; no public gatherings or ball droppings. But people don’t have to sit home in [...]
