EQMI 2018 Fall Reception Recap

On Friday, Oct. 5, Equality Michigan hosted its annual Fall Reception with hundreds in attendance. The event featured not only notable speakers like the night's keynote, Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon, but brand-new awards in recognition of standout members of the Detroit LGBTQ community. The event kicked off with a video message from Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who emphasized that much of the progress for the LGBTQ community "is possible because" of organizations like EQMI and its supportive allies.
Executive director for Equality Michigan Stephanie White followed Stabenow's words by underscoring the value of teamwork with Michigan politicians.
"We're lucky to have great allies in Congress. Sen. Stabenow and Sen. Peters are wonderful, but we're really lucky to have a lot of wonderful elected officials up and down through all levels of government, many of whom are here tonight," White said. "… Equality Michigan is a political organization and politics is based on relationships. At its best politics is based on relationships. It's not playing out that well at the national scene right now and that makes it all the more important for us, here in this room, in the state of Michigan, to build the relationships that break down the barriers between us and work together for the common vision of our state."
In attendance at the Fall Reception were many Democratic candidates up for election on Nov. 6 like gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer, attorney general candidate Dana Nessel and state Senate candidate Jeremy Moss.
Among other speakers, the winner of EQMI's brand-new Bridge Builder Award was CMS Energy Corporation and Consumers Energy Company President and CEO Patti Poppe. In her address to the audience she made clear the need to "have a diverse and inclusive set of laws, rules and ways to operate with one another, because if people can bring themselves to work they can do the best work."
She was presented the award by Jim Fitterling, the chief executive officer of Dow Chemical Company, who is one of only a handful of openly gay CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
Other awards of the night included the Change Maker Award, awarded to Melvin L. Larsen who is the co-author of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act; the Catalyst Award, awarded to Alma Wheeler Smith for helping to interpret the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in favor of sexual orientation and gender identity; Adrian Goodstal received the McAllister Award for partnering with EQMI to create the first dedicated shelter to trans adults in Grand Rapids; and Brandi Smith received Youth Award for her work with Detroit's Ruth Ellis Center.
Smith said she as honored to receive the award and emphasized in her speech the need of the LGBTQ community to work together cohesively to create even more success in the future.
"I also feel like as organizations, a lot of the time, we don't like to come together and stand together," Smith said. "I feel like it's time for us to stand up and fight. Fight until we can't fight anymore, and fight until we have equality. Not only in the trans community, but in the LGBT community as a whole."
When Rippon took the stage, his speech centered on the importance of not only LGBTQ activists standing firm in the face of oppression, but for everyone in the LGBTQ community to recognize their value despite hardship. He recounted his own experience before the Olympic games when he criticized Vice President Mike Pence's role in leading the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He said that though Pence invited Rippon to a one-on-one meeting to discuss those events, he declined.
"I feel like sometimes as people within the LGBTQ community we feel only good enough to be the supporting role in our own lives," Rippon said. "We feel sometimes that we just can be the best friend, we feel sometimes we can be just the gay best friend. And I said, 'No, not this time. I can be my own champion.'"
Rippon's final message was a clear one: vote. He urged those in attendance to make sure that their voices are heard.
"There is still work to be done, and the people who feel that us as LGBTQ people are not of the same level, the only thing that we should say to them is that, 'From up here, I can't see you either,' because they are a dying breed and we must fight forward," Rippon said. "We must act and we must act now. With the Trump administration even earlier this week (saying) same-sex partners of foreign diplomats will be denied visas. That is cruel and unnecessary. We need to find and elect people who are champions of LGBTQ rights because LGBTQ rights are human rights. Women's rights are human rights, and we are all equal. We must vote. we must get out there and vote."