BTL Staff
Victory Fund Endorses Three Gubernatorial Candidates
BY BTL STAFF The Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed three candidates in their races for governor – with the potential to triple the number of LGBTQ governors in the nation in [...]
Affirmations Board of Director's President Resigns
BY BTL STAFF Affirmations, the largest LGBTQ+ community center in Michigan, announced Tuesday that Brad Bell has decided to step down as president of the board effective Nov. 17. Bell served many years as a volunteer, a board member, the Spring [...]
Justin Trudeau to Formally Apologize for 'Gross Indecency' Convictions
BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS, WASHINGTON BLADE Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Nov. 28, 2017, will formally apologize to Canadians who were convicted of "gross indecency" and fired from civil service jobs because of their sexual orientation and [...]
NGLCC Changes Name to National LGBT Chamber of Commerce
BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS, WASHINGTON BLADE The NGLCC on Nov. 17, 2017, announced at its National Dinner that it has changed its name to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key) The NGLCC on Nov. 18 announced it has [...]
Tillerson Acknowledges Transgender Day of Remembrance
BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS, WASHINGTON BLADE Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Nov. 20, 2017, in a statement acknowledged the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday [...]
Canadian Group Resettles LGBT Refugees from Chechnya
BY HELEN PARSHALL, WASHINGTON BLADE Rainbow Railroad Executive Director Kimahli Powell. His organization has resettled nearly 50 LGBT Chechens. (Photo courtesy of Kimahli Powell) Kimahli Powell hopes that with international eyes on the crisis of [...]
Affirmative Living
BY JONATHAN W. THURSTON In the spirit of the holiday season, it's important to think about ways to give back to the community, and helping local non-profits is often a great way to do that. Located in Ferndale, just north of Detroit, Affirmations [...]
EQMI Gives Thanks in the Month of Thanksgiving
BY BTL STAFF Tired of all the negativity in our country, our state and our community? It's enough to create a state of depression. Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, EQMI is daring themselves (and members of the community) to turn that [...]
Faith Matters: We Matter
BY RENEE MCCOY When the movie "The Color Purple" came out in 1985, I had a disturbing conversation with my mother. She had neither read Alice Walker's book nor known about Stephen Spielberg's ability to bring stark realism to the screen. All she [...]
FCA US Achieves Top Score For LGBTQ Workplace Policies and Benefits
BY BTL STAFF The Gay and Lesbian Alliance at FCA US (GALA) is one of seven business resource groups at the Company. These employee-directed groups pursue initiatives that celebrate multicultural differences and bring value to the larger community [...]
Ferndale Mayoral, Council Candidates Unchallenged in 2017 Election
BY BTL STAFF Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter with Council Members Melanie Piana and Greg Pawlica. Facebook photo The race for Ferndale's Mayor and two City Council seats were easily won Nov. 8 since the incumbents had no competition. The Oakland County [...]
Help Trans Women of Color This Holiday Season
BY BTL STAFF Julisa Abad, director of transgender outreach for the Fair Michigan Justice Project, seeks support from the community to help her trans sisters who are experiencing homelessness. The mission of TeamABAD during the holiday and season is [...]