Jason A. Michael
Jason A. Michael is a senior staff writer for Between The Lines and Pride Source Media Group. He has been writing for BTL since 1999. Jason is also an Essence bestselling author. He may be reached at [email protected].
Mighty Real/Queer Detroit, Motor City Pride Partner on Virtual Art Exhibits
Mighty Real/Queer Detroit was designed to gather together, for the first time, a grand-scale representation of the range and depth of Detroit LGBTQ art. But plans for the month-long, multi-venue exhibit had to be scrapped as a result of the novel [...]
Ann Arbor's Aut Bar Announces Closure
The Aut Bar in Ann Arbor has become the latest victim of the novel coronavirus. In a statement, the BarStar Group, which purchased the restaurant and bar just over a year ago, announced the iconic LGBTQ hot spot would not be reopening once the [...]
2 Detroit Activists Seek Help Handing out Care Packages to Fight COVID-19
For Ka'Juan Hill, doing HIV/AIDS advocacy and outreach is not just a job. It's a calling. By day, he's a community outreach specialist for Unified HIV Health and Beyond, and, whenever free time allows, he carries the title of Let's Stop HIV [...]
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 Savings Bank, the show [...]
Obituary: Aimee Stephens
Aimee Stephens did not start out wanting to be a warrior for transgender rights. She simply wanted to be Aimee Stephens. When she announced she was transgender and would be presenting as her true, female self at her job at R.G. & G.R. Harris [...]
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 Kalamazoo's [...]
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 feature multi-Tony [...]
Jadein Black and Boylesque Drag Present Virtual Drag Shows Weekly and Give Back to the Community
With bars and clubs across the state — and most of the nation — closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, the LGBTQ community's beloved drag performers and nightclub entertainers are, like so many, out of work. But now, Jadein Black and her Boylesque drag [...]
Ann Arbor Jewelry Shop Offers Weekly Giveaway to Essential Employees
Abracadabra Jewelry and Gem Gallery in downtown Ann Arbor is hosting a weekly giveaway as a way of showing gratitude to health care workers, first responders, grocers, postal staff, delivery folks and everyone risking their safety to provide [...]
CenterLink Calls on Congress to Take Note of LGBTQ Centers
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers is asking Congress to take note of the work LGBTQ community centers do across the country and to remember them for funding in future stimulus packages. CenterLink represents more than 250 LGBTQ community [...]
Obituary: Brent Dorian Carpenter
April 19, 1964 – March 23, 2020 Author Brent Dorian Carpenter, a former reporter and columnist for Between The Lines, died March 23 from complications from heart surgery. He was 55. A native Detroiter, Carpenter graduated from Cass Technical High [...]
Obituary: Phyllis Ann Lyon
Nov. 10, 1924 – April 9, 2020 Phyllis Lyon, who along with her late wife Del Martin, became the first to wed in San Francisco in 2004 when then-Mayor Gavin Newsom instructed the city clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, has [...]