Tim Retzloff
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Chris Azzopardi Has Spent 20 Years Asking the Right Questions — For Our Readers, For All of Us
On any given week, Chris Azzopardi might be on the phone with Cher in the morning and, by afternoon, editing a story about a queer teen in rural Michigan who [...]Read more about Chris Azzopardi Has Spent 20 Years Asking the Right Questions — For Our Readers, For All of Us
Michigan's LGBTQ+ Pioneers Take Center Stage In PBS Detroit Special — Watch the Video Here!
LGBTQ+ History Month has been observed each October since 1994, when Missouri high school history teacher Rodney Wilson proposed the idea. Wilson chose October [...]Read more about Michigan's LGBTQ+ Pioneers Take Center Stage In PBS Detroit Special — Watch the Video Here!
How Between The Lines Carries Forward Michigan's Rich Queer Press History
Long before Between The Lines became Michigan's leading LGBTQ+ publication, Metro Detroit had a rich tradition of queer journalism spanning more than five [...]Read more about How Between The Lines Carries Forward Michigan's Rich Queer Press History
Palmer Woods 2025 Summer Home Tour Celebrates Historic Neighborhood's Rich LGBTQ+ Legacy
The Palmer Woods Association's 2025 Home and Garden Tour on July 26 promises to be more than just a showcase of stunning architecture and manicured [...]Read more about Palmer Woods 2025 Summer Home Tour Celebrates Historic Neighborhood's Rich LGBTQ+ Legacy
From McCarthy to MAGA: How Today’s Right-Wing Crusade Is Repeating History
The so-called "unmentionables" always return, courtesy of a sinister conservative movement.Three-quarters of a century after the Red Scare and the [...]Read more about From McCarthy to MAGA: How Today’s Right-Wing Crusade Is Repeating History
Gay Tidings We Bring: Palmer Woods Home Tour and Soirée Celebrates Queer Legacy in Style
Palmer Woods: The LGBTQ+ Roots Behind Detroit’s Architectural Gem
Is Detroit Ready for a New Queer Business District?
A new survey from the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce poses a question Board of Directors President Kevin Heard says local LGBTQ+ community members [...]Read more about Is Detroit Ready for a New Queer Business District?
Michigan Trailblazer Kathy Kozachenko, First Out Elected Official in U.S., to Be Honored with Statue in Ann Arbor
Statue to be unveiled during the city’s bicentennial celebration in 2024.
A Kind of Defiance: In Lansing, an Overlooked – and Leading – History of Queer Activism
It’s only natural for a state capital to become a center for political activism. But in the case of Lansing, both local and state-level queer activism have [...]Read more about A Kind of Defiance: In Lansing, an Overlooked – and Leading – History of Queer Activism
The Complete Timeline of LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Expansion in Michigan, 50 Years in the Making
Pop open the Champagne and sparkling juice. The day so many in the LGBTQ+ community tirelessly battled for has arrived. Gov. Whitmer has made good on her [...]Read more about The Complete Timeline of LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Expansion in Michigan, 50 Years in the Making
Queer Things to Do: Attend a Space Party, Delight in Drag, See the Razor Braids
Ready to break free from the normal routine and spice things up? Need a change of pace from scrolling through the endless stream of negative news? This list has [...]Read more about Queer Things to Do: Attend a Space Party, Delight in Drag, See the Razor Braids
Gigi’s Celebrates 50 Years: The Oldest Gay-Owned Gay Bar in Detroit Is Now a Half-Century Old
Gigi’s, one of the most beloved and respected gay bars on the Michigan map, is celebrating a milestone few venues manage to reach — 50 years in the business. [...]Read more about Gigi’s Celebrates 50 Years: The Oldest Gay-Owned Gay Bar in Detroit Is Now a Half-Century Old
Charles Alexander, Beloved Michigan Writer and Artist, Leaves Behind Enormous Impact on Local LGBTQ+ Community
Longtime Pride Source and Between The Lines columnist Charles Robert Alexander, also a beloved artist and community activist, died Dec. 10 following a brief [...]Read more about Charles Alexander, Beloved Michigan Writer and Artist, Leaves Behind Enormous Impact on Local LGBTQ+ Community
5 Queer Things You Can Do Right Now-ish: Attend a Black Film Fest, Buy Demi Lovato Tickets
Summer might be (unofficially) over, but you know what that means: cardigans! Take a break from participating in the annual battle between Those Who Love [...]Read more about 5 Queer Things You Can Do Right Now-ish: Attend a Black Film Fest, Buy Demi Lovato Tickets
5 Queer Things You Can Do Right Now(ish): Host an LGBTQ+ AAPI/BIPOC Movie Night, Visit a Queer, Sober Nightclub, Rally at the Capitol
Pride month is flying by with alarming speed, but don’t fret! Pride Source will be here for you long after the last corporate logo has its rainbow filter [...]Read more about 5 Queer Things You Can Do Right Now(ish): Host an LGBTQ+ AAPI/BIPOC Movie Night, Visit a Queer, Sober Nightclub, Rally at the Capitol
A Welcoming Home to Detroit’s LGBTQ+ Community For Decades, Woodward Bar & Grill Destroyed by 3-Alarm Fire
It’s the end of an era. The Woodward Bar & Grill, Detroit’s oldest gay bar, caught fire yesterday morning around 10:30 a.m. and burned down in a 3-alarm [...]Read more about A Welcoming Home to Detroit’s LGBTQ+ Community For Decades, Woodward Bar & Grill Destroyed by 3-Alarm Fire
The City Without Closets: How Ferndale Became So Queer
Ferndale has been known as one of Michigan’s biggest queer hubs for decades. With many of the hallmarks that distinguish a Greenwich Village, a Castro, an [...]Read more about The City Without Closets: How Ferndale Became So Queer
This New Film About Triangle Foundation Co-Founder Jeffrey Montgomery Examines His Complicated Legacy
“America, You Kill Me,” a new documentary about Michigan LGBTQ+ activist Jeffrey Montgomery, is making its long-awaited world premiere as part of this year’s [...]Read more about This New Film About Triangle Foundation Co-Founder Jeffrey Montgomery Examines His Complicated Legacy
Singing for the Unsung: 9 Black LGBTQ+ Michigan Trailblazers You Should Know
February is, of course, Black History Month. It’s a good opportunity to celebrate and learn more about Black history, but it can be challenging to piece [...]Read more about Singing for the Unsung: 9 Black LGBTQ+ Michigan Trailblazers You Should Know
This Artist and Historian Are Preserving Michigan LGBTQ+ History With a Comic Book About the State's First Pride March
When Merrilee Melvin, then 24, came out as lesbian to some coworkers in 1972, she didn't expect to lose her job. "I was working at a little print shop in [...]Read more about This Artist and Historian Are Preserving Michigan LGBTQ+ History With a Comic Book About the State's First Pride March
LGBT Detroit Fights to Make Palmer Park a Single Voting Block in New Redistricting Initiative
Last month Equality Michigan's Erin Knott urged LGBTQ+ voters to get involved in the redistricting process to create more local representation and realign [...]Read more about LGBT Detroit Fights to Make Palmer Park a Single Voting Block in New Redistricting Initiative
Fines Paid: Then and Now
"Your fine's been paid! Alexander. Ease up! Go back and get on the bus to the city limits." "This time, stay out of trouble!" I was 23 when I heard that bit of [...]Read more about Fines Paid: Then and Now
Horny in a Pandemic: Why Some Still Got It On (and Some Didn't)
[Editor's note: Some of the subjects interviewed for this story preferred to use only their first names to maintain anonymity.] While living in pre-pandemic [...]Read more about Horny in a Pandemic: Why Some Still Got It On (and Some Didn't)
Parting Glances: Were You Ever 'Known' or 'Alleged'?
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in October 2016. Just a few generations ago, the term homosexual was often qualified by adjectives. [...]Read more about Parting Glances: Were You Ever 'Known' or 'Alleged'?
50 Years After Stonewall SAGE Symposium Oct. 19
The Metro Detroit branch of elder advocacy group Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders, or SAGE as it's better-known, is taking a look back at history. [...]Read more about 50 Years After Stonewall SAGE Symposium Oct. 19
Historical Museum Exhibit Shines Light on Detroit's Rich LGBTQ History
"Invisible No Longer: LGBTQ Detroit" is a new exhibit at the Detroit Historical Museum that takes a deep dive into the city's rich and varied history with the [...]Read more about Historical Museum Exhibit Shines Light on Detroit's Rich LGBTQ History
Which Stonewall? Whose Stonewall?
"Ho Ho! Hey Hey! We won't pay to be gay!" The chant, led by Vivian Thompson on a bullhorn and in unison with a couple dozen or so other protesters, announced [...]Read more about Which Stonewall? Whose Stonewall?
History Comes Alive In Historical Exhibit in Detroit
DETROIT – The Stonewall rebellion ignited a movement that spread across the nation 50 years ago, including in Detroit. What's happened in Detroit since that [...]Read more about History Comes Alive In Historical Exhibit in Detroit
Shockwaves from Stonewall: Revisiting Gay Liberation in Michigan
The Stonewall uprising had reverb. Multiple nights of rioting against police in June 1969 sent shockwaves across the country and sparked gay organizing on a [...]Read more about Shockwaves from Stonewall: Revisiting Gay Liberation in Michigan
Whatever Happened to? ...
As I rework my dissertation into a book manuscript — cutting sections here, smoothing out passages there, tugging at paragraphs like taffy over there, finding [...]Read more about Whatever Happened to? ...
WSU June Panel on LGBTQ History Available On YouTube
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 [...]Read more about WSU June Panel on LGBTQ History Available On YouTube
Health Club Closes Doors, Sale of Site's Contents Sept. 13 to 15
TNT Health Club, Detroit's longest-running gay bathhouse, has recently shuttered its doors. Located at 13333 Eight Mile Road, TNT first opened in 1979 in the [...]Read more about Health Club Closes Doors, Sale of Site's Contents Sept. 13 to 15
Health Club Closes Doors, Sale of Site's Contents Takes Place This Week
Between The Lines has learned that the TNT Health Club, Detroit's longest running gay bathhouse, has recently shuttered its doors. Located at 13333 Eight Mile [...]Read more about Health Club Closes Doors, Sale of Site's Contents Takes Place This Week
Remembering Beth Brant
BY JULIE R. ENSZER and TIM RETZLOFF When writer Beth Brant died on Aug. 6, 2015, she left behind a loving family and a vibrant literary legacy documenting her [...]Read more about Remembering Beth Brant
The Detroit Queens
Menjos Entertainment Complex Hosts History of Detroit Drag Queens Panel The Menjos Entertainment Complex and specifically the Olympus Theater are hosting their [...]Read more about The Detroit Queens
WSU Hosts LGBTQ History Panel in Honor of the School's 150 Years
A lot can happen over 150 years, and in honor of a timeline that spans over half of modern U.S. history, Wayne State University is presenting several panels [...]Read more about WSU Hosts LGBTQ History Panel in Honor of the School's 150 Years
Dip' and Drag in Days Gone By
Mainstream newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, the Lansing State Journal, the Traverse City Record-Eagle, the Flint Journal, and [...]Read more about Dip' and Drag in Days Gone By
Midwestern T-Shirts Track History
Wearing Gay History Archive Showcases Thousands of Historical Shirts Midwestern Historian There is a perception by some that LGBTQ history didn't happen in the [...]Read more about Midwestern T-Shirts Track History
LGBT Detroit spring fundraiser revisits the Famous Door
DJ Melvin Hill to be honored For their spring fundraiser April 21, LGBT Detroit will pay homage to the Famous Door, a nightclub popular with the [...]Read more about LGBT Detroit spring fundraiser revisits the Famous Door
Hundreds Reminisce About Historical Detroit Gay Bar Scene
Menjos Entertainment Complex General Manager Tim McKee has reason to be proud of himself. The first in a three-part series of panel discussions, this one on [...]Read more about Hundreds Reminisce About Historical Detroit Gay Bar Scene
Parting Glances: 9,135 days later!
This week's issue of Between The Lines marks the kickoff of our celebration of 25 years of our dedicated, meaningful, challenging, rainbow-community outreach [...]Read more about Parting Glances: 9,135 days later!
First in Panel Discussion Series Examines Detroit's Historical Gay Bar Scene
Long before there was an Affirmations, they were the community centers of the LGBTQ world. You didn't just go to the gay bar to dance and drink, you went to [...]Read more about First in Panel Discussion Series Examines Detroit's Historical Gay Bar Scene
Joy Geng: LGBTQ Activist
The year was 1991, and long-term plans were being set in motion. The Michigan Organization of Human Rights (MOHR) had created the MOHR Foundation as a separate [...]Read more about Joy Geng: LGBTQ Activist
August 2006 highlights
She/he Said "The thing is, I'm not ashamed; that's the one thing I went to say. I don't think it's wrong, I'm not devastated going through this. I'm more [...]Read more about August 2006 highlights
The Purging of Ann Arbor's (Queer) Past
BY TIM RETZLOFF I knew criminal court cases could be a gold mine for researching LGBTQ history. I did not know such records were so vulnerable. As I recounted [...]Read more about The Purging of Ann Arbor's (Queer) Past
LGBT Detroit Unveils New Outdoor Gathering Space
Curtis Lipscomb, executive director of LGBT Detroit with Officer Dani Woods, LGBT Liaison with the Detroit Police Department and Tim Retzloff, who teaches LGBT [...]Read more about LGBT Detroit Unveils New Outdoor Gathering Space
LGBT Detroiters Invited to View, Discuss 'Detroit' Film
BY BTL STAFF Photo by Francois Duhamel Members of the LGBT community will have the opportunity to view the film "Detroit," a 2017 American period crime drama [...]Read more about LGBT Detroiters Invited to View, Discuss 'Detroit' Film
