LGBT Detroit is a

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

serving the

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

lesbian,

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, bisexual and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

(

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

) population of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, and nearby communities. LGBT Detroit's mission is "to increase awareness of and support to Detroit's dynamic LGBT community through education and advocacy with integrity and pride." Their aim is to implement LGBT affirming programs, services, projects and special events; and to partner with other

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

organizations and allies with similar beliefs. The organization is a member of

CenterLink CenterLink is an American LGBT organisation which was founded in 1994 as a member-based coalition to support the development of strong, sustainable, LGBTQ community centers. A fundamental goal of CenterLink’s work is to strengthen, support, and ...

, Midtown Detroit, Inc., the

National Black Justice Coalition The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is an American civil rights organization serving primarily Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Since 2003, NBJC has collaborated with national civil rights groups and LGBT org ...

, Center for Black Equality, and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.

History

LGBT Detroit began as Kick Publishing Company (a for-profit business) in 1994 by Curtis Lipscomb. The publication was created to inform the LGBT community of issues relative to LGBT African Americans. Kick Publishing Company was the third black LGBT media company created in America. The publication and various other publications were distributed to national gay and straight retailers. The publishers of magazine soon got involved in sponsoring many LGBT events, and ultimately in 1996 members of the staff of ''KICK! Magazine'' created and formed the non-profit Detroit Black Gay Pride, Inc., the organizers of

Hotter Than July! Hotter Than July! is an annual week-long black LGBT Pride celebration held annually since 1996 in Detroit, Michigan, which includes events each day culminating with a large festival on the final weekend. The Detroit Black Pride Society and Kick (D ...

, which is Detroit’s black LGBT weekend pride celebration. The organization was founded as a nonprofit organization, known as KICK – The Agency for LGBT African Americans, in 2003 with the help of Detroit LGBT residents. The organization moved into an office in

Midtown Detroit Midtown Detroit is a mixed-use area consisting of a business district, cultural center, a major research university, and several residential neighborhoods; it is located along the east and west side of M-1 (Michigan highway), Woodward Avenue, nor ...

in 2007. In 2011, The Center in Detroit opened to provide the LGBT and allied community a safe meeting space in Detroit. The organization began discussing its name and brand in June 2013, and in May 2015 changed its name from KICK to LGBT Detroit.

References

External links

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LGBT Detroit on GuideStar
{{LGBT in Michigan 1994 establishments in Michigan African-American history in Detroit African-American LGBT organizations LGBT culture in Detroit LGBT community centers in the United States LGBT in Michigan LGBT political advocacy groups in Michigan Organizations based in Detroit Organizations established in 1994

History

See also

References

External links