The LGBT community in Metro Detroit is centered in

Ferndale, Michigan Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190. Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and progr ...

, as of 2007. As of 1997, many LGBT people live in Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, and

Royal Oak The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...

. ''Model D'' stated in 2007 that there are populations of gays and lesbians in some Detroit neighborhoods such as East English Village, Indian Village, Lafayette Park, and

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

and that the concentration of gay bars in Detroit is "decentralized".

History

Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, downtown tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Lodge Freeway) to the west, Interstate 75 ( ...

served as the center of the LGBT community. It later shifted to

New Center New Center is a commercial and residential historic district located uptown in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles (5 km) north of Downtown. The area is ...

. Around the 1970s the gay community in Detroit was centered in Palmer Park. Due to crime occurring around Palmer Park in the 1980s, the LGBT community moved to Ferndale. Wendy Case of ''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. History and content Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed f ...

'' said "Ask three different people what happened to Palmer Park and you'll get three different answers. But all will eventually agree that crime is what dismantled Detroit's opportunity to have a gay renaissance akin to those of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

." Craig Covey, who later became a member of the city council of Ferndale, said that most of the former gay residents of Palmer Park "tended to move up

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a Game warden, warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which b ...

and they settled in Ferndale,

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

depending on their economic abilities. The middle-class folks came to Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge, as I did." Ferndale received the LGBT community because housing prices were higher in

and typically LGBT communities move into lower priced neighborhoods which are then revitalized. A law against discriminating against homosexuals was enacted by the City of Ferndale. Covey first ran for a city council in the City of Ferndale in 1995. He won a city council seat in Ferndale in 1999 and later became Mayor of Ferndale. In 2003 the Farbman Group, a real estate company renovating loft apartments in the inner city, began targeting lesbians and gay men in an effort to get them to move into the complexes. By 2022, there were more tensions between the Muslim and LGBTQ voting groups in Dearborn and Hamtramck in regards to LGBTQ materials in schools. This was a political shift, in which Christian groups now courted Muslim groups which they previously opposed, in order to get more voters for politically conservative causes. On June 13, 2023, the Hamtramck City Council introduced a resolution prohibiting the display of flags representing "any religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexual orientation group" on city property, which was widely considered a targeted ban on the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recognized u ...

. Following three hours of public comment, the Council passed the resolution unanimously. Current mayor Amer Ghalib opposed displaying the pride flag, while former Mayor Karen Majewski had supported displaying the LGBT pride flag.

Institutions

LGBT Detroit LGBT Detroit is a Michigan nonprofit organization serving the African American lesbian, gay, bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be de ...

(formerly KICK) is an organization that serves LGBT African-Americans. The

Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...

had a chapter in Detroit. Affirmations is a community center located in Ferndale. Affirmations is Michigan's largest LGBTQ community center and one of the 10 largest LGBTQ community centers in the country. The organization hosts a 15,000 square foot community space, art gallery, educational programming, health and wellness programming, cafe, youth center, and a resource desk. The

Ruth Ellis Center The Ruth Ellis Center is a Detroit area social services agency that serves the needs of runaway, homeless and at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Among their services are a drop-in center, Street Outreach Program, fo ...

is a non-profit organization located in Highland Park that provides short and long-term residential safe space and support services for runaway, homeless, and at-risk lesbian, gay, bi-attractional, transgender, and questioning youth. Many of the local universities, including

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, Eastern Michigan University, and

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, have on-campus LGBT resource centers.

Equality Michigan Equality Michigan is an American civil rights, advocacy and anti-violence organization serving Michigan's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Equality Michigan serves Michigan's LGBT community through victims services, lobb ...

(formerly the Triangle Foundation) is a statewide political advocacy organization located in Detroit working towards the LGBT community's social, cultural, political, and economic wellbeing. SAGE Metro Detroit (formerly the LGBT Older Adult Coalition established in 2010) was established in 2015 "to build awareness and promote change so that LGBT older adults may age with dignity and authenticity". The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce is located in Detroit and its mission is "to promote and empower our Metropolitan Detroit LGBT, allied business members, non-profit members, corporate partners and their employees through leadership, advocacy and education".

Recreation

Motor City Pride Motor City Pride is an annual LGBT pride street festival, held in Hart Plaza in Detroit, Michigan the second Saturday and Sunday of June. Previously held in Ferndale, Michigan, the festival moved to Detroit in 2011. It is the largest LGBT event h ...

is held annually in Detroit. Ferndale Pride is held in Ferndale. Motor City Pride moved from Royal Oak to Ferndale in 2001, and it was held in Ferndale until 2011, when it moved to Detroit. Ferndale Pride was started that year. The "Hotter Than July!" annual LGBT festival, catering to black LGBT people, is held in the park Palmer Park in Detroit. In 1940s many gay men in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, went to Detroit as it had several gay bars, such as "Gay Paris". Some police officers in Windsor doing police work crossed the border and entered Detroit gay bars. Ruth Ellis, a black lesbian, held house parties at her residence, "The Spot". It became a socializing place for black lesbians and gay men, allowing them to avoid heterosexism and racism in their society. Ellis, who was featured in the documentary ''Living With Pride'', was the oldest known black woman who identified as a lesbian until October 2001, when she died. She lived in Detroit until her death.

Media

The newspaper '' Between The Lines'' and the website ''

PrideSource ''Between the Lines'' is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper in the Michigan area. It is headquartered in Livonia, Metro Detroit.

'', published by Pride Source Media Group, LLC (PSMG), are headquartered in Livonia. The company opened in 1995. A collective named the Gay Liberator had formed itself from the Gay Community Center and the Detroit GLF; this collective published the ''Gay Liberator''. An LGBT film festival, Reel Pride Michigan, ran from 2002 through 2008 in Royal Oak. Hotter Than July has hosted a film festival since 2008 as part of their annual festivities. The film festival continued through at least 2016. In 2017, a film festival for

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

filmmakers, Trans Stellar Film Festival, was founded.

Education

In 2022 there were political controversies in the district regarding LGBTQ materials in Dearborn Public Schools. In 2022, there were protests that advocated for removing certain books and protests that advocated against districts removing such books. The district chose to discontinue holding seven titles. Much of the impetus against LGBTQ books was driven by conservative Muslim advocates, who were backed by conservative Christian advocates.

Notable residents

Notable LGBT people who have resided in the Metro Detroit area include: *

Eve Beglarian Eve Beglarian (born Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S., July 22, 1958) is a contemporary American composer, performer and audio producer of Armenian descent. Her music is often characterized as postminimalist.Woodard, Josef"A Bird’s Eye, a Wonderer’s E ...

(composer,

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

) *

Simone Bell Simone Bell is a community organizer and former politician from Atlanta, Georgia. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, she was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in December 2009 from the state's 58th district in DeKalb Cou ...

(community organizer,

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 th ...

) * David Burtka (actor and chef, Dearborn) * Mary Elizabeth Clark (activist,

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality **Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

) *

Lynn Conway Lynn Ann Conway (born January 2, 1938) is an American computer scientist, electrical engineer and transgender activist. She worked at IBM in the 1960s and invented generalized dynamic instruction handling, a key advance used in out-of-order ...

(scientist,

) * David Coulter (politician, Ferndale) * Craig Covey (politician, Ferndale) *

Jerry DeGrieck Gerald (Jerry) C. DeGrieck is a public health manager and policy advisor in Seattle, Washington. He and Nancy Wechsler served together on the Ann Arbor City Council, 1972–1974, while they were graduate students at the University of Michigan. I ...

(politician,

) *

Alex Dimitrov Alex Dimitrov (born November 30, 1984) is an American poet living in New York City. Early life Dimitrov is a first-generation immigrant, born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and raised in Detroit, Michigan. His parents fled a communist Bulgaria shortly bef ...

(poet,

) * Christopher Dyer (politician,

) *

Ruth Ellis Ruth Ellis ( née Neilson; 9 October 1926 – 13 July 1955) was a British nightclub hostess and convicted murderer who became the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom following the fatal shooting of her lover, David Blakely. In her t ...

(activist,

) *

Feloni Trish Best, known by her stage name Feloni, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Her coming out as lesbian was featured on MTV's LOGO documentary show '' Coming Out Stories''. Honors * Winner of Broadjam's February 2007 Rap Lyric C ...

(rapper,

) *

LZ Granderson Elzie Lee "LZ" Granderson (born March 11, 1972) is an American journalist and former actor, currently writing for the Los Angeles Times as a sports and culture columnist. He was a senior writer and columnist for ''ESPN The Magazine'', a co-host ...

(journalist,

) *

Aaron Hamburger Aaron Hamburger (born 1973) is an American writer best known for his short story collection The View from Stalin's Head' (2004) and novels Faith for Beginners' (2005) anNirvana Is Here(2019). Born in Detroit, Michigan, Hamburger went to college a ...

(writer,

) *

Quentin Harris Quentin Harris (born 8 September 1970 in Detroit, Michigan) is a New York City-based house music producer, remixer and DJ. He is active in the gay, underground, and pop-dance music scenes.

(music producer, remixer and DJ,

) * Angel Haze (rapper,

) * Mary Kay Henry (activist, Wayne County) *

James Leo Herlihy James Leo Herlihy (; February 27, 1927 – October 21, 1993) was an American novelist, playwright and actor. Herlihy is known for his novels ''Midnight Cowboy'' and '' All Fall Down'', and his play ''Blue Denim'', all of which were adapted ...

(writer and actor,

) * Holly Hughes (performance artist,

) * Tom Hulce (actor and producer,

) * Chris Kolb (politician,

) *

Kathy Kozachenko {{Infobox officeholder , honorific-prefix = , name = Kathy Kozachenko , native_name = , native_name_lang = , honorific-suffix = , image = , imagesize = , smallimage = , alt ...

(politician,

) *

Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes (born April 10, 1968) is a gay Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican author, scholar, and performer. He is better known as Larry La Fountain. He has received several awards for his creative writing and scholarship as well ...

(author and performer,

) * W. Dorr Legg (activist,

) *

Anita Lo Anita Lo is an American chef and restaurateur. In 2001, she was named by '' Food & Wine'' magazine one of ten "Best New Chefs in America".Annisa RestaurantAnnisa Restaurant Biography Retrieved 2010-10-07. Biography Early life Anita Lo, a second-g ...

(chef and restaurateur,

) *

Heather MacAllister Heather W. MacAllister (born Texas, United States) is a writer of over 40 romance novels since 1990, principally as Heather MacAllister. She has also signed her novels as Heather Allison. Her award-winning romance novels have been translated i ...

(activist,

and Dearborn) *

Deirdre N. McCloskey Deirdre Nansen McCloskey (born Donald N. McCloskey; September 11, 1942 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is the distinguished professor of economics, history, english, and communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is also adjunct ...

(professor,

) * Peter McWilliams (author,

) *

Taylor Mead Taylor Mead (December 31, 1924 – May 8, 2013) was an American writer, actor and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films filmed at Warhol's The Factory, Factory, including ''Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of ...

(writer and actor, Grosse Pointe) * Holly Miranda (singer-songwriter,

) *

Jeffrey Montgomery Jeffrey Montgomery (May 9, 1953 – July 18, 2016) was an American LGBT activist and public relations executive. In 1984, his partner, Michael, was shot to death outside a Detroit gay bar, prompting Montgomery to engage in LGBT advocacy. He ...

(activist,

) *

Hank Plante Henry A. "Hank" Plante is an American television reporter and newspaper columnist. He is on-air at NBC Palm Springs (KMIR-TV) and he is a former member of the Editorial Board of Gannett's Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs. Winner of the Ge ...

(journalist,

) *

Gayle Rubin Gayle S. Rubin (born January 1, 1949 in South Carolina) is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She has written on a range of subjects including feminism, sadomasochism, prostitut ...

(cultural anthropologist,

) *

Sara Ryan Sara Ryan (born 1971) is an American writer and librarian living in Portland, Oregon. Biography Ryan was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she graduated from Pioneer High School in 1989. Her first novel, '' Empress of the World'', was publ ...

(writer,

) *

George Solomos George Paul Solomos (September 16, 1925 – November 8, 2010), also known as Themistocles Hoetis from 1948 to 1958, was an American publisher, poet, filmmaker and novelist. Family background G. P. Solomos was born in Detroit in 1925, the yo ...

(filmmaker and writer,

) *

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the vari ...

(actress, comedian, writer, and producer,

) *

Jim Toy James Willis Toy (April 29, 1930 – January 1, 2022) was a long-time American activist and a pioneer for LGBT rights in Michigan. Toy earned his B.A. at Denison University in 1951. He graduated with a master's degree in Clinical Social Work ...

(activist,

) *

Michele Van Gorp Michele Van Gorp (born May 10, 1977) is a former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), most recently with the Minnesota Lynx. Early career After attending Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton ...

(basketball player,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

) * Trent Vanegas (writer,

) *

Nancy Wechsler Nancy Wechsler is an activist, writer, and former member of the Ann Arbor City Council, where she came out as a lesbian while serving her term. Elected to the City Council alongside fellow Human Rights Party candidate Jerry DeGrieck, both Wechs ...

(politician,

) * Robert W. Wilson (hedge fund manager, philanthropist and art collector,

) * Aileen Wuornos (serial killer, Rochester)

References

External links

Southeast Michigan
- Equality Michigan - Listing of LGBT organizations in southeast Michigan
KICK: The Center in Detroit for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered African Americans
{{LGBT Americans by location Demographics of Metro Detroit LGBT culture in the United States by city LGBT African-American culture Culture of Detroit

History

Institutions

Recreation

Media

Education

Notable residents

See also

References

External links