Out on the Town

There are a couple events in the SE Michigan LGBT community that really should be on your "don't miss" list.  Motor City Pride is a big one, of course, and fortunately you get the rest of the summer off because if you are involved with it in any way you will be exhausted.  Another big one is coming up though, Michigan Equality's State Equality Dinner.

This annual dinner has been going on for some time, and it's a standout.  It brings together so many different people in our LGBT community into one room, it's like a one-stop gay networking shop!  Long-time activists, prominent community members, straight allies and the next generation of leaders all mixing and mingling at a "family" reunion. The evening also recognizes outstanding leaders who have worked hard to advance Michigan's LGBT movement.

This year the State Equality Dinner is a standout because the keynote speaker is Cleve Jones.  If you are an astute film viewer you will recognize the name from the movie Milk, where a young Cleve Jones is shown working with Harvey Milk in the pioneering days of the gay rights movement.  If you are an astute student of LGBT history you will recognize Cleve Jones as the founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

When I was a youngster living in the gay ghetto of Washington, DC, I went to see the Quilt during its display on the National Mall in 1992.  I had maybe a mild interest in gay rights issues at the time, but more concern about HIV/AIDS (this was the pre-drug cocktail days, remember).  But mostly I was a gay kid more preoccupied with decorating my apartment than engaging with the gay community for more than a night at the bar.

My visit to the AIDS Memorial Quilt was an insane eye-opener about the extent to which AIDS was ravaging the gay world, and a huge early lesson about how many straight friends and family also really deeply cared about what was happening. People were mostly silent as they walked through the acres and acres of quilt panels, looking at highly personal memorial after memorial.  Volunteers stood by with boxes of tissue for those who were overcome, which were many - it was impossible not to be moved. 

I wish I could say that viewing the Quilt was an immediate call-to-arms for me, but it took a while for me to really start to realize there were things I could personally do to help.  It is something I can still remember vividly, though, and when I think about my current interest in working within the LGBT community, that experience is one of the early seeds.

A few years back I was at Common Language bookstore and picked up Cleve Jones' autobiography, Stitching a Revolution.  It's a great read full of info about the early gay rights movement, and it shows how the call to action isn't necessarily a deliberate choice, it can simply be a reaction to what we see happening in the world. For the gay historian, the casual activist and even just the curious, it's a recommended read.

You may not be the next Cleve Jones, but you can hear him speak (and maybe meet him) this Saturday night!

State Equality Dinner and Catalyst Awards

Saturday, October 22^nd

The Henry, Dearborn (formerly the Ritz-Carlton)

Featuring a VIP reception, silent auction, formal dinner, and an afterglow celebration.

Standard ticket: $150

VIP ticket: $250

Afterglow only: $50 (featuring DJ Jace)

All proceeds benefit the programs of Equality Michigan.

Tickets are available at www.equalitymi.org/dinner, or by calling 313-537-7000, x108

The Pride Project

For me, one of the most frustrating things to come out of the discussion about Motor City Pride moving to Hart Plaza from Ferndale was this leitmotif that Detroit is not as gay-friendly as Ferndale.  It's been mentioned in comments on Facebook (although the Motor City Pride page is pretty aggressive about removing excessively negative comments, a policy I have mixed feelings about) and covered in Between the Lines (be sure to read the comments).

Now I get where this perception comes from.  There have been widespread reports of homophobia in the African-American community in the past, and we've had several civic and community leaders make homophobic remarks over the years.  But let's compare apples to apples.

Ferndale is a community of 19,000 people covering 3.9 square miles.  Detroit is a city of 713,000 people covering 149 square miles.  But the greater downtown area, the area including the Central Business District, Corktown, the Midtown neighborhoods, Lafayette Park & adjacent areas, and Eastern Market, is roughly 16 square miles and approximately 40,000 residents. Essentially that's been my world (with the addition of the Villages and SW Detroit) and it's a better comp than the city as a whole.  And I've never lived anyplace more gay-friendly.

A little over three weeks ago this was rattling around in my brain, trying to figure out how to send the message that Detroit is actually an AWESOME place to live and be gay.  And maybe Motor City Pride moving downtown was an opportunity to show that.

The independent business community downtown is pretty tightly-knit, so I asked a couple friends if they were interested in doing a small sponsorship of Pride that we could bundle together.  And if they thought other business owners would be receptive to the idea.  It turns out they weren't just receptive, they were enthusiastic.

I could never in a million years have anticipated the positive response I received from every friend I approached.  And they approached friends too.  And in the three weeks since we started spreading the word, we've raised over $6500 from a whole slew of downtown independent merchants who are proud to be sponsors of Pride.

See the fact of the matter is, Detroit is the most welcoming city I've ever lived in - and I've been around.  Jim Geary, owner of the Woodbridge Pub, said it even better:

I think this is great for the city and a good public example of the diversity and tolerance that Detroit should be famous for. It is my experience, in the ten years I have lived here, that Detroiters are more tolerant in general, whether it be religion, race, sexual orientation or financial status, than anywhere else I have lived.

So anytime you hear someone say Detroit isn't welcoming to gays, why don't you straighten them out and mention the following list of businesses - the bars, restaurants and retailers who make Detroit as cool as it is - who put their money where their mouth is and jumped at the chance to welcome the regional gay community to Detroit.

I'll share more info about this when this little Downtown Pride Project is done.  I'm still approaching folks - these are just the people my friends and I knew personally who'd committed by last night.  If you don't see your favorite downtown spot on here, why not ask them about it? Hit me up at the email to the left, I'd love them to help roll out the gay welcome mat!

We need a little Christmas, right this very minute

And we got it!  Did you read about the Smithsonian pulling the video installation "Fire In My Belly" from the LGBT exhibit "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" at the Smithsonian?

And then did you read how two activists got banned because they showed up and showed the video on their iPads at the entrance to the exhibit?

Man this makes me feel good.  It reminds me of the old Queer Nation days. I remember being in college walking past the Boston MCA while the Mappelthorpe exhibit was there (back when it was small and on Boylston Street downtown) and a bunch of QN protesters were outside chanting "We're here, we're queer, we're FABulous get used to it!"

If there is a return to the old style of community activism in the works, then I am all for it.  Detroit could use a lot of that.

Favorite Macho City Moments

There certainly were a lot of colorful Macho City moments in our ticket giveaway contest! Thank you to everyone who entered for sharing their real or imagined experiences.

My favorite Macho City moment (of many highlights) is probably the Nancy Fortune night. Mike and Scott had been playing an unusually amazing selection of underground disco that I had not heard before, but that was so immediately likeable that it felt like a series of forgotten favorites. It had such a consistent good disco vibe you could not help but feel elevated.

The crowd was eclectic that night, including a good number of leathermen, some super cool straight folks, and a broad range of ages of us regular gay folks. The visuals were ultra-cool. As an added bonus there were no serious smokers on the dancefloor. It was all just so ... happy.

[As an aside: Not to pick on one group in particular, but there has been a serious rash of girls smoking on the dancefloor at Macho City that is giving me a serious rash. Ladies please, look around. Do you see the gay boys smoking on the dancefloor? No, they do it in the bar area like God intended. Even my friend Chris who can only breathe through a cigarette when he is at the bar abstains. Take note.]

So all is well at Macho City that night, and about 1am Nancy Fortune comes on. The transition to her music was, frankly, jarring, and I was like, "oh well, it was fun while it lasted." But then she got things really rolling (or more likely, my brain adjusted) and suddently there was this fantastic electro/dance/house mix of music - one that rivaled the mastery of the earlier disco mix - that took me back to my after-hours clubbing heyday. You know that feeling you get when you are standing there and the whole world around you is so perfect and you are brimming with joy? Yeah, that. That night wasn't just a Macho City highlight, it was a highlight of my summer.

Now back to the contest. Before I announce the winners I want to address some of the comments.

First of all, to the comments saying people posting about lurid activity at the R&R are missing the point of Macho City (some were deleted by their author), I feel compelled to say ... do we need to be this way in 2009? First off, Macho City can be about so many things. Maybe it is about the music, maybe it is about the people, and maybe it's about the setting. In my opinion having Macho City at the R&R - a place that is a safe space for a niche in the gay community (I sound like a lesbian feminist with that language) - sets a tone that you are free to enjoy the night however you want. Maybe Macho City provides a more comfortable way for attendees to get a little dirty in their lives, I see nothing wrong with that.

It's important to remember that we are guests there, and Macho City is supposed to be enhanced by its setting, and in turn enhance the R&R for one night a month. It's the combination that really makes Macho City so special. Arriving at the R&R and then judging the activity (or people's appreciation of activity) is perhaps an unfair approach. I hope that the regulars at the R&R like having the Macho City crowd once a month and continue to show up, and I hope MC attendees can be chill about anything besides dancing and drinking that may or may not go on.

Taking that one step further, as a community we make no progress if we cannot embrace all colors of the gay rainbow. We don't need to be mainstream to deserve marriage equality or protection from discrimination. It's the non-mainstream parts of the gay world that have been on the front lines, and who make being gay so very interesting! You don't need to partake, just accept.

Secondly, there was a comment about Buju Banton being booked at the Majestic and how we should boycott anything there. I am not a huge fan of boycotting locally-owned businesses or gay-led cultural phenomena, particularly in a recession, because often people just need to be educated about their offenses. But in this instance I think the Majestic has paid attention to concerns. Another comment addresses those:

For the record, the Majestic cancelled the Buju Banto show more than a week ago. They will have to eat the $8,500 guarantee. They are the only independent booker in the country that has flat out refused his performance. The Majestic had no clue about Buju's homophobic song (that he wrote 20 years ago at the age of 16 which he has since apologized for) and once they were aware of said song they immediately cancelled the show. The Majestic are very much accepting of all lifestyles. I am gay and have worked for the Majestic many times over the years. They currently have at least 5 gay employees that I personally know of.

I hope this news assuages any concerns people have about going tonight, because Black Devil Disco Club Macho City will be epic! And congratulations to randomly-selected winners Sparky, Darren, b, Phil, Thomas and Joseph, y'all are getting in free tonight! Your names will be at the door!

Have a great Macho City!

[Hey Sparky, email me at supergaydetroit@gmail.com to confirm your ticket!]
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Hey, read this again

This winter I covered a topic that is particularly relevant for Gay Pride Month and I think you should revisit it. Supergay writes about OutWeek.



It's interesting to see where we were at Stonewall's 20th anniversary and where we are at 40. Who in the world would have thought we'd be close to having gay marriage in U.S. in our lifetimes? Crazy shit.

I highly recommend that you take a look at some of those old issues of OutWeek, it's fascinating reading.

Prop 8 - The Musical

You will probably see this everywhere but I hope you can say you saw it here first. A star-studded cast in a little song & dance! How many celebs can you name?

(I can't center it for some reason, but it's a left of center video anyway.)

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

OutWeek

As we continue our celebration of Gay Outrage Month, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at some of the other gay outrage we have enjoyed over the years.

Let's go back in time to Gay New York, late 1980's. The AIDS crisis is reaching its pinnacle. ACT UP and Queer Nation have both come on the scene. One member of ACT UP decides that the "mainstream" (well, as mainstream as it was) gay press was not representing this new, more radical approach to activism. He teams up with a guy who wants to advertise his gay phone sex businesses and voila, OutWeek was formed.

Started on the 20th anniversary of Stonewall. Are you almost ready for Stonewall 40?

OutWeek only published for two years but it was incredibly influential. It is most famous for starting the "outing" movement, which began in Michelangelo Signorile's "Gossip Watch" column, but it also routinely broke major news stories. It really achieved national notoriety when it outed Malcolm Forbes in a cover story just after his death.

No context was given for this list, but everyone knew what they were talking about. They may have
been somewhat indiscriminate in casting their net, but they called some of those pretty early.

We will out you after you die, if not before.

OutWeek only lasted two years, but it changed gay journalism. After its publication the Advocate officially became a magazine for lesbians and gay men, for example. And gay activism, which previously could have a hard time getting media coverage, gained a permanent place in the public image of the gay community.

Because Jesus loves us, the entire run of OutWeek magazine is available online in PDF format. Take a look through them - they are ALL great reading! And a little bit of a cultural time capsule too, as you can see in these ads.

One upon a time most gays met in person, but even back then you could
still dial up on your 2400 baud modem and chat on the BBS!
It turns out it really was the new frontier in gay communications. Who knew?

There's always room for the fabulous in gay journalism. Then? A fabulous store.
Now? We know her better as the woman who created the looks on Sex and the City.

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Gays Right Now!

Leave it to Californians to decide we need to have nation-wide protests about gay marriage in November!

Despite sub-40-degree weather and near-freezing rain, there was a reasonably good turnout for the National Protest Against Prop 8 down at the CAY. I'm no crowd guesstimator, but I'd say there were probably 100+ people there, bundled up, intermittently chanting and listening to rally speakers.

Only a handful of us get that pleasure.

I didn't get signed release forms, so let's just say it
really was Paul Lynde and Rock Hudson, ok?

It was a good mix of people, a good showing by both gays and lesbians, and lots of supportive straight friends. For quite a few people I talked to it was their first protest ever, which was great to hear!

It seems like we may have had a little jump-start in the gay rights movement with this Prop 8 thingie. While our turnout wasn't huge (although I think not too bad given the weather, plus the amount of "activism doesn't go with this outfit" in this region), I heard from friends in NYC, Chicago and SF that protests were off-the-hook and incredibly life-affirming there.

*sigh* I guess for our metro area's size we should have been able to do better. I mean, *I* wanted life-affirming! If we had a REAL gay hub we'd be able to rally more people to action, but we don't so I'll shut up about that for now.

I am glad we had this, at the very least for the purposes of raising gay visibility in the area. Tonight I can fall asleep thinking that there might be a chance for the gay community here.
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Think Globally, Act Up Locally

This whole California Prop 8 protest thing has been rattling around in my head for the last few days. On the one hand, what I said the other day. But on the other hand, aren't we all in this together?

As a perk of this blogging gig, I was invited to go to the preview of the new movie Milk last night. I am not allowed to review it until it comes out in two weeks, but I am going to say that watching the events of Harvey Milk's life reminded me why action is important today.

Didn't see these until the way out, but how VIP!

In the 1970's, every gay victory around the country was celebrated all around the country, and every gay defeat was a call to arms for every gay person everywhere. Each victory by Anita Bryant and her posse in Florida and other states spurred gays in the Castro to march in protest. And they fought hard, and they mobilized the everyday gay to get out and express his or her outrage. And their successes made the complacency of today possible.

Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in CA should never have passed, and I think everyone on our side thought it wouldn't. The loss was a huge wake-up call to gay and straight people alike who honestly thought we were on our way to a more progressive, inclusive America this election. The amount of outrage we have seen emerge about this says to me that gay people are finally realizing we need to assert ourselves if we want real equality under law.

Now let me be clear: I can barely get a gay date, so you can be sure as hell I have no personal interest in gay marriage. And I think Keith Olbermann is a FREAK for his whole "this is about love" commentary on MSNBC. This is about fairness. Commitment ceremonies are about love.

I will tell you this much though, I am fucking tired and a half with gay people being viewed as somehow less than fully human, and that needs to stop. It's bad enough I have to deal with all the self-loathing quasi-closet cases around town. I don't need my government overtaxing and underrepresenting us too.

I didn't live through the gay rights protests of the 70's, but I did watch the protests of Queer Nation in Boston and participated in ACT UP demonstrations in Washington, DC. I was in the March on Washington in 1993 and went to the biggest showing of the AIDS Quilt on the Washington Mall. I wasn't hardcore, but I was paying attention. But then - like everyone else - I stopped pushing.

Now we have another reason to push ... or rather push back. This weekend we can be part of a demonstration that lets people everywhere know it's really time to grow up about this. And we can be part of a demonstration that gives us a sense of solidarity and a stronger sense of ourselves. If you have never participated in a demonstration, you may find it does as much to change your inner world as it does the outer world.

I have come to a point where I feel it is absolutely imperative that as many supporters of gay marriage show up to protest on Saturday as possible. Gay people should obviously be there, but our straight friends need to show support too.

Please come with friends to the protest demanding marriage equality this Saturday, November 15, at 1:30pm at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit.

We can dress up the Spirit of Detroit too.

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More changeover

Well, according to her Facebook status Triangle Foundation Interim Director Kate Runyon has taken the Executive Director job at Equality Maryland. That is a great gig, and I guess that explains why she put her pad in A2 up for sublet the other day.

Facebook is scary sometimes.

I wonder what will happen with Triangle now? There's really a bit of a gay leadership vacuum in this state (actually, a leadership vacuum period), so a little more turmoil there doesn't bode well for gay rights in this state.

I guess that's why I feel it's important that as individuals we make sure our voice is heard. We really can't afford to wait for new leadership to settle in. That's why things like the protest at CAY this weekend are important. We need to stay visible!
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