Living Out Loud: Recognizing the Contributions of Queer Detroit
When asked about the queer community in Detroit, she laughed me off saying, “we ain’t got shit here”—I felt the hurt and frustration in her response. Queer Detroit feels like an abstract concept—we know it exists because we all have a group of LGBT friends, but we also feel disconnected, overlooked, and even erased. That’s why when my wife Cara and I purchased our home on the Northwest side of Detroit, we made a commitment to be unapologetically gay. We knew we wanted to connect with other queer folks, host all the gay dinner parties and involve ourselves in local government working towards progress. It is these intentions that help us navigate the complicated relationship between Detroit and the LGBT community. Because, let’s be honest, In Detroit, the clergy reigns supreme and many churches aren’t rallying to support us queer & trans folks. In fact, every church I’ve visited since returning home has used heteronormative language and outright exclusionary practices to suppress “t...