"Gay Detroit" Speaker Series. Photo by Marvin Shaouni for Model D.
Living in Detroit often feels like getting a Ph.D. in life. The city is my classroom, and thanks to an always-interesting mix of extra-curricular projects, I get to dive into all kinds of different topics and learn about what makes places work.
In June, I was lucky to spend a lot of time exploring the state of gay culture & community in Detroit. I didn't plan this exactly, it just kind of unfolded this way.
After lending a hand with Supergay Detroit's "Detroit Pride Project" for Motor City Pride, I had a lot of fun coordinating the Model D Speaker Series on "Gay Detroit" with WDET and Unity Michigan. It was a great night at the Park Bar, especially when our event overlapped with an after-party for the Detroit City Futbol League. The place was packed, and I left that night feeling better about the future of this town than I had in a long time.
"You're Welcome." Photo by Marvin Shaouni for Model D.
After that, I interviewed four new LGBT residents of Willy's Overland Lofts in Midtown Detroit for a feature article called "You're Welcome" in Model D. Jeff, Elliott, Melissa & Patricia were super generous to share their impressions and invite photographers into their homes -- and then do it all again for this awesome video produced by Team Detroit:
MotorCity Pride from 4exit4 on Vimeo.
I believe with all my heart that for Detroit to truly thrive, it needs to be more open and welcoming. When we drafted the Detroit Declaration, we made this the first principle for a very good reason:
"Principle 1: Be welcoming and embrace our diversity. Move beyond mere tolerance of our differences to a true commitment to openness, understanding and cooperation, and the inclusion of multiple perspectives both in our neighborhoods and at the highest decision-making realms."
At our Model D Speaker Series, Detroit's first openly gay City Council President Charles Pugh intimated that he would be running for Mayor in the not-so-distant future. That's about as high as you can get on the decision-making ladder around here. And then Mayor Bing was quoted saying: "People are people. Just because we have different kinds of lifestyles doesn't mean something's wrong."
Okay, maybe not so radical. But this is progress in a city where the church community still holds a lot of political power.
Anyway, it's better than our last mayor who openly opposed gay marriage. I'll never forget listening to a radio interview years ago with Mayor Richard Daley saying he would totally support gay marriage in Chicago, and then cutting to Mayor Kilpatrick in Detroit who was notsomuch a big fan of that.
I remember thinking, "Well, there ya go. Their city is rolling out the welcome mat, and ours is rolling it up. How's that workin' for us, Detroit?"
Note to City Mayors: Never underestimate the power of a welcome mat. When I think about all the lovely people who brought me into the fold when I moved here a decade ago and schooled me on what makes Detroit great, many of them were gay. They supported the shop, they commissioned design work. And they kept me well fed (and drunk) even when I wasn't sure how long I'd stay. Some of my dearest Detroit friendships trace back to Indian Village dinner parties and historic preservation events and Doggystyle Tuesdays at the Park Bar. This is really a huge part of why I'm still here.
I can't pretend to know what it feels like to be gay in a city that hasn't always been so gay-friendly. But I do know what it's like to be a newcomer in a place that can be wary of outsiders. Even if you're the kind of person who thrives on creating change or challenging the status quo, we all need places where we feel safe and wanted.
At the end of Pride month, I finally got around to ordering a rainbow sticker to put in my window. Thanks to Kirsten Ussery for reminding me that sometimes small symbols can be meaningful.
It's not gonna change the world -- it's just a little sticker. And honestly, it should have been there when I opened. But alas, it's there now.
