1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

Please help preserve LGBTQ history in the state of Michigan I write to you today as a community organizer, disability rights advocate, and lifelong Michigander who is deeply committed to the preservation of our state’s LGBTQ+ history. Michigan holds a remarkable and often untold legacy of LGBTQ+ activism, legal firsts, and community resilience — a legacy that belongs to all Michiganders and deserves to be protected, documented, and celebrated for generations to come. Michigan’s Pioneering LGBTQ+ Legacy Our state has been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ equality in America. In 1972, East Lansing became the first city in the United States to pass a nondiscrimination ordinance protecting gay and lesbian people — a landmark moment that predated national progress by decades. That same year, the City of Ann Arbor issued one of the earliest Pride Week proclamations in the country. Michigan activists like Jim Toy helped lay the groundwork for a movement that would eventually transform national policy. These are not footnotes of history. They are the foundations upon which our communities built lives of dignity and belonging. Yet much of this history remains undocumented, fragile, and at risk of being lost forever. The Urgent Need to Preserve What Remains Community archives, oral histories, photographs, newsletters, and personal papers held by elder LGBTQ+ Michiganders are disappearing. Without intentional, funded preservation efforts, irreplaceable records of our shared history — including stories of activism during the AIDS crisis, decades of civil rights organizing, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people with disabilities — will be permanently lost. Organizations like the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, the Lansing Association for Human Rights (founded 1979), the Salus Center, and grassroots community archivists are doing vital work with limited resources. They need institutional support to scale their impact. A Call for State Action I respectfully urge you to take the following steps to protect Michigan’s LGBTQ+ heritage: 1. Support dedicated funding for LGBTQ+ archival and preservation projects at Michigan libraries, historical societies, and community organizations. 2. Establish or expand partnerships between the Michigan Historical Center and LGBTQ+ community archives to ensure that community-held materials are preserved with proper metadata, consent frameworks, and public access. 3. Recognize Michigan’s LGBTQ+ history through formal proclamations, curriculum inclusion, and public commemorations — particularly honoring East Lansing’s 1972 ordinance as a nationally significant civil rights achievement. 4. Protect existing preservation efforts from political interference, ensuring that publicly funded libraries, museums, and educational institutions can maintain and share LGBTQ+ historical collections without restriction. 5. Engage LGBTQ+ community members, particularly elders and those with disabilities, as valued partners and oral history contributors in statewide history preservation initiatives. Why This Matters History preservation is not a partisan issue — it is a matter of truth, dignity, and civic integrity. When communities see themselves reflected in the historical record, it affirms their belonging and their contributions to our shared society. For LGBTQ+ youth in Michigan — including those who are disabled, living in rural areas, or otherwise marginalized — knowing that people like them helped shape their state can be lifesaving. Michigan has the opportunity to lead once again, just as East Lansing led the nation in 1972. I urge you to seize that opportunity. Thank you for your time and for your service to the people of Michigan. I welcome the opportunity to speak with you or your staff further about how the state can support this vital work. Please do not hesitate to contact me at the information listed above. With respect and hope,