Community 'Unites For Change' at statewide Pride events

BTL Staff Reports

Originally printed 6/17/04 (Issue 1225 - Between The Lines News)

LANSING - On June 12 the streets of Michigan's Capitol City were overrun with rainbow flags, banners, floats, families and dancing boys for the 16th annual Michigan Pride weekend.

An estimated 20,000 people attended the downtown Lansing events over the weekend, which included a comedy show, a pride march, a civil rights rally, a festival and a dance party. From powerful addresses by community leaders on the Capitol steps, to the ripping punk rock of The Butchies and the glam of the B-Girlz, the weekend aimed to celebrate the diversity and talents of the LGBT community.

"People come to these events because it is important to them to be recognized not only as individuals, but as part of a larger community that continues each year to grow, both in size and visibility," said Michigan Pride Co-Chair Kevin Lambrix.

The theme for the 2004 Michigan Pride events was "United for Change." Chosen in the fall, Lambrix noted that the theme tied in perfectly with the push for marriage rights around the country and with the upcoming election.

During the Rally on the Capitol steps marriage rights took center stage, as numerous speakers addressed an energetic crowd carrying banners from cities throughout the state. Openly gay state Representative Chris Kolb opened the Rally, introducing his partner and encouraging the crowd to become more involved with political decisions that affect their lives. Michigan Equality's Penny Gardner delivered a moving address, urging the crowd to sign postcards that will be delivered to lawmakers at the end of June. The cards, said Gardner, are a way for individuals to make their voices heard as part of a larger collective action.

Other speakers at the Rally included Jay Kaplan of the ACLU of Michigan's LGBT Project, who discussed the state of the state for LGBT rights, and Layton Dorey, co-chair of the Coalition for a Fair Michigan. The Coalition is a statewide, inter-agency collaborative effort which is working to defeat an effort to write discrimination into Michigan's Constitution. With the July 7 deadline for petitions approaching, Dorey stressed that if the proposed amendment is placed on the ballot in November the statewide LGBT community would have to dig deep into their pockets to fight the measure, which aims to ban equal marriage rights.

One of the highpoints of the Rally was an address by Felix and Paula Sils. HIV positive for more than 20 years, Felix works with the Detroit Health Department to help combat AIDS in the African American Community. Together Felix and his wife Paula performed a spoken word poem encouraging attendants at the rally to respect their bodies by using prevention methods that can stop the transmission of HIV.

"These events really serve to bring our community together to highlight our needs and concerns," said Michigan Pride treasurer Doug Rainey.

The Rally's final speaker was Ingham County Commissioner and Executive Director of Michigan Equality, Chris Swope, who readied the crowd for a massive commitment ceremony by explaining why he and his partner Brad recently traveled to Canada to wed.

The rally also featured songs by the Lansing Gay Men's Chorus and Sistrum, the Lansing Women's Chorus.

The Commitment Ceremony wed a record number of couples on the Capitol steps, with close to 300 participants, and was conducted by the Rev. Fran Mays of Ann Arbor.

"Getting married on the Capitol steps, whether it is legal or not, is an incredibly powerful act," said Michigan Pride Co-Chair Dawn Broderick of Kalamazoo. "The response to the ceremony was overwhelming this year because of all the activity around gay and lesbian marriage rights nationwide.

"The ceremony, however, did not come without interruption, as numerous loud protesters stood nearby expressing their views. Most of the participants, though, didn't seem to mind. The Lansing Police and the Community Pride Protection team, noted Lambrix, handled the protesters in a fair and professional manner, keeping their presence from disturbing the day's events.

"I think the highlight of the weekend was the massive amount of people we had get married on the Capitol steps. They united in love, showing our state we do need to have our families recognized," noted Lambrix.

Like many community events, the Michigan Pride weekend was staffed entirely by volunteers. Under a paid volunteer program, said Lambrix, $3,000 will be donated back to the community by Michigan Pride. The groups involved in the program included the Lansing Association for Human Rights, the Gay Men's Chorus, the Lansing Community College Gay/Straight Alliance and Sistrum.

"Volunteers are the backbone of the organization; they can make or break an event," said Dan Grubb, Michgian Pride's volunteer coordinator.

Grubb, who organizes the all -volunteer team for the event with his partner John Robison, said volunteers come to the event from throughout the state.

"Volunteers tend to be very passionate about what they are doing. We actually had people from throughout Michigan and people from outside of Michigan; we had volunteers from as far away as California. Of course we would like to thank our volunteers."

Other highlights of Michigan Pride included a comedy show featuring a casino, performances by Lansing's Kate Peterson, Ann Arbor's Tracy Mack, nationally known comic Vickie Shaw and Toronto's B-Girlz.

"The Comedy Show is a great kick-off for the weekend. This year we included a casino lounge to help create a relaxed atmosphere and give people something to do before and after the show," said Rainey. "The B-Girlz gave a wonderful performance. It's rare that a pride event someplace the size of Lansing is able to bring in entertainers who normally headline events in Toronto and New York."

The day stage also featured a rock-out session by The Butchies, Cheri and the Violators, Vickie Shaw, Millenary and Detroit's Urban Folk Collective.

Michigan Pride was also about health; with near record attendance at the event, and publicity support from Pfizer, more than 60 people were tested during the festival for HIV. "This year's events included so many activities, we hope that we were able to entertain and educate every member of our diverse community," said Broderick.

As a thank-you for its volunteers and as an opportunity for those interested in getting involved with Michigan Pride, the group will host an open house at Camp It in Saugatuck from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 7th. For more information, visit www.michiganpride.org.