June 4, 1948 – October 6, 1993
Attorney and Traverse City native Elaine Milliken devoted her life to human rights, women’s issues, and the environment. She was the daughter of former Michigan governor William Milliken.
Tag: activists
Gregory Kamm
October 19, 1950 – June 3, 2008
Gregory Kamm helped found the Gay Liberation Front at Western Michigan University in 1971 and later served as secretary for the Gay Liberation Movement at Michigan State University.
Sal Connor
August 17, 1923 – June 20, 1988
Lenora “Sally” Connor, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and later worked as a postal worker in Grand Rapids. She was a founding officer in 1977 of the Michigan Organization for Human Rights.
Paula Ettelbrick
October 2, 1955 – October 7, 2011
Legal director for the Lambda Legal Defense from 1988 to 1993 and longtime activist, Paula Ettelbrick earned her law degree from Wayne State University and served as an officer for the Michigan Organization for Human Rights in the mid-1980s.
New York Times, October 8, 2011
Gay People’s Chronicle, October 21, 2011
Paula L. Ettelbrick papers in the Human Sexuality Collection
W. Dorr Legg
December 15, 1904 – July 26, 1994
Ann Arbor native W. Dorr Legg moved to Los Angeles in 1949 with his boyfriend following their arrest in Detroit on a charge of gross indecency between men. In Los Angeles in 1953, he helped found ONE magazine, the first homosexual publication to reach wide circulation in the U.S.
Carol Ernst
February 27, 1944 – December 31, 1979
As an openly lesbian bus driver, Carol Ernst became a key leader in the Ann Arbor Transit Employees Union, an advocate for sex worker rights, and a candidate for mayor on the Human Rights Party ticket in 1975.
George Fadiga
February 19, 1954 – February 25, 2000
George Fadiga was a tireless activist with the Hope Fund, the Human Rights Campaign Michigan Dinner, the Motor City Business Forum, the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, and other Detroit area causes. At the time of his sudden death he worked as a sales representative with Crain Communications.
Geraldine Rapaport
September 23, 1918 – August 10, 1985
A founder of the Lansing chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Jerry Rapaport was also involved with the Lansing Association for Human Rights and the Lansing Area AIDS Network. She was mother of activist Rick Rapaport.
David Brewer
February 28, 1921 – May 20, 2001
David Whitney Brewer was founding vice chairman in 1958 of the Detroit Area Council of the Mattachine Society, the first known homosexual organization in the State of Michigan.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 