May 23, 1936 – December 10, 2022
Native Detroiter Charles Robert Alexander came out into the gay world while a student at Cass Tech. He earned his B.A. at Wayne State University and had a long career with the Detroit schools. An acclaimed artist, he was active with Affirmations and MCC Detroit, and in 1997 received the local LGBTQ Lifetime Achievement Award. Alexander wrote more than 700 columns over 27 years for Between The Lines.
October 28, 1971 – September 4, 2010
A native of Oxford, England, Steven William Swan graduated from Grosse Pointe North high School and as a teenager took part in the Youth Group at Affirmations. He later attended Oakland Community College and held jobs at Bill Knapp’s restaurant, Jacobson’s department store, and Art Van Furniture. From 2004 to 2005 Swan as a sales representative for Between The Lines.
Between The Lines, September 23, 2010
Grosse Pointe News, September 23, 2010
April 19, 1964 – March 23, 2020
Writer and artists Brent Dorian Carpenter was born in Detroit and graduated from Cass Tech in 1981. His entrée into Detroit’s African American LGBTQ community came in 2001 when he approached Hotter Than July planners to promote his first novel, Man of the Cloth. Carpenter became and AIDS activist and he worked as a reporter and regular columnist for Between The Lines before moving to Atlanta in 2006.
April 15, 1964 – July 23, 2018
Jenifer Anne Kohout grew up on Air Force bases throughout the U.S. and overseas. After finishing her Bachelor’s at Duke, she earned an M.S. in Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the UM Law School. In the 1990s, Kohout was an occasional columnist for Between The Lines. She later enjoyed a rich career in Alaska. Kohout was survived by her spouse Karen Komopacki.
May 26, 1951 – May 8, 2007
Ann Arbor resident and Detroit native Keary Sullivan Campbell studied biology at the University of Michigan and worked as a scientific photographer for the UM Dental School. As a freelancer, he photographed pride marches and the NAMES Project quilt and his images also appeared in the pages of Between The Lines during its early years of publication. Keary was survived by his partner Tim Huth.
Ann Arbor News, May 13, 2007
September 16, 1958 – July 17, 2015
A graduate of Roeper High School in Birmingham, Sharon Gittleman earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan and J.D. from the University of Detroit. She later left the field of law to pursue a career in journalism, serving as editor of the Royal Oak Mirror and a freelance writer for Between The Lines.
April 17, 1962 – October 17, 2000
Eric Otto wrote a regular column about Detroit’s nightlife for Between The Lines newspaper in the late 1990s.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 