August 22, 1945 – November 17, 1993
Wyandotte resident Gay Whiteside formed a chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis in Detroit in 1971. She was also active with the Gay Radio Collective, was a longtime member of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit, and volunteered on the Affirmations telephone hotline.
Detroit Free Press, November 19, 1993
July 29, 1912 – March 1, 1976
For more than three decades, Danny Brown directed the Jewel Box Revue. Prior to establishing the famed touring company, Brown emceed female impersonation shows at the Club Frontenac in Detroit during the pansy craze of the 1930s.
May 17, 1915 – May 16, 1996
The daughter of a coal miner, Olga Madar earned a degree in physical education from Eastern Michigan University and rose to become the first woman on the board of the United Auto Workers in 1966 and an international vice president of the union in 1970. Madar resided in Detroit’s Indian Village.
April 29, 1931 – October 29, 1990
A onetime executive assistant with the Joffrey Ballet, Christopher Flynn operated a private dance studio in Rochester in the early 1970s and introduced his student and future superstar Madonna to gay nightlife at Menjo’s. In 1977, Flynn served as a founding officer of the Michigan Organization for Human Rights. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 58.
September 16, 1942 – June 18, 1993
Raised in Tacoma, Washington, Barry Joseph “Biejay” Brewitt served in the Army Medical Corps, attended the University of Detroit and Wayne State University, and worked for Westin Hotels. He was a founder and longtime officer in the early Detroit leather group Tribe. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 50.
Tacoma News Tribune, July 1, 1993
March 1, 1990 – Body found July 14, 2015
Detroiter Ashton O’Hara, also known as Jessica Storm, identified as trans and genderfluid, loved to dance, and enjoyed styling hair. The 25-year-old’s death in July 2015 marked the 14th murder of a transgender person in the U.S. that year.
Died October 7, 1969
Sara “Jo” Estrada, a 42-year-old barmaid at the Twilight Zone in Detroit, was murdered during a robbery of the West Side gay bar in October 1969.
July 14, 1955 – June 11, 1999
For more than 25 years, Robert Brunner performed female impersonation in Detroit under the name Melba Moore, winning the Miss Gay Continental U.S.A. title for 1981-82 and honored for Lifetime Achievement by the Performers Awards of Detroit in 1999.
August 17, 1937 – September 2, 2014
From 1974 to 1979, Donna Chartier, her then partner Diane Bono, and their friend June Reynolds operated the Casbah, the first lesbian-owned lesbian bar in Metro Detroit.
June 30, 1949 -January 18, 1989
His 1975 arrest in an undercover police crackdown on homosexual activity in Hines Park prompted David Krumroy to help form the Association of Suburban People. Krumroy went on to edit Metro Gay News and co-found the Motor City Business Forum. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 39.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 