August 31, 1933 – July 19, 2016
From 1972 to 1975, Anthony Clemente, known to congregants as Pastor Tony, served as the first official minister of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit.
Tag: LGBTQ history
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.
James Muldoon
March 22, 1957 – June 8, 1997
Systems administrator for a number of Detroit area accounting firms and music director for Transfiguration Catholic Church, James Muldoon was a regular patron of Adam’s Apple and the Hayloft Saloon.
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.
John Sulek
June 28, 1940 – July 22, 1994
A longtime desk clerk at the Hotel St. Regis in Detroit, John Paul Sulek, also known as Johnny Kwaitkowski, was active in the group Studs 30 and once served as its president.
Rodger Keller
September 14, 1942 – March 23, 2006
As a participant in gay liberation activism in the early 1970s, Rodger Keller helped organize Detroit’s first pride march, Christopher Street Detroit ’72.
Billie Edwards
March 21, 1947 – July 5, 1995
Billie Edwards served as co-pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in Detroit in the mid-1980s before becoming co-director of the Lesbian-Gay Male Program Office at the University of Michigan in 1987, a position she held until 1993.
Billie Louise Edwards papers at the Bentley Historical Library
Anne Cheff
November 12, 1962 – May 5, 1990
Professional horse trainer Anne Cheff was a familiar face at such Detroit area bars as Gigi’s, the Cruise Club, and the Railroad Crossing.
Anthony Welsh
August 3, 1958 – August 14, 1996
Dr. Anthony Welsh, a Dearborn Heights native and graduate of Michigan State University, established an HIV education speaker’s bureau in Ann Arbor under the auspices of the HIV/AIDS Resource Center. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 38.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 