March 27, 1950 – March 17, 2006
James Stewart James was born in Detroit and graduated with the class of 1969 from Mumford High School. He later earned his Associates degree from Oakland Community College and was employed at General Motors for 25 years. James was active in Men of Color, Project Survivor, and Detroit Black Gay Pride, for many years helping to plan the annual Hotter Than July! picnic in Palmer Park.
June 20, 1965 – June 18, 1995
Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Eric Leroy Jordan moved to Detroit following high school and became active in Men of Color, Full Truth Fellowship Church, and the James Baldwin/Pat Parker Society. From 1993 to 1995, Jordan was employed as a case worker for the AIDS Consortium of Southeastern Michigan. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 29, two days shy of his 30th birthday.
September 30, 1965 – May 27, 2003
Detroit native and Pershing High grad Brent O’Neal Lewis earned his B.A. from Wayne State University. He was an early participant in Men of Color and volunteered on the promotions committee for Hotter Than July. Lewis also helped launch HIV meal outreach through Full Truth Fellowship Church and visited hospitalized PWAs through the group Oliver Branch. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 37.
January 7, 1967 – June 26, 2004
Schawne Anthony Parker grew up in Detroit, graduated from Chadsey High School in 1985, and attended General Motors Institute before completing his B.S. in chemistry at Michigan State University. He served as first president of Men of Color Motivational Group and was later executive director of the HIV/AIDS agency Center Health Outreach Workers. Parker was survived by his longtime partner Marius Padieu.
January 9, 1956 – March 1, 2003
Detroit native Veronica Perryman Mitchell attended Mumford High School. In a 1995 Detroit Free Press feature, she revealed how HIV helped her turn from a life of addiction. Among her achievements, Mitchell served as AIDS ombudsperson for the City of Detroit, began a women with AIDS support group in C-HAG, and sat on the board of Men of Color. She died from AIDS-related complications at age 47.
Detroit Free Press, March 6, 2003
December 2, 1965 – May 17, 1994
Born in Detroit, James Douglas Drain served in the U.S. Army from 1984 to 1986 and was active in the organization Men of Color. He later worked as office manager for Affirmations Community Center. He died from AIDS-related complications at age 28.
August 7, 1952 – January 12, 2012
Detroiter Leon Smith attended Murray-Smith High School and became active in the local LGBT community in the 1980s. He helped launch the Men of Color Motivational Group, was one of the original organizers of the Hotter Than July pride celebration, and took part in a support group for HIV+ men sponsored by what was then known as Kick!.
April 20, 1976 – April 8, 2013
Detroit native Edward Johnson studied dance at Oakland University, Marygrove College, and Wayne State University. His LGBTQ activism included work with the Horizons Project and Men of Color. Johnson also won a number of Detroit area female impersonation titles performing as Tokyo Reign.
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 