The untold story of the gay rights movement Detro

HUNDREDS REMISCE ABOUT HISTORIL DETRO GAY BAR SCENE
WH THE WOODWARD’S FUTURE UNCERTA, TAKG STOCK OF DETRO'S DISAPPEARG GAY BARS
CURSID: DID DETRO EVER HAVE A ‘GAYBORHOOD’?
NBA RUMORS: JAM HARN TRA TALKS, JOEL EMBIID, PJ TUCKER, RUDY GAY, LAKERS, WARRRS, BUCKS, MORE
GAY DETRO, MI : WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU’RE MOVG TO THE MOTOR CY
THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT DETRO

HUNDREDS REMISCE ABOUT HISTORIL DETRO GAY BAR SCENE

When The Woodward, Detro's olst-nng gay bar, burned a massive fire last week, spurred a nversatn about the history of the bar self and how to remember and celebrate s signifince the gay muny while lookg toward the future. * detroit gay history *

The first a three-part seri of panel discsns, this one on the history gay bars Detro, drew a crowd of more than 250 people to the Olymp Theater Saturday night. “The first gay neighborhood was downtown along Monroe Street the cy’s theater district, ” Haller told the crowd. Sappgton enjoyed gog to gay bars long before she created her Metra magaze, which would chronicle the gay bar scene 1979.

“I always hung out gay bars, ” Sappgton said. “I had a hair shop Romeo, Michigan, and I advertised the only gay paper that I knew of, which was Metro Gay News. “Too many plac gave a hard time bee we were gay, ” Sappgton said.

WH THE WOODWARD’S FUTURE UNCERTA, TAKG STOCK OF DETRO'S DISAPPEARG GAY BARS

Torchy talked to the crowd about the magnu of the gay bar scene Detro the 1970s.

“There were 45 gay bars and five steam baths, ” Torchy said. But, size or not, there was a st to dog bs wh the gay muny. “Even if you go back far enough you’ll fd was illegal to serve a known homosexual at a bar anyway.

CURSID: DID DETRO EVER HAVE A ‘GAYBORHOOD’?

When The Woodward, Detro's olst-nng gay bar, burned a massive fire last week, spurred a nversatn about the history of the bar self, but also where was suated Detro gay history more broadly — and how to remember and celebrate s signifince the gay muny while lookg toward the future.

The fire happened the middle of Pri Month, and not jt any Pri Month Detro: This year marks 50 years sce the cy's first Pri march, held June 24, 1972 to mand "full civil rights for gay people" and a repeal of all anti-gay laws, the Free Prs reported back then. The march, officially lled Christopher Street '72, was self a remembrance of the uprisg at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street New York Cy on June 28, 1969, when protts broke out rponse to a police raid at a gay bar. In s 70-odd years, The Woodward has been part of many tersectg stori of gay life and culture Detro, cludg policg of gay spac, ownership shifts, racial segregatn and populatn trends the cy.

The owners said they never set out to open up a gay bar. "We jt opened up and whichever way went, went, " Andy Karagas told "Gayzette" 1973 (as reported Andy's obuary 1997).

NBA RUMORS: JAM HARN TRA TALKS, JOEL EMBIID, PJ TUCKER, RUDY GAY, LAKERS, WARRRS, BUCKS, MORE

"And when went gay all the way, we kicked out all the straights that night. He later me out as the time, owners of gay bars Detro were mostly not gay themselv. Gay sex was a crime Michigan — as had been sce the 1800s — and police equently harassed and arrted gay people and raid gay bars.

"It was technilly illegal to operate a bar that was a renzvo for homosexuals, " said Tim Retzloff, adjunct assistant profsor of history and LGBTQ studi at Michigan State Universy. Bars at the time, gay and otherwise, sometim paid off police to be left alone. The Woodward provid a safe haven for whe gay men.

GAY DETRO, MI : WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU’RE MOVG TO THE MOTOR CY

Like many gay bars of s era, did not embrace people of lor. In that way, The Woodward was not unlike most other early gay bars Detro.

Startg after World War II and to the 1960s, several gay bars were cltered around Farmer and Bat streets downtown Detro, cludg Club 1011, La Rosa's and The Silver Dollar.