LGBTQ+ Washtenaw Oral History Project - Lynden Kelly

Sun, 06/30/2024 - 3:25pm

Lynden Kelly, who goes by Kelly (she/her), was born in 1954 in suburban Detroit. In 1972, she moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. She became involved in countercultural organizations and collectives such as the Ann Arbor Tenants Union and the People’s Wherehouse, a wholesale warehouse for the Michigan Federation of Food Co-ops. She recalls visiting LGBTQ+ spaces in Ann Arbor and beyond, including the U-M Gay Advocates’ Office (now called the Spectrum Center), Canterbury House, the Rubaiyat, and the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. From 1990 to 2003, she and business partner Kate Burkhardt ran Common Language Bookstore, which catered to feminist and LGBTQ+ readers, on Fourth Avenue. Kelly also discusses gender roles, coming out to her parents, marriage equality, and co-founding Ann Arbor Queer Aquatics (A2QUA), a queer swimming group.

View historical materials.

AADL Talks To: Jerry DeGrieck, Former Human Rights Party Council Member

Fri, 01/19/2024 - 4:48pm

In this episode, AADL Talks To Jerry DeGrieck. Jerry was the first elected official to come out as gay in the U.S. alongside council member Nancy Wechsler in 1973. Both were members of the Human Rights Party, and in 1972 beat out local democrats and republicans for two seats on Ann Arbor’s City Council. Jerry recalls his time in Ann Arbor and discusses influential moments in his life politically and personally. Though Jerry moved to Seattle in 1974, he still remembers his time in Ann Arbor fondly, has visited several times over the years, and has maintained lifelong friendships that began here.