FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DETROIT, Mich. – The ACLU of Michigan kicks off the start of Pride Month today by unveiling a colorful collection of pro-LGBTQ+ banners in the first-floor windows of its office on Woodward Avenue in midtown Detroit. It is an emphatic show of support for a community that’s often singled out for discrimination.
The messages include “Trans People Belong” and “Pride is Still Protest”. One panel depicts a stack of LGBTQ+ books that have been the target of some who want them banned from public schools and libraries. As thousands of people daily pass by the office, they are invited to join the celebration by taking a selfie in front of a favorite windowpane and sending it to the ACLU via the QR code or by adding #ACLUMiPRIDE.
Jay Kaplan, ACLU of Michigan Nancy Katz & Margo Dichtelmiller LGBTQ+ Rights Project Staff Attorney, released this statement:
Pride Month is a time to celebrate the tremendous gains the LGBTQ+ community has made. However, given the challenges our community faces – especially in the form of hateful rhetoric and harmful laws coming from politicians looking to capitalize on their bigotry in places around the country – it is also a time to recommit ourselves to the long struggle for equality. The progress made in Michigan, particularly the successful effort to explicitly include LGBTQ+ people in the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act earlier this year, is truly something to cheer. But it is also crucial that that we encourage the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to continue their commitment to equality by challenging these efforts in our state. The window banners we put up today are just one way of doing that.
Loren Khogali, ACLU of Michigan Executive Director, released this statement:
Given the ferocity of political attacks being waged on the LGBTQ+ community in states around the country – including the heartbreaking targeting of trans children – it is important to send the clear message that those tactics won’t be tolerated here in Michigan. The pro-LGBTQ+ banners that went up on our windows today are one of the ways we’re making certain that message is put out there for all to see during Pride Month.
View and download video and photos of the ACLU of Michigan Pride windows here.
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