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Description

In 2021, Eastern Michigan University Archives lecturer Matt Jones began documenting the story of Ypsilanti’s Human Rights Ordinance #1279 in an effort to explore the ways in which local queer activism has evolved multi-generationally in Ypsilanti. What began as a refusal of service by a local print shop to a small EMU student group quickly turned into a years-long battle over who was deserving of basic human rights. To the LGBTQ activists and community members documented here, they had always been present in the community: working, paying taxes, painting their houses, mowing their lawns, attending council meetings, and even serving on council. This ordinance battle was about more than just LGBT rights—it was about protecting the human rights of all Ypsilantians. On June 6th, 2022, Jones sat down with EMU alum and former Tri-Pride member, Donna Benke. Benke found her way to Eastern in the 1990s, looking to obtain degrees in social work. Noticing the absence of a student org dedicated to LGBTQ students in the Masters in Social Work program, she joined her fellow students in founding Tri-Pride. Later, after the group was denied service by the print shop in 1997 and the incident made its way to the city council, Benke became one of the first students to speak up at the Human Relations Commission Hearings. She continued to be an active presence in Tri-Pride throughout the ordinance campaigns and up until her graduation from EMU in 1998. In this interview, she recounts how her academic and personal backgrounds impacted the way she navigated the campaigns, how the Tri-Pride students supported each other, and the lessons she took with her afterwards.

Interview Date

6-6-2022

Keywords

Eastern Michigan University Archives, EMU Oral History Program, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti history, LGBTQ history, LGBTQ, nondiscrimination ordinance, community organizations, discrimination, Ann Arbor, local government, community activism, LGBTQ activism, LGBTQ allies, Tri-Pride, social work, Kathleen Russell, Citizens for Community, Depot Town, PFLAG, student orgs, coming out, MSW Program

Permission to Use

Permission to quote from this oral history should be requested from the University Archives (lib_archives@emich.edu).

Streaming Media

Donna Benke, Oral History Interview, 2022

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