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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 January 27, 2022, Jones met with former members of Citizens for Community and Ypsilanti Campaign for Equality, and former EMU faculty, Myrna Yeakle and Joan Sheard. Yeakle and Sheard were both professors in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and had met while working together. During their careers at EMU, they became trusted members of the community amongst their fellow LGBT colleagues, including Kathleen Russell. Yeakle and Sheard hit the ground running once they found out about the Tri-Pride incident, and met with neighbors and community organizers to push for an ordinance. Because of their experiences with hate and discrimination, and their status as an established "out" couple, they felt they had a responsibility to support the efforts to make the Ypsi community a more welcoming and safe space. Like other participants in this project, Yeakle and Sheard became important figures during the campaigns, working as Outreach officers within YCFE. In this interview, they shared their experiences as LGBT faculty on EMU's campus and how that translated to the Ypsi community, how important it was for the ordinance to be passed, and the broader implications of it all.

Interview Date

1-27-2022

Keywords

Eastern Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University Archives, EMU faculty, EMU Oral History Program, Ypsilanti, Ypsi, Ypsilanti history, Tri-Pride, Kathleen Russell, Jim Toy, Citizens for Community, Ypsilanti Campaign for Equality, nondiscrimination ordinance, social justice, community orgs, community activism, Depot Town, LGBTQ activism

Permission to Use

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

Streaming Media

Myrna Yeakle and Joan Sheard, Oral History Interview, 2022

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