Download

Transcript (204 KB)

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 February 23 and March 2 of 2022, Jones talked with long time Ypsilantian, community organizer and activist, and member of Campaign for Equality and Citizens for Community, Lisa Marshall Bashert. When she moved to the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti areas, Bashert found herself laying activist roots and finding acceptance despite her conservative religious upbringing. She volunteered with LGMPO, where she became close friends with Ayron Smith-Douglas, and got to know Jim Toy. Bashert participated in things like Take Back the Night marches at U of M, and the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project. When the ordinance campaigns kicked off, she and her wife, Beth Bashert, became involved right from the start after experiencing discrimination in Ypsilanti themselves. From there, Bashert dedicated her time to supporting her community, forming close relationships with other members of C4C and YCFE, and organizing some of the earliest LGBTQ events in Ypsi. She became deeply entangled within the efforts, and recalls just how difficult it was to process things like the city council hearings and homophobia. In this interview, Bashert shares some of the ways that campaign members would try to process those feelings and how they supported each other. She also dives into some of the culture and community building programs she helped organize during the ordinance efforts, how her social world was shifting and changing, and how she's seen Ypsi's sense of community evolve.

This interview contains discussion of topics that may be sensitive for some listeners, such as homophobic language and violence against queer people.

Interview Date

2-23-2022

Keywords

Eastern Michigan University Archives, Eastern Michigan University, EMU oral history program, Citizens for Community, Ypsilanti Campaign for Equality, Out Loud Chorus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, LGMPO, Jim Toy, community orgs, PFLAG, NGLTF, community activism, nondiscrimination ordinance, LGBTQ activism, social justice, Tri-Pride, WRAP, community care, same-sex marriage, diaries

Permission to Use

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

Streaming Media

Lisa Marshall Bashert, Oral History Interview, 2022

Share

COinS