Jim Toy Community Center

Pride Month is about to conclude, and important community conversations have been taking place. It's a month-long celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, focusing on their contributions, achievements and the ongoing fight for equality. WEMU's David Fair wraps up Pride month with Joe Halsch, president of the Jim Toy Community Center in Ann Arbor.

Same-sex marriage is still banned in Michigan’s State Constitution and would become de jure law if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 2015 ruling that legalized the practice. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has a local perspective on the matter.

Several Michigan state representatives desiring the reversal of same-sex marriage are hoping to pass a resolution condemning it. Long-time Ann Arbor LGBT Rights organization the Jim Toy Center for decades advocated for same-sex marriage and is ready to fight again to uphold it. WEMU’s Ana Longoria reports.

Among the series of executive orders President Trump issued last week are policies rolling back DEI initiatives and federally recognizing only two genders. Ann Arbor’s pioneering LGBT organization, the Jim Toy Community Center, is preparing to address these challenges. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has more.

Expect large crowds on the streets of downtown this weekend for Ann Arbor Pride 2024. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has the details.

June is Pride Month, and it is be celebrated in a number of ways throughout Washtenaw County. It is also an opportunity for education and awareness. There is a good deal of conversation around the country about the use of pronouns and about how members of the LGBTQ+ community identify themselves. Joe Halsch is president of the Jim Toy Community Center in Ann Arbor. He joined WEMU’s David Fair to share the kinds of conversations he and the center are creating around these issues.

Ann Arbor’s LGBTQ community is celebrating the Michigan Supreme Court's decision that determined the state constitution does ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender indentity. But, as WEMU's Cathy Shafran reports, it’s just a first step.

As Pride Month continues, we remember a trailblazing, social justice force that forever changed Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. Jim Toy passed away this year at the age of 91, but his work not only lives on, but it also continues to grow in his name. WEMU's David Fair is joined by Jim Toy Community Center board member, Leigh Greden. Together, they explore the community and attitudinal changes Mr. Toy brought forth on behalf of the LGBTQ community and the work his legacy requires to be carried forward.

The Jim Toy Community Center will close its brick-and-mortar office space at Braun Court in Ann Arbor by the end of January. Jim Toy Community Center…

The mass shooting in Orlando, Florida has left many LGBT communities across the country concerned after a gay nightclub was the target. The Jim Toy…