Name: Detroit Comes Out
Start: 2024-09-28T11:00:00-04:00
End: 2024-09-28T13:00:00-04:00
Location: City Tour Detroit

Historic walking tour celebrates Detroit's Gay history by uncovering the many stories & events behind the fight for equality and acceptance. Led by local historian Michael Boettcher.
What to Expect
On this walking tour which provides historic context to the Gay Pride Movement, you’ll:
Visit the places where the LGBTQ+ community gathered, socialized, and supported one another in a time when acceptance was scarce.
Explore the streets and parks that served as important cruising areas and venues for protests, where LGBTQ+ Detroiters made their voices heard.
Meet colorful figures such as the charismatic “Prophet Jones,” aka “Messiah in Mink,” a local religious leader of national fame whose sexuality was an “open secret,” and the legendary jazz and blues singer Bessie Smith, whose songs about Detroit’s “buffet flats” captured the spirit of the time.
Discover the captivating story of Johnnie Ray, the music legend mentioned in the hit song "C'mon Eileen” and dubbed the “Father of Rock and Roll” by Tony Bennett. Ray’s electrifying performances and emotional singing style made him a household name, but it was the sensational headlines of his arrests in Detroit that shook the music industry and brought to light the vibrant and often hidden gay scene of the time.
Learn about several major figures from Detroit’s past who were undoubtedly gay but didn’t live in a time where they could publicly express their true identities.
Saturdays: July 27, August 24, September 28, 2024.
Private group tours can be scheduled. Contact us for availability.