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metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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NEWS & VIEWS Feedback Readers resp onded to last w eek ’s c ov er story ab out the return of the M ov ement M usic F estiv al to Detroit’s H art P laz a. T h i s i s al way s t h e b es t f es t i v al , wh en I was 1 8 m y p aren t s s ai d I c o u l dn ’ t g o b u t g u es s wh at I di d an d h av en ’ t ev er s t o p p ed s i n c e t h en ! C an ’ t wai t t o b e b ac k at an am az i n g ev en t . — @ p ep p eranne1 2 3 , I nstag ram P l en t y o f f es t i v al s i n o t h er s t at es h ap p en ed aro u n d t h at t i m e l as t y ear ( U b b i D u b b i i n T ex as , S u n s et i n T am p a, F o rb i dden K i n g do m i n O rl an do ) b u t o u r g o v ern o r was b ei n g a c o n t ro l f reak . — Chris Gordon, F ac eb ook
U m , l et m e t h i n k . O h y eah , T E X A S an d F L O R I D U H . O u r g o v ern o r t ri ed t o k eep u s s af e s o u s n u rs es c o u l d k eep u p . — M ary J o Rosen, F ac eb ook Readers also resp onded to new s that Russian DJ N ina K rav iz p ulled out of the f estiv al due to b ac k lash ag ainst the w ar in U k raine. H o w h y p o c ri t i c al f o r A m eri c an s t o j u dg e s o m eo n e f ro m ab ro ad, b ec au s e s h e i s n ’ t c al l i n g o u t h er o wn c o u n t ry f o r i n v adi n g an o t h er. I raq , S y ri a, Y em en . . . t h e s h o rt l i s t . . . . A m eri c an s di dn ’ t k n o w. A n d t h at i s o u r p res s . — M ic hael P anyard, F ac eb ook H av e a c omment? O f c ourse you do! S ound off: letters@metrotimes.com.
Vol. 42 | No. 32 | May June 1-7, 2022
News & Views Feedback ............................... 4
Publisher - Chris Keating Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen
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EDITORIAL
Informed Dissent .................. 8
Editor in Chief - Lee DeVito Digital Content Editor - Alex Washington Investigative Reporter - Steve Neavling Staff Writer - Randiah Camille Green
The Incision......................... 10
ADVERTISING
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metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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NEWS & VIEWS
Park or race track? Belle Isle pictured in May 26, 2017.
JAMES PIEDMONT
Good riddance to the Grand Prix on Detroit’s Belle Isle The geniuses who oversee Detroit’s island gem clearly can only parse the word ‘park’ to mean a place to put cars By M ic hael Betz old
The last time I
ro de m y rec u m b en t b i k e o n B el l e I s l e — du ri n g t h e wi n t er o f 2 0 1 9 - 2 0 — m y wh eel s h ad a s i g n o n t h e b ac k u rg i n g “ N O P R I X O N B E L L E I S L E .” N o w I ’ m b ac k — j u s t i n t i m e t o s ee t h e l as t G ran d P ri x o n B el l e I s l e, s c h edu l ed f o r J u n e 3 - 5 — an d t o o b s erv e t h e continuing e orts of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its eq u al l y t o n e- deaf c o l l eag u es o n t h e B el l e I s l e P ark A dv i s o ry C o m m i t t ee (BIPAC) to “improve” the island, mostly with more pavement. T h en an d n o w, i t ’ s b as i c al l y t h e same lovely place — unique in the c o n t i n en t , i f n o t t h e wo rl d. F rei g h t ers s q u eez e t h ro u g h t h e n arro ws b et ween t wo c o u n t ri es , s o m et i m es b l o c k i n g t h e v i ew o f W i n ds o r h i g h - ri s es . I t s eem s impossible there’s enough water for them to draft. It’s magic. Speedboats roar o Lake St. Clair around smaller b o at s t rawl i n g f o r wal l ey es . W h en I ri de as the day dawns, I see a couple of other
f o l k s j o g g i n g , wal k i n g , c y c l i n g , o r j u s t do i n g wh at v i s i t o rs h av e al way s do n e t h ere: s i t t i n g i n t h ei r c ars an d l o o k i n g at the water, seeking a respite from the c i t y . T h e o t h er day I s aw a m an wi t h a professional camera set up to capture t h e b al d eag l e t h at i s i n t h e s am e t ree where I used to spot it perching. A n d al s o , as al way s , I s ee s eag u l l s pecking at discarded food trash on the ro ad, g ees e an d g o s l i n g s j ay wal k i n g , a f ew du c k s , ev en an o c c as i o n al s wan . But around the east end is the supposed last ugly footprint of an entitled b i l l i o n ai re: c o n c ret e b arri ers , g ran ds t an ds , t ru c k s o n t en ac res o f c o n c ret e wh ere t h ere was o n c e a m em o ri al g ro v e of trees for slain Detroit children. It’s as i n c o n g ru o u s as ev er. T h e c ar rac e h as h ad an i n del i b l e impact on the perception of Belle Isle nature taking a backseat to asphalt and concrete. This misconception could only happen in the Motor City, an entire metropolis of automotive
6 June 1-7, 2022 | metrotimes.com
h eg em o n y — t h e c o n c ret e di t c h es , t h e s em i - ab an do n ed s u b u rb an m al l s , t h e sprawling acres of abandoned middleclass neighborhoods sacrificed to the imperative of rapid escape to suburbia. Y o u c an c o u n t er b y s ay i n g B el l e I s l e i s an urban park — which is quite an absurd concept, given it’s surrounded by an i n t ern at i o n al wat erway — an d t h at we’ve got plenty of nature (if you can g et o u t t o K en s i n g t o n o r S t o n y C reek i n the suburbs). But isn’t Central Park in N ew Y o rk m u c h m o re u rb an , an d do es it sacrifice nature to pavement? No. T h e g en i u s es wh o o v ers ee B el l e I s l e clearly can only parse the word “park” to mean a place to put cars. So they wo u l dn ’ t ev en i m ag i n e t h ey c o u l d destroy the paddock to return it to trees and grass — no, they plan to stripe it for parking spaces and make it the terminus for a gas-powered trolley to take visitors to other paved parking areas. How many folks will put their picnic baskets and swim gear aboard trolleys?
I do u b t en o u g h t o m ak e an y n o t i c eab l e impact on summer overcrowding. The island is still a great place to bike i n earl y m o rn i n g — b u t n o t b ec au s e o f an y t h i n g t h e s t at e o r R o g er P en s k e h as done, like paving a couple of segments o f wh at I g u es s i s t h e “ I ro n B el l e T rai l ” t h at are u s el es s f o r b i k e ri di n g b ec au s e t h ey s t art an d t erm i n at e i n di rt o r g rav el o r g ras s . W i t h P en s k e n o w g et t i n g a s weet er corporate welfare package downtown, h e’ s m o v i n g h i s rac e b ac k t h ere. A n d he’ll get less gu from the likes of me and the other gad ies on the grassroots group Belle Isle Concern. (We like to imagine we had some role in pushing him o the island after years of trying.) My advice to the park advisory committee pick up the trash and sweep the roads in the park each night. Otherwi s e, l et i t b e. B u t t h at ’ s t o o m u n dan e, and it doesn’t require spending more grant money on multi-modal transport at i o n s t u di es .
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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NEWS & VIEWS
The high level of maternal mortality among Black women is a product of something Republicans say doesn’t exist: systemic racism.
Informed Dissent
Banning abortion and critical race theory will hurt Black women effre
“African Americans have
a h i g h er i n c i den c e o f m at ern al m o rt al i t y , ” L o u i s i an a S en . B i l l C as s i dy t o l d P olitico o n M ay 1 9 . “ S o , i f y o u c o rrec t o u r p o p u l at i o n f o r rac e, we’ re n o t as m u c h o f an o u t l i er as i t ’ d o t h erwi s e ap p ear. ” U n ders t an dab l y , t h at rem ark q u i c k l y m et wi t h a t s u n am i o f deri s i o n . T o c ri t i c s , C as s i dy , a p h y s i c i an , h ad b et ray ed t h e c al l o u s n es s t h o s e wh o wan t t o b an ab o rt i o n f eel t o ward t h e wo m en t h ey ’ re f o rc i n g t o g i v e b i rt h . A n d, i n deed, t h ere i s s o m et h i n g discomfiting about a U.S. senator sayi n g t h at ex c ep t f o r B l ac k p eo p l e — wh o c o m p ri s e a t h i rd o f h i s s t at e’ s p o p u l ation — everything is fine. ( t er ise o st e l rs. i col ) B u t we s h o u l d f o c u s o n wh at C as s i dy s ai d n ex t . “ N o w, I s ay t h at n o t t o m i n i m i z e t h e i s s u e b u t t o f o c u s t h e i s s u e as t o wh ere i t wo u l d b e, ” h e s ai d. “ F o r wh at ev er reas o n , p eo p l e o f c o l o r h av e a h i g h er i n c i den c e o f m at ern al m o rt al i t y . ” or te er re so . T h e U . S . h as t h e wo rs t m at ern al m o rt al i t y rat e o f an y dev el o p ed n at i o n . L o u i s i an a h as o n e o f t h e wo rs t m at ern al m o rt al i t y rat es i n t h e U . S . P reg n an c y - as s o c i at ed deat h s are f o u r t i m es m o re c o m m o n i n L o u i s i an a am o n g B l ac k wo m en t h an am o n g wh i t e
. illm wo m en . N o t c o i n c i den t al l y , L o u i s i an a h as s o m e o f t h e s t ri c t es t an t i ab o rt i o n l aws in the country, defining a fetus as a h u m an b ei n g f ro m “ t h e m o m en t o f f ert i l i z at i o n an d i m p l an t at i o n . ” A s s o o n as Roe f al l s , ab o rt i o n wi l l b e b an n ed. E arl i er t h i s m o n t h , L o u i s i an a R ep u b l i c an s c o n s i dered a b i l l t h at wo u l d m ak e o b t ai n i n g an ab o rt i o n a h o m i c i de, t h o u g h t h at p ro v ed a b ri dg e t o o f ar ev en f o r t h e R i g h t t o L i f e c ro wd. I n s t ead, t h ey ’ l l l i k el y c ri m i n al i z e p ro v i di n g ab o rt i o n s . I s ay ot coi ci e t ll b ec au s e s t at es wi t h m o re res t ri c t i v e ab o rt i o n p o l i c i es h av e a 7 % h i g h er m at ern al m o rt al i t y rat e t h an s t at es wi t h l es s res t ri c t i v e l aws , ac c o rdi n g t o a 2 0 2 1 s t u dy i n t h e meric o r lo lic e lt . I n s t at es l i k e L o u i s i an a t h at p i l e o n res t ri c t i o n s — g es t at i o n al ag e, u l t ras o u n ds , p aren t al c o n s en t , c o u n s el i n g , wai t i n g p eri o ds , res t ri c t i o n s o n h eal t h i n s u ran c e f u n di n g — t o t al m at ern al m o rt al i t y i s m o re t h an 3 0 % h i g h er t h an i n s t at es wi t h o u t t h em . W h en s t at es den y wo m en ac c es s t o ab o rt i o n , wo m en are m o re l i k el y t o t ry t o t erm i n at e t h ei r p reg n an c i es t h ro u g h u n s af e, i l l eg al m et h o ds , wh i c h p u t s t h ei r l i v es at ri s k . A b o rt i o n res t ri c t i o n s c an al s o f o rc e wo m en wi t h c h ro n i c c o n -
8 June 1-7, 2022 | metrotimes.com
SHUTTERSTOCK
di t i o n s — wh i c h are b e ex ac erb at ed b y p reg n an c y — t o c arry t h ei r p reg n an c i es t o t erm , p u t t i n g t h ei r l i v es an d h eal t h i n dan g er. “ F u rt h erm o re, ” t h e au t h o rs wro t e, “ wh i l e t h ere i s n o ev i den c e s u p p o rt i n g n eg at i v e l as t i n g i m p ac t s f ro m o b t ai n i n g an ab o rt i o n , wo m en f o rc ed t o rem ai n p reg n an t are m o re l i k el y t o rem ai n i n u n h eal t h y rel at i o n s h i p s , s u f f er m en t al an d p h y s i c al h eal t h c o n s eq u en c es , l i v e i n p o v ert y , an d h av e l o wer l i f e s at i s f ac t i o n . ” T h e s t u dy ’ s l i n k b et ween ab o rt i o n res t ri c t i o n s an d i n c reas ed m at ern al m o rt al i t y ac c o u n t s f o r dem o g rap h i c an d s o c i o ec o n o m i c f ac t o rs s u c h as p o v ert y , edu c at i o n , an d p u b l i c h eal t h s p en di n g . B u t t h e s t u dy p o i n t s o u t t h at , p u t t i n g ab o rt i o n as i de, t h o s e v ari ab l es ex p l ai n wh y n o t o n l y c o n s erv at i v e s t at es t en d t o h av e h i g h er rat es o f m at ern al deat h s , b u t l arg er rac i al di s p ari t i es , t o o . “ I n t h i s s t u dy , ” t h e au t h o rs wro t e, “ s t at es wi t h h i g h es t n u m b ers o f ab o rt i o n - res t ri c t i n g l aws h ad t h e wo rs t s o c i o ec o n o m i c c o n di t i o n s . S u c h h arm f u l s o c i al c o n t ex t , c h arac t eri z ed b y h i g h p o v ert y , a l ac k o f h eal t h c are s af et y n et an d p ai d f am i l y l eav e, s y s t em i c rac i s m , an d h i s t o ri c al di s i n v es t m en t s i n c o m p reh en s i v e c o m m u n i t y - o ri en t ed p ri m ary c are, p art i c u l arl y i n c o m m u n i t i es o f c o l o r, are ro o t c au s es o f p ers i s t en t rac i al i n eq u i t i es i n m at ern al deat h . ” W h i c h b ri n g s u s b ac k t o C as s i dy : “ or te er re so , p eo p l e o f c o l o r h av e a h i g h er i n c i den c e o f m at ern al m o rt al i t y . ” T h e reas o n s — p l u ral — aren ’ t a m y s t ery . P o v ert y . P o o r ac c es s t o p ren at al c are, es p ec i al l y i n ru ral areas . I n adeq u at e p u b l i c h eal t h s p en di n g .
A s t u dy p u b l i s h ed i n 2 0 2 0 f o u n d t h at “ eac h 1 0 % i n c reas e i n p reg n an c y rel at ed p u b l i c h eal t h ex p en di t u res was as s o c i at ed wi t h a 1 3 . 5 % dec l i n e i n [ m at ern al m o rt al i t y ] am o n g [ B l ac k wo m en ] an d a 2 0 . 0 % redu c t i o n i n B l ac k - wh i t e di s p ari t i es . ” U l t i m at el y , t h e h i g h l ev el o f m at ern al m o rt al i t y am o n g B l ac k L o u i s i an an s t h at C as s i dy l am en t s i s a p ro du c t o f s o m et h i n g h e an d o t h er R ep u b l i c an s s ay do es n ’ t ex i s t , an d s o m et h i n g t h ey do n ’ t wan t wh i t e c h i l dren b ei n g t au g h t i s real : s y s t em i c rac i s m . B l ac k A m eri c an s “ are l es s l i k el y t o rec ei v e p ro p er c are f o r di ab et es , k i dn ey di s eas e, an d v ari o u s c an c ers ev en t h o u g h t h ey h av e h i g h er rat es o f al m o s t e, v ery di s eas e, ” D r. A aro n E . C arro l l wro t e i n t h e o r l o t e meric e ic l ssoci tio e lt F o ru m , addi n g , “ B l ac k p ers o n s i n t h e U . S . f ac e ro adb l o c k s i n ev ery as p ec t o f h eal t h c are … . T h ey are l es s l i k el y t o b e ab l e t o ac c es s h eal t h c are. I f t h ey are ab l e t o do s o , t h ey are l es s l i k el y t o g et t h e c are t h ey n eed t o rem ai n h eal t h y . ” T o dri v e t h e p o i n t h o m e: “ S i c k l e c el l disease a ects three times as many people in the U.S. as cystic fibrosis,” Carroll wrote. “ et cystic fibrosis receives 11 t i m es as m u c h f u n di n g p er p at i en t f ro m t h e f ederal g o v ern m en t , an d 4 4 0 t i m es m o re f u n di n g f ro m f o u n dat i o n s . ” S i c k l e- c el l di s eas e p redo m i n an t l y af f ec t s p eo p l e o f A f ri c an , M i ddl e E as t ern , an d M edi t erran ean des c en t . C y s t i c fibrosis is common among those with N o rt h ern E u ro p ean an c es t ry . A n o t h er ex am p l e: B l ac k L o u i s i an s are m o re t h an t wi c e as l i k el y t o di e o f C O V I D - 1 9 t h an t h ei r wh i t e c o u n t erparts, according to the Public A airs R es earc h C o u n c i l o f L o u i s i an a — a di s p ari t y S en . C as s i dy b l am ed o n o b es i t y . B u t h i g h er rat es o f o b es i t y i n m i n o ri t y p o p u l at i o n s are al s o i n ex t ri c ab l y l i n k ed t o s y s t em i c rac i s m an d a l ac k o f ac c es s t o h eal t h c are an d h eal t h y f o o d. A l l o f t h i s i s wo v en t o g et h er — ab o rt i o n t o m at ern al m o rt al i t y , m at ern al m o rt al i t y t o s o c i al det erm i n an t s o f h eal t h , s o c i al det erm i n an t s o f h eal t h t o s y s t em i c rac i s m . Y et t h e s am e p eo p l e wh o wan t t o b an ab o rt i o n p ret en d we c an ’ t k n o w wh y wo m en o f c o l o r are m o re l i k el y t o di e b ec au s e o f c h i l db i rt h wh i l e — t h o u g h b i l l s b arri n g c ri t i c al rac e t h eo ry — p ro h i b i t i n g s c h o o l s f ro m di s c u s s i n g t h e l eg ac y o f s l av ery an d s eg reg at i o n . A n d wh en t h ey b an ab o rt i o n an d m at ern al deat h s i n c reas e — p art i c u l arl y am o n g wo m en o f c o l o r — t h ey ’ l l m ak e a p erf o rm an c e ab o u t s earc h i n g f o r an s wers t o an i n ex p l i c ab l e, u n f o rs eeab l e q u es t i o n t h at a f ew m i n u t es o n G o o g l e c o u l d h av e s o l v ed y ears ag o . et more t illm
.s
st c .com.
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
9
NEWS & VIEWS
People kill people… with guns. Preventing killers from having the most murderous weapons is the best way to prevent their murders. Politicians who won’t admit that are the problem.
SHUTTERSTOCK
The Incision
Yes, this is about guns By A b dul E l- S ayed
I can’t bring m
y s el f t o wat c h t h e n ews o u t o f U v al de, T ex as . A s a f at h er, t h e s adn es s o f p aren t s g ri ev i n g t h e p rev en t ab l e m u rders o f t h ei r c h i l dren i s t o o p ai n f u l t o ev en c o n t em p l at e. I c an ’ t i m ag i n e h av i n g t o l i v e i t l i k e 1 9 f am i l i es are b ei n g f o rc ed t o ri g h t n o w. T h ere’ s l i t t l e I c an wri t e t h at h as n ’ t al ready b een wri t t en , l i t t l e I c an s h are ab o u t t h e em o t i o n s t h at h av en ’ t al ready b een f el t . B u t h ere, I wan t t o t al k ab o u t t h e q u es t i o n we s h o u l d h av e an s wered a l o n g t i m e ag o : H o w do we p rev en t t h es e k i n ds o f m as s m u rders ? W h i l e n o t wo murderers are t h e s am e, t h e m u rders t h ey c o m m i t s h are s o m e c o m m o n c h arac t eri s t i c s — s o m e l eas t c o m m o n den o m i n at o rs . P rev en t i n g t h em req u i res u s t o f o c u s o n t h o s e. A n d m o re t h an an y o t h er c h arac t eri s t i c , t h e s i n g l e m o s t s al i en t c h arac t eri s t i c s h ared b et ween m as s m u rders i s t h e weap o n t h e m u rderers c h o o s e: A g u n — an d n o t j u s t an y g u n , b u t s em i automatic assault-style ri es. That’s the k i n d o f g u n t h at h as n o u s e ex c ep t f o r s h o o t i n g a l o t o f p eo p l e i n a s h o rt p eri o d o f t i m e. Y o u do n ’ t h u n t deer wi t h an A R - 1 5 ; t h ey ’ re m ade t o h u n t p eo p l e. O p p o n en t s o f g u n ref o rm wi l l arg u e t h at t h e v as t m aj o ri t y o f g u n o wn ers wi l l n ev er c o m m i t a m u rder. T h at ’ s t ru e. T h ey ’ l l arg u e t h at m u rders c an b e c o m m i t t ed wi t h o u t g u n s . T h at ’ s al s o
t ru e. T h ey ’ l l p o i n t t o t h e m i n ds et o f t h e m u rderers . A f t er al l , ev ery s i n g l e m as s m u rderer h as a c o m p l ex f ram ewo rk o f s o c i al , em o t i o n al , an d c i rc u m s t an t i al f ac t o rs t h at l ed t h em t o t h i s . F i n e. S o , y es , o f c o u rs e we s h o u l d f o rc e ac c o u n t ab i l i t y o n s o c i al m edi a p l at f o rm s t h at radi c al i z e an d i s o l at e v u l n erab l e p eo p l e. O f c o u rs e we s h o u l d i n v es t i n m o re b ro adl y av ai l ab l e m en t al h eal t h s erv i c es . A n d y es , l et ’ s t ac k l e p o v ert y an d t h e c i rc u m s t an c es t h at c o m p o u n d i s o l at i o n , v u l n erab i l i t y , an d p o o r m en t al h eal t h . I ’ m f o r al l o f t h o s e t h i n g s . L et ’ s do t h em ! B u t n o n e o f t h em wo u l d addres s t h e s i n g l e t h i n g t h at m as s s h o o t ers h av e i n c o m m o n : they p ull a trig g er. G u n s are A m eri c an m as s m u rder’ s l eas t c o m m o n den o m i n at o r. I t ’ s t ru e s t at i s t i c al l y – m o re g u n o wn ers h i p p redi c t s m o re g u n deat h s . A n d i t ’ s t ru e an ec do t al l y , b o t h m as s m u rders o v er t h e p as t t wo week s were p erp et rat ed b y 1 8 - y ear- o l ds wh o b o u g h t weap o n s o f war leg ally. S o wh at s t an ds i n o u r way ? G u n ap o l ogists argue that any e ort to reduce g u n ac c es s am o n g wo u l d- b e m u rderers wo u l d ri s k i n f ri n g i n g o n A m eri c an s ’ ri g h t t o “ b ear arm s . ” L et ’ s s t ep b ac k h ere t o an al y z e wh et h er y o u c an c al l ac c es s t o a g u n an ac t u al “ ri g h t . ” P h i l o s o p h ers s p eak o f “ p o s i t i v e” an d “ n eg at i v e” ri g h t s . N eg a-
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t i v e ri g h t s are t h o s e t h i n g s t h at o t h ers s h al l n o t t ak e away — t h at y o u c an n o t b e den i ed as a f unc tion of b eing human. T h e ri g h t t o b reat h e c l ean ai r o r s p eak as y o u c h o o s e t o wi t h o u t i n f ri n g em en t b y y o u r g o v ern m en t — t h o s e are t h i n g s t h at c an n o t b e t ak en away f ro m y o u . T h en t h ere are “ p o s i t i v e” ri g h t s . T h o s e are t h i n g s t h at y o u o u g h t t o b e provided in order to live a dignified life. T h e ri g h t t o an edu c at i o n o r h o u s i n g o r h eal t h c are. B u t g u n s ? G u n s do n ’ t add t o o u r l i v es . T h ey t ak e t h em . W e are t h e o n l y c o u n t ry i n t h e wo rl d t h at i n an y way en u m erat es a ri g h t t o arm s . A n d ev en t h at ’ s u p f o r deb at e. E x t rem i s t s wo u l d h av e y o u t h i n k t h at t h e S ec o n d A m en dm en t i m p l i es an y o n e h as a ri g h t t o h av e an y g u n , an y wh ere at an y t i m e. B u t l et ’ s l o o k at wh at i t real l y s ay s : “ A wel l reg u l at ed M i l i t i a, b ei n g n ec es s ary t o t h e s ec u ri t y o f a f ree S t at e, t h e ri g h t o f t h e p eo p l e t o k eep an d b ear A rm s , s h al l n o t b e i n f ri n g ed. ” Regulation shows up in the first t h ree wo rds ! A n d i t ’ s c o u c h ed i n t h e n o t i o n t h at t h o s e ri g h t s ex i s t t o p ro t ec t ac c es s t o a “ wel l reg u l at ed m i l i t i a. ” I t ’ s al s o wh y i t g u aran t ees t h e ri g h t t o “ t h e p eo p l e, ” rat h er t h an ev ery p ers o n , t o “ k eep an d b ear A rm s . ” T h e m ean i n g o f “ A rm s ” h as al s o c h an g ed s i n c e t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n was ratified. Those were the times of mus-
k et b al l s t h at y o u h ad t o rel o ad af t er ev ery s h o t . T h e f ram ers c o u l d n o t h av e i m ag i n ed t h e l as er g u i ded h i g h - c ap ac ity semi-automatic assault ri es their wo rds wo u l d al l o w t o p ro l i f erat e. U n t i l 2 0 0 8 , t h e S ec o n d A m en dm en t was i n t erp ret ed as a c o l l ec t i v e, rat h er t h an i n di v i du al ri g h t . M ean i n g t h at c o m m u n i t i es h ad a ri g h t t o a “ wel l reg u l at ed M i l i t i a. ” T h at was u n t i l t h e S u p rem e C o u rt rev i s ed t h at i n t erp ret at i o n i n Distric t of Columb ia v . H eller i n 2 0 0 8 . I n t h at ru l i n g , t h e c o u rt s t ru c k do wn a W as h i n g t o n , D . C . , l aw b an n i n g h an dg u n s an d req u i ri n g t h at l o n g g u n s b e s t o red di s as s em b l ed an d u n l o aded. T h e C o u rt h el d t h at t h e l aw i n f ri n g ed o n an indiv idual ri g h t t o b ear arm s — i n t erp ret i n g t h at i n di v i du al ri g h t i n t o ex i s t en c e. Y et t h e c o u rt ’ s i n t erp ret at i o n i s v as t l y o u t o f s t ep wi t h t h e A m eri c an p u b l i c , wh o b y wi de m arg i n s s u p p o rt as s au l t weap o n an d h i g h - c ap ac i t y m ag az i n e b an s , u n i v ers al b ac k g ro u n d c h ec k s , red ag laws, and other sensible gun p o l i c i es . W h at ’ s s t o p p i n g u s f ro m p as s i n g t h o s e l aws ? P o l i t i c al ex t rem i s m . The National Ri e Association has f u l l y c ap t u red t h e G O P — s u p p o rt i n g an y t h i n g s h o rt o f an y g u n f o r an y o n e, an y wh ere, an y t i m e wo u l d b e p u n i s h ed t h ro u g h t h e p o l i t i c al p ri m ary p ro c es s . C o n s i der T ex as S en at o r T ed C ru z wh o h ad t h e g al l t o b l am e t h e U v al de m as s ac re o n … t h e f ac t t h at t h e s c h o o l h ad a b ac k do o r. T h e i ro n y , o f c o u rs e, i s t h at t h e s am e p eo p l e wh o are o p p o s i n g g u n ref o rm s el f - s t y l e as “ p ro - l i f e. ” I t s eem s t h ey v al u e t h e l i v es o f u n b o rn f et u s es m o re t h an t h e v al u e o f ac t u al c h i l dren — b ec au s e t h ey v al u e t h e ri g h t s o f g u n s t o b e o wn ed m o re t h an t h e ri g h t s o f wo m en t o c h o o s e wh et h er o r n o t t o c arry a p reg n an c y . M ean wh i l e, a f ew D em o c rat s c are m o re ab o u t an arc an e p arl i am en t ary procedure than finally canning the filibuster and passing sensible gun ref o rm . O t h ers , i n c l u di n g t h e en t i re D em o c rat i c H o u s e l eaders h i p , j u s t b ac k ed an an t i - ab o rt i o n D em o c rat wi t h an A rat i n g f ro m t h e N R A wh o s e h o m e was rai ded b y t h e F B I i n a S o u t h T ex as H o u s e di s t ri c t o v er h i s p ro g res s i v e p ri m ary c h al l en g er. I t ’ s b een t en y ears s i n c e el em en t ary ag ed c h i l dren were m u rdered b y a m as s s h o o t er i n t h ei r s c h o o l s at S an dy H o o k . M o s t o f t h e c h i l dren wh o were k i l l ed i n U v al de h adn ’ t b een b o rn y et . T h ey l i v ed t h ei r en t i re l i v es i n a wo rl d wh ere we k n ew t h e ri s k s t h ey f ac ed, an d f ai l ed t o p rev en t t h em an y way . O rig inally p ub lished M ay 2 6 in T he I nc ision. Get more at ab dulelsayed. sub stac k . c om.
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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FEATURE
Month-long exhibit ‘Mighty Real/Queer Detroit’ celebrates 77 years of LGBTQ art across 17 galleries By Randiah Camille Green
Despite the narrative some
conservatives and uninformed clowns try to push, being LGBTQ is not a “liberal trend” that just emerged within the last decade. Queer people have always been a part of society, making integral contributions to art and culture, especially here in Detroit. Take LeRoy Foster, for example, a gay Detroit painter who performed under the drag persona Martini Marti back in 1945. Foster painted several historic murals for the city including “The Life & Times of Frederick Douglass” at the Detroit Public Library Douglass Branch,
and “Renaissance City” at the original Cass Tech depicting the city’s rise from the ashes of the 1967 rebellion. He was a longtime friend to prominent Detroiters like Charles McGee and Charles H. Wright, even painting a portrait of the latter (which the Charles H. Wright Museum reportedly still has). Yet most Detroiters have probably never heard LeRoy Foster’s name. That will change during Mighty Real/ Queer Detroit, a month-long exhibit
in June highlighting the work of more than 150 queer Detroit artists. Paintings, photography, and drawings from 1945 all the way to 2022 will be spread across 17 galleries, celebrating 77 years of ueer art in etroit. It’s the first event of its kind, and Foster is one of the artists being honored this year. Mighty Real/Queer Detroit may just be the biggest exhibition of queer art in the world to date, according to organizer and curator Patrick Burton.
“Joy Ride,” oil, acrylic, rhinestones, and paper on canvas. | MIEYOSHI RAGERNOIR
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“And it’s not happening in New York, or Chicago, it’s happening here in Detroit,” he emphasizes. “We wanted to use Pride month to present a cultural perspective because usually pride is about parades and parties. We wanted to really fill a void and highlight the artistic community. For many years queer art has been overlooked or underrepresented in art spaces.” The exhibit will have more than 700 works, including poetry and perfor-
HERE COMES THE
“Self Portrait: Photographic Memory,” oil on wood panel. | BAKPAK DURDEN
mance art, and a lineup of special events planned for the month. It sounds like a lot (and it is), but you have a whole month to see it all. It opens across Friday, June 3-Sunday, June 5. After that, the art will be up for the duration of June. Burton hopes to host the show every two years. Participating galleries are Cass Cafe, Galerie Camille, Detroit Artists Market, M Contemporary Art, N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Playground Detroit, Norwest Gallery of Art, the carab Club, atch Art, A rmations, Anton Art Center, Collected Detroit, the College for Creative Studies, David Klein Gallery, Public Pool, Oloman Cafe+Gallery, and the Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit. Each gallery in the city-wide show tells its own story with a theme that unites the work on display. “I, Too, Am America” is the concept at the N’Namdi Center, for example, which is taken from Langston Hughes’ poetry book of the same name. The art here reflects on not only being Black and queer, but on speaking up and having a voice. Initially, MR/QD was supposed to be a smaller-scale show in 2020, but it got pushed back to 2021, and then again to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a way, the double delay was like a blessing in disguise, as interest in the show grew over time. Back in 2020, Burton planned on the exhibit being held across three galleries, but more kept reaching out to him to be
involved. “It just kept expanding and growing in size and scope, I think, because of the real need for something like this,” he says. “More galleries wanted to get in on this, then Rochelle Riley (from the city’s Arts and Culture department) got involved and wanted us to get even more artists. In the summer of 2021 we were maybe at 10 galleries, and now we have 17 spaces. This is really a grassroots project, and that we were able to bring together this many artists shows how enthusiastic people are to work on this.” Burton, who grew up frequenting queer Detroit discotheques in the ’70s, curated the exhibit to highlight both established and emerging artists, as well as those whose careers were cut short by HIV/AIDS. To explore the history of LGBTQ+ art in Detroit, you have to start with LeRoy Foster. “LeRoy’s self portrait of Martini Marti, his drag persona from 1945, is really the start of LGBTQ art in Detroit,” Burton says. “It’s quite a brave piece for its time. I can’t imagine in 1945 being Black, being queer, and doing drag.” Foster’s black-and-white self-portrait, along with several of his paintings and drawings from the 1950s and 1960s, will be displayed in the show. His grandiose painting style draws parallels to the Italian Renaissance. While Foster was painting and performing drag in the ’50s and ’60s, Stephanie Crawford was coming into her own as a jazz singer and visual
PRIDE
“A Letter to my Mother,” archival print, photograph. | BRIAN KOVACH
artist. In 1968, Crawford underwent a “new (at the time) male to female gender reassignment surgery” being o ered by the niversity of ichigan. Prior to that, she was working the assembly line at Chrysler. Since then, Crawford has lived her life authentically without fear as she performs across the globe. Beyond her hometown of Detroit, she has lived and worked in Paris, New York, and California, where she now lives. She was even awarded the Django D’Or Award for Best International Jazz Vocalist in 1993. Yes, a trans woman from Detroit did that. Though world-renowned for her vocals, Crawford continues to paint into her eighties. er first-ever solo exhibit, in 2020, even got a shout from the New York Times. Though her still-life paintings of flowers seem simple, Crawford’s creative process is driven by the complexity of working with watercolor, her medium of choice. “You can’t control it, you can try, but watercolor does what it wants,” she says in an artist statement. “In most mediums, paint stays where you put it. Watercolor complies with gravity and parallels the improvisation of jazz.” Here are a few other featured artists look to watch out for during Mighty Real/Queer Detroit:
Julie Sabit At 90 years old, Julie Sabit is the oldest living artist in the Mighty Real/Queer Detroit exhibit. The show is sort of a
coming out for Sabit, who was born and raised in the Motor City. Sabit tells Metro Times though she never lied when people asked about her sexuality, and many probably assumed she was gay, this exhibit is the first time she’s openly broadcasting it to the world. “I don’t expect that I’m shocking anybody when I tell them I’m in this big ueer show, but it is the first time I’m admitting to everyone I’m gay, and just saying it out loud, so, in fact, it is a coming out,” she says. “I don’t particularly see gayness in my paintings, to be honest. I just love to paint people doing things.” abit finds excitement in painting people doing leisurely activities like sitting down, reading books, and simply existing. Detailed paintings in muted colors make the viewer pay attention to the seemingly mundane moments of human life. They hone in on the “unposed gestures” of how people relate to each other. One of Sabit’s most profound memories of being queer in Detroit is when her application to Wayne State’s College of Education was denied because she was gay back in 1950. “They were purging suspected gays from the College of Education, so it stopped my registration,” she says. “I had to register in the Liberal Arts College in sociology because I was a suspected gay person. I talked to a counselor they had there about my gayness and I ended up just saying,
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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HERE COMES THE
‘OK, I’m going to bed with a man now.’ I guess they considered gay people as ‘groomers.’” Other than the “1950 purge,” as she calls it, Sabit says she isn’t aware of being treated any di erently for being queer. hile things are much di erent at Wayne State these days, some things never seem to change. Sabit’s painting “CHOICE” depicts an abortion rights rally that she attended in Washington, D.C., back in 2004. Though the piece was completed in 2005, it’s become relevant once again as the U.S. Supreme Court mulls over reversing Roe v. Wade and sending us all back to the 1920s. “We want to call ourselves the leaders of the free world, and we’re going to force victims of rape and incest to carry babies? Sheesh,” she says about the current fight around abortion rights and Michigan’s antiquated reproductive laws. “It’s ridiculous.” “CHOICE” will be on display at the Anton Art Center; 125 Macomb Pl, Mt Clemens. theartcenter.org. You can also see Sabit’s work at Galerie Camille, Collected Detroit, Anton Art Center, and Hatch Art.
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Bakpak Durden “Los Penitentes Diptych,” colored pencil, velvet, brass, avonite. | CARL DEMEULENAERE
Mieyoshi Ragernoir While Sabit represents old-school queer artists in Detroit, Mieyoshi Ragernoir is ushering in the new school. The recent Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate celebrates the radiance of Black pride, joy, and community in her paintings. You’d have to be a serious grinch for Ragernoir’s art to not make you smile. he bright colors all but pop o the canvas, and the subjects are smiling, laughing, and living their best life — an invitation for viewers to do the same. “I like celebrating joy because I’ve experienced so much pain, so I cling to the joy,” she says. “My celebratory style started in 2020. A lot of my work was based on trauma and healing prior to that, so there weren’t so many smiles in it. Once I graduated [from] undergrad in 2020, it was like I spent all these years in pain, I couldn’t look at another sad or stoic face. And, a lot of police violence was happening in New York City at the time, so I just needed the smiles.” Ragernoir was born in Harlem and grew up in the West Bronx. She moved to Michigan for graduate school at Cranbrook in 2020 and is now based in Detroit. he trauma and pain influencing her work come from being rejected by family and the world. Ragernoir’s maternal side of the family was not very accepting when she came out as “attracted to all humans,” as she puts it. “Coming from a strict, southern,
back to Cranbrook after getting Caribbean takeout. “All of us were riding in the backseat and the energy was just so good. We were so excited,” she says. “I know life is always in the present, so I hone in on those happy moments. When I’m smiling and happy, I really simmer on it and it comes back out into my artwork.” “Joyride” will be on display at Norwest Gallery of Art; 19556 Grand River Ave., Detroit; norwestgallery.com. You can also see Ragernoir’s work at Norwest Gallery of Art, N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Playground Detroit, Galerie Camille, Cass Cafe, and the Anton Arts Center.
“Blue-green Still Life with Lemons 5,” watercolor on paper. | STEPHANIE CRAWFORD
Christian family, when you’re a teenager and you’re not dating boys at all, they’re like, ‘What’s going on?,’” she says. “I came into my own when I turned 19 and was reading books about meditation and gratitude. When you’re focused on gratitude and self-healing, it’s hard to be anything other than au-
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thentic. But to my family, I wasn’t out until I was 21.” One of Ragernoir’s paintings in MR/ QD is “Joyride,” which shows three stylish friends riding in the backseat of a taxi as a rainbow and all-seeing eyes watch over them. It was inspired by a car ride with her friends on their way
Bakpak Durden has been doing the damn thing in Detroit’s art scene the past few years. They have murals around the city from BLKOUT Walls mural festival in and around the North End neighborhood to the side of the Yum Village restaurant and the Eastern Market. The attention to detail expressed in Durden’s work is hard to match. It’s even more fascinating when you consider that Durden is self-taught, which is hard to believe given the painstaking mastery exhibited across their portfolio. Their painting “Self Portrait: Photographic emory reflects the tendency of human nature to hold onto fleeting moments and cling to memories that may or may not be good for us. But at the same time, we must remember those depressing and sad moments in life, lest we repeat them in an endless cycle. “It’s holding onto something after it’s ended, but in the midst of depression and anxiety, I feel like there’s this amnesia that happens and you end up repeating the same things,” Durden says. “I kept putting myself in some not great situations and thinking, ‘How did I get here again?’ You’re doomed to repeat your worst mistakes if you don’t remember how you got there.” Burton calls Durden a modern-day LeRoy Foster, someone who is before their time in both their work and unapologetically owning their identity. The audacity to be your one hundred percent authentic self is a beautiful thing. hough their work is heavily influenced by their trans identity, Durden wants exhibit goers to know there is something for everyone. “The whole point of most all of my work is that the viewer gets to put themselves in the place of the narrator,” they tell Metro Times. “Trans identity influences all of my work because my perspective is one of trans experience, especially as someone who is on this vast gender spectrum with no bounds. There’s a lot to be considered when it
HERE COMES THE
PRIDE
“I like celebrating joy because I’ve experienced so much pain, so I cling to the joy.”
“Choice,” oil on canvas. | JULIE SABIT
comes to perception and how something is going to be perceived by someone who has no context. My work is probably deeper than you think, but also not.” A lot of Durden’s work centers around mental health, which is something they struggled with most of their life until recently. “Basically my whole life I’ve been trying to find someone who will listen and not be quick to either prescribe medication or be paternalistic,” they say. “It’s been a lifelong journey to get to where I could advocate for myself and have better means to get the mental health services that I require and desire… I like to think that I’m still growing up queer in Detroit and now I’m more aware and have access to language to describe who I am and how I’m feeling. In my younger years, I didn’t feel like that was always the case.” Durden says above all else, they want to acknowledge Detroit’s pivotal role in all facets of culture, especially Black queer artists in Detroit who are moving culture forward. “That’s just what we do,” they say. “We’re special.” “Self Portrait: Photographic Memory” will be on display at Playground Detroit; 2845 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; playgrounddetroit.com. You can also see Durden’s work at Norwest Gallery of Art, Detroit Artists Market, M Contemporary Art, and Playground Detroit.
Brian Kovach Brian Kovach may not be a native Detroiter, but Detroit’s LGBTQ community is the only one he’s known. Kovach grew up in Akron, Ohio, and moved to Michigan to attend Cranbrook for graduate school, like Ragernoir. He
graduated from Cranbrook in 2021 and is now based in Birmingham. “Being in [metro] Detroit was the first time I was able to have discussions about queerness and have people talk about my work from a more educated perspective,” he says. “The open-mindedness of the LGBTQ community here that I’ve experienced is pretty great. It’s helped me a lot, being able to talk things through with people that have had similar situations. And Detroit has this crazy cool art community with
so many people who are super understanding as well.” Kovah is a photographer who also makes mixed-media collages. His art explores breaking the perceived molds that define masculinity, and several of his photos feature him wearing his mother’s clothing. One such piece that stands out is “My Mothers Closet.” “My mom kept everything from probably the 1970s until now, so I started putting myself in the clothes that I remember her wearing when I was growing up,” he says. “When I was growing up, a lot of these ideas of masculinity that ‘you have to act like a boy’ were actually my mom’s teachings. She would never say that directly, but sometimes it felt like the more feminine I acted, the more disappointed my family was.” Kovah recalls coming out to his family and being struck by how simply being gay somehow made him a di erent person. “How did I become a stranger when I’ve been here the whole time,” he says. “I’ve never not been myself, so the fact of me literally just coming out of the closet being a deterrent was strange to
me. I was doing manual labor at the time and when they found out I was gay, I was suddenly no longer getting jobs... It was this idea of trying to get them to understand that I’m still the same kid, regardless of whether I go get my nails done or put on feminine clothing.” His work is like a timeline of his life that aims to show queerness is more than just “a pocket like some people think it is.” “Whether it’s dealing with sex, gender, or intimacy in general, my work really comes from a perspective of love for humanity,” he says. “It’s me trying to encapsulate my experience as a human that also fits into this idea of ueerness as a whole community. The art will speak for itself. In this exhibit, we have art all the way back from the ‘50s so we will see whether things have changed that much. I’m excited to experience it as a whole and also incredibly grateful to be involved.” “My Mothers Closet” will be on display at M Contemporary Art; 205 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale. mcontemporaryart.com. You can see Kovach’s work at M Contemporary Art and Norwest Gallery of Art.
Mighty Real/Queer Detroit events MR/QD Artists’ Reception and celebration with DJ Kai Alcé 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. reception; 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. celebration on Thursday, June 2 at Menjo’s, 950 W. McNichols Rd., #928, Detroit; menjoscomplexdetroit.com.
MR/QD Opening Weekend From 5-9 p.m on Friday, June 3 at Cass Cafe, College for Creative Studies, Detroit Artists Market, Galerie Camille, N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Playground Detroit, and Scarab Club. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 at Affirmations, Hatch Art, M Contemporary Art, Norwest Gallery, Oloman Cafe, Public Pool, Anton Art Center (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.), and the David Klein Gallery - Birmingham (2 p.m. to 7 p.m.). From 2-6 p.m. on Sunday, June 5 at Collected Detroit, and the Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit.
Stephanie Crawford Artist Talk 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7 at the Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth St., Detroit; scarabclub.org.
4 p.m. on Saturday, June 25 at N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, 52 E. Forest Ave., Detroit; nnamdicenter.org.
Performance art by Vagner Whitehead 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 11 at Detroit Artists Market, 4719 Woodward Ave., Detroit; detroitartistsmarket.org.
Poetry, performance art, and music featuring Cherry Wood, Meg Foley, Stephanie Glazier, and Jess Julien
Trade Center film panel discussion with Billy Miller and Tim Retzloff
Queer short films 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28 and Wednesday, June 29 at Cinema Detroit, 4126 3rd Ave., Detroit; cinemadetroit.org.
Hatch Art artists talk
6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 at Galerie Camille, 4130 Cass Ave. suite C, Detroit; galeriecamille.com.
2 p.m. on Sat, June 25 at Hatch Art, 3456 Evaline St., Hamtramck; hatchart.org.
Juneteenth poetry reading with Tommy Blount, Deidre D.S.Sense Smith, Lester Rambus, and Mars Marhall
For more information including the full lineup of artists, see mrqd.org. The College for Creative Studies will provide free parking and shuttle bus service to participating galleries during the opening weekend.
6 p.m. on Wednesdsay, June 22 at The Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth St., Detroit; scarabclub.org.
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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HERE COMES THE
PRIDE
Where to celebrate Pride Month in metro Detroit By Alex Washington
Pride feels a little bit di erent this year. For the last two summers, ride has been modified to adjust to the everchanging climate of the pandemic. ell, outside is back open and there are a lot of reasons to celebrate. hile une might be ride month, the celebrations are not limited to just those days. hey stretch across three months meaning everyone can dance and celebrate their authentic selves all summer long. o put together your best summer look and get ready to hit the streets. ere are a few ride celebrations happening in metro etroit. Ferndale Pride Ferndale ride is not just a one weekend a air, it lasts the entire month of ride. hings kick o with the return of ainbow un, a spirited race where participants get sprayed with colored, non-toxic powder as they complete the course. ocal Ferndale favorites Bobcat Bonnie’s, Ferndale roject, he Fly rap, op’s For Italian, and ne Eyed Betty’s get in on the action hosting brunch specials in support of Ferndale ride. ther events throughout the month include Bears in peedos, a car wash fundraiser that supports the uth Ellis Center and A rmations. A kid-friendly rag ueen torytime at Ferndale roject, and an pen ic torytelling are also slated to happen during the month. For a complete list of events including time, dates, and locations, see ferndalepride.com
Abigail’s Pride/Ortonville Pride Festival rtonville is getting its first ride event, and it’s all thanks to a high school sophomore. Abigail owe started Abigail’s ride because she reali ed there weren’t any ride celebrations near her hometown. he family-friendly extravagan a will start with a parade through downtown rtonville leading into a festival that will have food trucks, live music, and a booth giving free hugs from moms and dads. ids will be treated to their own kiddie carnival that will fea-
Motor City Pride returns in June.
ture face-painting, rock painting, and a chance to take photos with princesses. here will also be access to counselors on-site at the festival. Abigail’s ride will be on aturday, une in downtown rtonville. he parade will begin at a.m. with the festival following immediately after.
Motor City Pride owntown etroit will be painted with rainbows and love as otor City ride festival and parade returns to art la a. ast year, festival goers found themselves partying in eptember as ichigan’s largest ride celebration had to postpone its events due to the pandemic. his year, otor City ride is back in une, just in time for the organi ation’s th anniversary. he festival will be headlined by B, soul, and funk singer ody atley. atley got her start with the funk band halamar in the late ’ s before branching out into her own successful solo career. he ooking for a New ove singer will take the stage at p.m. on une on the ride tage. n unday, une , the otor City ride arade will march through the streets of downtown etroit. otor City ride will be from p.m. on aturday, une and noonp.m. on unday, une in art la a,
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est e erson Ave., etroit. Admission to the festival is , and children under are free. he main entrance to the festival will be o e erson Avenue at the entrance to art la a.
Downtown Berkley Pride Block Party he city of Berkley is celebrating with its first o cial ride event. he inaugural Berkley ride Block arty will kick o in downtown Berkley and give party goers a retro feel. he family-friendly event will feature food trucks, adult yard games, kids crafts, a drag show, and more. Berkley ride Block arty will be from noon- p.m. on aturday, une , on obina Ave. just north of ile d. he event is free and will also o er free parking in downtown Berkley. For additional information, visit downtownberkley.com berkleypride.
Hotter Than July Yes, ride is technically in une, but why should the celebrations stop there For more than years, otter han uly has celebrated etroit’s Black B community. ast year’s events were virtual, but this year they are back in person and, dare we say, hotter than before. he weekend opens with a candlelight vigil, endorsed candidate
forum, and an art show on uly . n aturday, uly , otter han uly will take over otorCity ound Board as rammy-award winning rapper a Brat will serve as this year’s concert headliner. he weekend concludes with a worship service, brunch, and testing one on unday. ickets for otter han uly presents a Brat at otorCity ound Board begin at and are available on icketmaster.com. For a complete list of events, including times and locations, see lgbtdetroit.org hotterthanjuly.
Royal Oak Pride oyal ak ride might be one of the later ride events of the season, but that doesn’t mean you should count it out. In August, oyal ak ride will bring a street festival and live entertainment to downtown oyal ak. n Friday, August , festival goers can see u aul’s rag ace alum Nina est perform in all of her glory. n aturday, August , B singer eborah Cox will headline the evening. here will be a etro etroit rag howcase both nights and a onna ummer ribute by ainere artin is slated for aturday evening. Event details are still being released for this event. o follow event updates, see facebook.com oyal ak ride.
HERE COMES THE
PRIDE
U.S. Supreme Court’s draft ruling on abortion poses grave risks to LGBTQ rights in Michigan and beyond By Steve Neavling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s
decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion could imperil hard-fought LGBTQ rights, such as same-sex marriage and gay intimacy, legal experts warn. When the court’s draft decision to end the recognition of abortion rights was leaked on May 3, supporters of gay rights were alarmed by the potential wide-reaching impact of the legal rationale used in the ruling. That includes Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is no stranger to gay rights. Before she became attorney general, Nessel, who is gay, successfully argued in 2014 for a marriage equality case — DeBoer v. Snyder — which was appealed to the Supreme Court under Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. “This will have all kinds of repercussions,” Nessel tells Metro Times. “I see an entire series of very important and well-established Supreme Court opinions that created fundamental rights collapse.” Central to Justice Samuel Alito’s draft decision was the 14th Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. In Roe v. Wade, the justices said the “fundamental right to privacy” under the 14th Amendment protects the right to an abortion. In Obergefell v. Hodges, justices voted - in favor of the plainti s, holding that bans on wedlock violated the Due process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment was adopted in and has been used to a rm a variety of constitutional rights, from interracial marriage and contraception to gay intimacy and same-sex marraige. Although they aren’t explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, they were considered “substantive” due process liberties. But in the latest abortion case, Alito, who dissented in the same-sex marriage case, fervently disagreed that the 14th Amendment protects the right to abortion, saying it’s not directly out-
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel played a pivotal role in the fight to legalize gay marriage. That could all come undone if Roe v. Wade is overturned. BILL PUGLIANO/GETTY IMAGES
lined in the Constitution. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito wrote in the draft decision. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.” Alito further argues that rights not outlined in the Constitution must be “deeply rooted in American history and tradition.” “Until the latter part of the 20th century, there was no support in American law for a constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Zero. None,” Alito wrote. The same could be said of same-sex marriage and gay intimacy. During arguments in the latest abortion case, Justice Sonia Sotomayor echoed concerns that overturning Roe v. Wade could have widespread implications for other rights, including contraception and same-sex marriage. If Obergefell v. Hodges is overturned,
same-sex marriage would once again be illegal in Michigan because voters approved a constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage in 2004.
Anti-sodomy laws Michigan also has a sodomy law on the books that bans gay intimacy and even anal sex for heterosexual people, crimes punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The law was struck down in 2003 because of Lawrence v. Texas, a landmark ruling for gay rights. The Supreme Court ruled against a Texas anti-sodomy law that made it a crime for people of the same gender to have sex with each other. By applying the same logic in the abortion case to the sodomy laws, Nessel says it’s entirely possible that Michigan could once again jail gay people for having consensual sex. In Lawrence v. Texas, police entered
the home of John Lawrence, who is gay, and found him having consensual sex with another man. He was arrested and charged. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court relied heavily on the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause to strike down the law. “The issue is whether the majority may use the power of the State to enforce those views on the whole society through operation of the criminal law,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy, a prominent defender of LGBTQ rights. The answer, he said, was resoundingly no. Kennedy retired in 2018 and was replaced by consertative jurist Brett Kavanagh, who joined Alito in the draft opinion in the latest abortion case.
Diminishing rights In Alito’s draft opinion in the latest
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
17
PRIDE
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
SW Developer, United Wholesale Mortgage, Pontiac, MI. Design, develop &implement scalable (UWM proprietary) web based mortgage SW apps including Loan Origination System (LOS) &EASE apps; Brand360 &BOLT Broker interacting apps; &DocHub DMS, using C#, Microsoft.NET Framework, Asp. Net MVC, HTML, CSS &JavaScript programming languages; JQuery library; Bootstrap, Angular &React JS frameworks; Visual Studio tools, &SSMS relational database management sys, in Agile methodology. Design &develop web forms &Windows forms for LOS apps using .Net framework, C#, &Asp. Net MVC. Design &develop SPAs to manage loan apps, configure mortgage processes, &communicate w/ brokers &lenders using web APIs &MSA. Design &develop .NET Core MSA, collaborating w/ cross functional team including Bus Analysts, Scrum Masters, Qty Engrs, SW & DB Developers, to improve internal MSA apps, Online Broker portals, Mortgage Pay Off Calculator apps, Closed Loan &Administrative Tracking Pay Off systems. Master, Computer Science or Engineering, or related. 12 months’ exp. as Developer or Engineer, designing or developing web forms &Windows forms using C#, ASP.NET &Visual Studio .NET, &web pages using ASP.NET MVC, or related. Mail resume to Ref#2566-101, UWM, Human Resources, 585 S. Blvd E., Pontiac, MI 48341.
Controls Design Engineer, Milford, MI, General Motors. Design, integrate &implement controls algorithms, in C language, using MATLAB &Simulink tools, for safety critical Contactor Actuator Controls Ring SW cmpnts such as Determine Contactor Modes, Sequencer, &Voltage Sense. Define &develop controls SW for diagnostics, fault handling, external input requests, remedial actions handling, HW I/O controller communications embedded in Vehicle Integration Control Module (VICM) including Vehicle Extension Control Module (VECM) in BEV &AV passenger vehicles. Create state machines system interactions &SW cmpnt deployment diagrams using IBM Rhapsody. Ensure updated SW cmpnts for MISRA meet recommended coding standards incldng ASPICE ISO/IEC 15504 SW dev standard, &ISO 26262 SW compliance with functional safety standards, for designing safety critical vehicle SW cmpnts. Debug, troubleshoot, &resolve errors on compiled &built C language code in Eclipse IDE. Design &implement safety critical controls SW strategies to meet Development Vehicle Usage Level standards &high voltage safety reqrmnts. Master, Electrical or Computer Engineering. 12 mos exp as Engineer, designing activation control logic for VICM or Advanced Driver Assist System for BEV, AV or Connected Vehicle apps, using MATLAB &Simulink tools, &debugging code in Eclipse IDE, or related. Mail resume to Ref#24107, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482-C32-C66, Detroit, MI 48265.
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abortion case, he insisted that the legal reasons for overturning Roe v. Wade don’t necessarily apply to other cases. “To ensure that our decision is not misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right,” Alito wrote. “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.” Despite Alito’s assurances, the same legal reasoning could be used to roll back other rights, legal experts say. “I don’t believe that for a second,” Nessel says of Alito’s assurances. “Once you start eviscerating 14th Amendment rights, I don’t see how you separate them.” In Alito’s dissenting opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, he wrote that the 14th Amendment only protects rights deeply rooted in U.S. history and tradition. “And it’s beyond dispute that the right to same-sex marriage is not among those rights,” he wrote at the time. Alito and conservative Justice Clarence Thomas also referenced gay marriage when the court refused to hear an appeal from a county clerk who had been sued for refusing to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples in 2020. “In Obergefell v. Hodges, the court read a right to same-sex marriage into the 14th Amendment, even though that right is found nowhere in the text,” they wrote. It’s still too early to know whether the current Supreme Court would overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. Three of the four justices who dissented in that case are still on the court. The three other conservative justices were appointed by President Donald Trump. “If a court can just decide they don’t like something and therefore are going to use a decision to overrule a past precedent, I believe anything is up for grabs,” ay aplan, sta attorney for the AC of Michigan’s Nancy Katz & Margo ichtelmiller B ights roject, tells Metro Times. he B community has to be concerned about this.” Speaking at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Chicago earlier this month, resident oe Biden predicted the Supreme Court will target same-sex marriage next. “Mark my words: They are going to go after the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, Biden said.
Attacks on the state level B rights are also under attack by epublican state legislators. In ichigan, epublicans introduced a bill in May that would ban transgender
athletes in high school from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. he bill’s sponsor, en. ana heis, -Brighton, suggested during an invocation on the enate floor in April that “children are under attack” becuase of lessons about racial equality and B issues. ater in the month, she falsely claimed in a fundraiser that Democrats want to “groom and sexualize kindergarteners” for supporting B discussions in schools. ome epublican candidates have also pledged to introduce legislation similar to Florida’s on’t ay ay bill, which limits classroom discussion about sexual orientation and gender identify in grades K-3. ichigan’s epublican-dominated egislature has also resisted calls to amend the Elliott- arsen Civil ights Act to ban discrimination based on gender identify and sexual orientation, leaving B people vulnerable. At local school board meetings, some parents are angrily demanding that teachers stop discussing B issues. he war against B in ichigan and America is already raging. It’s unfortunately reached a feverish pitch,” Erin Knott, executive director of Equality ichigan, an B civil rights organization, says. “What we are seeing right now is absolutely a throwback to the 1970s and 1980s. The playbook of hate is being played again.” The only reason the bills aren’t passing, nott says, is because ov. retchen hitmer has pledged to veto any anti- B legislation. he last defense we have is ov. Whitmer, who has been a staunch supporter of the B community, Knott says. Whitmer is running for reelection. f the large field of epublicans running in the primary for a chance to unseat Whitmer, many have made disparaging remarks about the B community. “There is a lot to be concerned about,” Kaplan says. “Elections have consequences.” B supporters don’t have to sit back while their rights are under attack, Nessel says. To protect same-sex marriage, supporters can gather petitions for a ballot initiative to amend the state’s constitution, Nessel says. She also encourages voters to turn out in big numbers to support candidates who defend B issues. “We have to be prepared state by state to fight it, Nessel says. Kaplan adds, “There is a lot at stake for ichigan’s B people. he stakes couldn’t be higher.”
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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HERE COMES THE
PRIDE
Comedian Alex English just finished his first season writing for ‘SNL’ By Alex Washington
Alex English has always been funny. This isn’t a cliché opener to a story about a comic, it’s a statement based on the fact that I’ve known him since high school. When we speak, the stand-up comedian has just wrapped his first year as a writer for Saturday Night Live. It’s a job that took him three submissions to get. “In my situation, the third time was the charm,” he says. “SNL does this thing where they’re pushing that they’re looking for new writers. I submitted a packet pre-pandemic and didn’t hear anything back, it was a wash. The second time around was during the pandemic, I made it to the interview process, I was one of maybe three, but they only hired one of us. The following year, which was for this season, I submitted the packet yet again, and that third time was the charm for me.” English has been working hard to establish himself as a comedian for about the last decade. His writing and acting credits include HBO’s That Damn Michael Che, Netflix’s The Fix, National Lampoon Radio Hour, and Pause with Sam Jay. English’s aspiration to become a comedian was a childhood dream that faded as he grew older and felt the goal was unattainable. “The choice to go into comedy faded as I became a teenager, and it faded because there’s no direct pathway,” he says. “No one’s looking at a kid and telling him, ‘He’s going to be a comedian one day.’ Everybody wants to be a rapper or basketball player, people want to go into politics. No one is telling you that you could grow up to become an entertainer, especially from where we’re from.” Born and raised in Detroit, English had a regular childhood. He was educated at Bates Academy and Renaissance High School, before eventually graduating from Central Michigan University with a degree in communication and dramatic arts. After graduating from CMU, English packed his bags and left the Motor City for the Big Apple. Although one
“Being from Detroit is what kept me in New York, that spirit and mentality of Detroit is how I managed to navigate New York.” Alex English found his groove discussing his life as a gay Black man in his standup sets. COURTESY PHOTO
would think he left to pursue comedy or because he had a grand plan for his future, English says he left so he could grow into who he needed to be. “I love Detroit, and I will defend Detroit with everything in me, but I left Detroit to be gay, that’s the plainest way of saying it. I didn’t think that I would be able to grow as a person, or truly find myself if I stayed in Detroit,” he says. “Being from Detroit is what kept me in New York, that spirit and mentality of Detroit is how I managed to navigate New York.” Being in NYC, Alex English decided to relight the flame that was his childhood comedy dream. He began by performing at open mic nights at comedy lounges and even finding comedy gigs through Craigslist. In the early part of his career, he still performed under his birth name, Alex Newell. But as luck would have it, there was another Alex Newell who was shining bright on Fox’s hit television series, Glee. Initially, Alex
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English thought both could co-exist in the same way Michael Jordan and Michael B. Jordan do, but that idea was cut short after a standup mishap. “I saw an ad that was seeking a comedian to host a breast cancer awareness event, and I booked it. They never asked me for a headshot, and I didn’t think about it,’” he recalls. “When they sent me the flyer for the event, there was Alex Newell with a monocle and top hat, just looking fierce as hell. I emailed the organizers who then told me the flyer had already been mass produced and distributed. I skipped the event and decided then I had to change my name.” While the name change might have been annoying initially, English says it served as a blessing in disguise because it allowed him to move freely, holding jobs during the day and doing standup at night. Though comedy might come naturally to him, it took some time for English
to find his groove discussing his life as a gay Black man. In the beginning, he said he steered away from those jokes because he hadn’t gone through much as a young, adult gay man yet. As time went on, and life was lived, he began to include more jokes in his set, almost forcing them in. It wasn’t until fellow comedian, mentor, and friend Sam Jay told him the fanfare was unnecessary. “I would get on stage, and I would do something I thought was funny and announce to the audience that I was gay,” English says. “One day, Sam was like ‘You don’t have to do that. It would be much funnier if you were just gay, talking shit and telling jokes. You don’t have to say it, just start talking, they’ll understand.’ It worked out much better that way.” Now that SNL has wrapped for the summer, Alex English says he plans to get back into doing more standup comedy. Ultimately, he would like to have his own filmed standup special. “I’m comfortable enough now, that I can confidently go focus and pursue standup in a way that gets me to the point where I feel like I am ready to film something,” English says. “I’ll go wherever life takes me if it looks good.”
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metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
23
WHAT’S GOING ON
We are the robots: German band Kraftwerk returns to Detroit.
S elec t ev ents hap p ening in metro Detroit this w eek . S ub mit your ev ents to metrotimes. c om/ c alendar. Be sure to c hec k v enue w eb sites f or CO V I D- 1 9 p olic ies.
SAT, JUNE 4 Kraftwerk
A n arg u m en t t h at c o m es u p o v er an d o v er ag ai n i s wh o s h o u l d b e c redi t ed wi t h c reat i n g el ec t ro n i c m u s i c wri t l arg e: t h e G erm an s y n t h - dri v en b an d K raf t werk , f o rm ed i n 1 9 7 0 , o r D et ro i t t ec h n o p ro du c ers l i k e t h e B el l ev i l l e T h ree. I n real i t y , b o t h were h eav i l y i n s p i red b y wh at T h e G u ardi an des c ri b ed as “ a f eedb ac k l o o p b et ween G erm an y an d D et ro i t . ” K raf t werk s ai d t h ey were in uenced by Motown, and Kraftwerk were in turn amplified in Detroit on the S o u l T rai n - i n s p i red T V s h o w T h e S c en e and on the in uential radio show by The Electrifying Mojo, inspiring a new wav e o f l o c al art i s t s . E v en t h e D et ro i t DJ Moodymann once admitted, “Hell, I t h o u g h t K raf t werk was f o u r n i g g as . I
ai n ’ t g o i n g t o l i e t o y o u . ” T h e f ac t i s t h at t h o s e G erm an s p ret en di n g t o b e ro b o t s c o u l d b e p ret t y dam n f u n k y , an d t h e music of Kraftwerk looms over the Motor City to this day — fitting for a group wi t h a h i t c al l ed “ A u t o b ah n . ” T h e b an d m ak es a D et ro i t s t o p o n t h i s p o s t p o n ed tour, which is enhanced by -D e ects t h at u t i l i z e t h o s e 3 - D g l as s es m ade al l t h e rag e b y t h at A v at ar m o v i e y ears ag o . —Lee DeVito S tarts at 7 p . m. on S aturday, J une 4 at the M asonic T emp le T heatre; 5 0 0 T emp le S t. , Detroit; themasonic . c om. T ic k ets start at $ 4 9 .
SAT-SUN, JUNE 4-5 Palmer Park Art Fair
P al m er P ark i s o n e o f t h o s e h i dden D et ro i t g em s f o r n at u re l o v ers , an d i n t h e s u m m er i t c o m es al i v e du ri n g t h e P al m er P ark A rt F ai r. T h i s J u n e, t h e p ark wi l l h o s t t h e n i n t h an n u al P al m er P ark A rt F ai r i n t h e area n ex t t o t h e l o g c ab i n ,
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wh i c h wi l l b e t ran s f o rm ed i n t o a s t ro l l ing fairground. Hundreds of paintings, s c u l p t u res , m u s i c , m i x ed m edi a, an d m o re wi l l b e di s p l ay ed an d av ai l ab l e f o r p u rc h as e f ro m b o t h l o c al an d n at i o n al artists. Detroit artist Jon Harris, who wen t v i ral f o r h i s s eari n g “ C ri t i c al R ac e T h eo ry ” p ai n t i n g , i s o n e o f t h i s y ear’ s featured artists. Muralist and painter D es i ree K el l y al s o c reat ed t h e s p ec i al edi t i o n p o s t er f o r t h e f es t i v al , wh i c h i s l i m i t ed t o 1 0 0 p ri n t s . K el l y i s t h e art i s t b eh i n d t h e m u ral o n t h e s i de o f D et ro i t ’ s small-format Meijer, Rivertown Market, and a mural of Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin for the 2021 film, Respect. Beyond just visual art, the fair will al s o h av e a m u s i c s t ag e, an au t h o r’ s t en t wi t h l i v e p o et ry readi n g s , an d an o p en drum circle that anyone can join. es, t h ere wi l l b e f o o d b o o t h s o n s i t e, t o o . —R a n d ia h C a m il l e G r een F rom 1 0 a. m. - 7 p . m. on S aturday, J une 4 , and 1 1 a. m. - 5 p . m. on S unday, J une 5 . P almer P ark is loc ated at 9 1 0 M errill P laisanc e S t. , Detroit. E ntry is f ree.
STARTS SAT, JUNE 4 Beacon Park Night Market
T h e f reak s c o m e o u t at n i g h t i n do wn t o wn D et ro i t ’ s B eac o n P ark . O K , actually, by “freaks,” we just mean small b u s i n es s es an d v en do rs . T h e p ark ’ s Saturday Night Market series starts b ac k u p o n S at u rday , J u n e 4 , an d ru n s t h ro u g h A u g . 2 7 . A v ari et y o f v en do rs slinging handmade jewelry, food, art wo rk , s weet t reat s , an d b ey o n d wi l l p o s t u p at B eac o n P ark ev ery S at u rday f ro m 6 - 1 1 p . m . T h e m ark et i t s el f i s f ree t o at t en d — b u t o f c o u rs e, b ri n g c as h to support these local vendors or just to g rab a l at e- n i g h t s n ac k . T h ere wi l l al s o b e l i v e m u s i c an d t h e at m o s p h ere i s g en eral l y f am i l y - f ri en dl y , s o f eel f ree t o b ri n g t h e k i ds . O r, y o u k n o w, n o t . L et your freak ag y. —R a n d ia h C a m il l e G r een F rom 6 - 1 1 p . m. ev ery S aturday until A ug . 2 7 . Beac on P ark is loc ated at 1 9 0 1 Grand Riv er A v e. , Detroit.
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MUSIC A ‘Creem’ expanded universe
The made-in-Detroit rock ’n’ roll magazine returns as quarterly print edition, with plans for podcasts, cartoons, merch, music festivals, and more By L ee DeV ito
JJ Kramer, son of Creem publisher Barry Kramer, is bringing back the legendary rock ‘n’ roll magazine.
The rock ’n’ ro l l m ag az i n e Creem, f o u n ded i n D et ro i t i n 1 9 6 9 an d k n o wn f o r i t s wri t ers wh o s e o v ert h e- t o p p ers o n al i t i es ri v al ed t h o s e o f the stars they covered, has o cially ret u rn ed — f o r real f o r real , t h i s t i m e. T h e n ew c h ap t er o f t h e i c o n i c m u s i c p u b l i c at i o n c h eek i l y b i l l ed as “ A m eri c a’ s o n l y ro c k ’ n ’ ro l l m ag az i n e” l au n c h ed o n l i n e at c reem . c o m o n W edn es day . T h e n ew Creem f eat u res a q u art erl y p ri n t edi t i o n f o r s u b s c ri b ers as wel l as o n l i n e c o n t en t , i n c l u di n g di g i t al ac c es s t o t h e m ag az i n e’ s o ri g i n al 1 9 6 9 - 1 9 8 8 ru n — 2 2 4 i s s u es an d m o re t h an 6 9 , 0 0 0 art i c l es , s c o u red f ro m an arc h i v e am as s ed o v er t h e y ears f ro m c o l l ec t o rs , g arag e s al es , an d eB ay .
It’s not the first time the publication, wh i c h was o n c e t h e N o . 2 ro c k m ag az i n e i n t h e n at i o n af t er Rolling S tone, h as at t em p t ed a c o m eb ac k . F o l l o wi n g t h e deat h o f p u b l i s h er B arry K ram er i n 1 9 8 1 , wh o c o - f o u n ded t h e m ag az i n e i n D et ro i t ’ s C as s C o rri do r, t h e c o m p an y was sold, brie y returning as a website i n t h e earl y 2 0 0 0 s u n der n ew o wn ers h i p . T h at l ed t o a drawn - o u t l eg al di s p u t e wi t h K ram er’ s s o n , J J , wh o n o w s erv es as t h e c h ai rm an o f t h e n ewl y f o rm ed C reem E n t ert ai n m en t . I t ’ s a f u l l - c i rc l e m o m en t f o r t h e y o u n g er K ram er, wh o s e f at h er o ri g i n al l y i n t en ded t o l eav e t h e m ag az i n e t o h i m wh en h e was j u s t 4 y ears o l d, b u t t h e m ag az i n e was s o l d t o a n ew o wn er-
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s h i p g ro u p b ef o re h e was o l d en o u g h t o fill the role. “ I t real l y h as b een a l i f et i m e, ” K ram er t el l s M etro T imes. “ I t ’ s al way s b een s o m et h i n g t h at I ’ v e b een c h as i n g ev er s i n c e I s t art ed t o u n ders t an d wh at i t was , an d t h e c o n n ec t i o n t o m y f at h er, and his legacy. It’s definitely been s o m et h i n g t h at I ’ v e b een wo rk i n g t o ward, an d m o re ac t i v el y wo rk i n g t o ward, o v er t h e p as t 2 0 y ears . ” A s an adu l t , K ram er em b ark ed i n a c areer as an i n t el l ec t u al p ro p ert y at t o rn ey , wh i c h c ert ai n l y h el p ed h i m du ri n g t h e drawn - o u t l eg al b at t l e o v er t h e ri g h t s t o t h e c o m p an y . “ I c an ’ t s ay t h at was m y m o t i v at i o n i n g o i n g i n t o i n t el l ec t u al p ro p ert y , ” h e
COURTESY PHOTO
s ay s . “ B u t i t ab s o l u t el y h as b een i n v al u ab l e i n em b ark i n g o n t h i s j o u rn ey t o g et t h e ri g h t s b ac k . A f t er Creem f o l ded, t h e ri g h t s c h an g ed h an ds a n u m b er o f t i m es , an d t h ere were a l o t o f i n t eres t i n g i n t el l ec t u al p ro p ert y p u z z l es t o solve. So my training definitely came i n h an dy . I wi s h I c o u l d s ay I h ad t h at f o res i g h t wh en I was dec i di n g wh at t y p e o f l aw t o g et i n t o . M ay b e i t was f at e. ” S u m m ari z i n g t h e l eg al b at t l e, wh i c h s p an n ed ab o u t a dec ade, h e s ay s , “ T o p u t i t s i m p l y , t h e ri g h t s are wh ere t h ey s h o u l d b e. ” O n c e K ram er o b t ai n ed t h e ri g h t s , among the first orders of business was t h e p ro du c t i o n o f a do c u m en t ary ,
t h e S c o t t C rawf o rd- di rec t ed Creem: A meric a’s O nly Roc k ’n’ Roll M ag az ine, wh i c h m ade i t s D et ro i t p rem i ere at t h e F reep F i l m F es t i v al i n 2 0 2 0 . “ I t h i n k a real l y n i c e s o rt o f b y p ro du c t o f [ t h e do c ] i s p eo p l e b ec am e i n t ri g u ed wi t h t h e b ran d ag ai n , an d wan t ed t o k n o w m o re ab o u t i t , ” K ram er s ay s . “ A n d i t c ert ai n l y c reat ed s o m e ru n way f o r u s t o do wh at we’ re do i n g n o w. ” K ram er b ro u g h t b ac k Creem’ s i c o n i c m ai l - o rder T - s h i rt s , em b l az o n ed wi t h B o y H o wdy , t h e an t h ro p o m o rp h i c m i l k j u g des i g n ed b y c u l t c o m i c art i s t R o b ert C ru m b . T h at s o o n ex p an ded i n t o al l s o rt s o f o t h er b ran ded m erc h , i n c l u di n g a 5 0 t h an n i v ers ary i s s u e l o o k i n g b ac k at s o m e o f t h e h i g h l i g h t s f ro m t h e m ag az i n e’ s h i s t o ry . “ W h at I s aw i t as was an o p p o rt u n i t y t o f u n d o t h er en deav o rs , ” K ram er s ay s o f t h e p i v o t t o m erc h . “ W e h ad t o p ay t h e b i l l s s o m eh o w, we h ad t o s t art c reat i n g s o m e rev en u e, i n o rder t o wo rk i n t o s o m e o t h er o p p o rt u n i t i es . ” Things really took o late last y ear wh en K ram er s ay s h e rec ei v ed a L i n k edI n m es s ag e f ro m J o h n M art i n , t h e f o rm er l o n g t i m e p u b l i s h er o f V I C E M edi a. “ H e wan t ed t o k n o w i f I wo u l d b e i n t eres t ed i n l i c en s i n g h i m — o r i f y o u as k h i m , h e j u s t as k ed m e t o g i v e h i m — t h e Creem n am e t o p u t o u t a m ag az i n e, ” K ram er rec al l s . “ I t was s t i l l i n t h e h eart o f t h e p an dem i c , h e was b o red, an d wan t ed t o do a ro c k m ag az i n e. I p o l i t el y dec l i n ed, b u t we s t ru c k u p a c o n v ers at i o n , an d I t h o u g h t h e was j u s t a s u p er i n t eres t i n g c h arac t er wh o h ad an u n real am o u n t o f ex p eri en c e wo rk i n g at V I CE . ” M art i n was at V I CE wh en i t was p ri m ari l y k n o wn as an edg y m ag az i n e, wh i c h o wed m u c h o f i t s n o - h o l ds b arred s en s i b i l i t y an d h u m o r t o Creem. M art i n was b ro u g h t o n as a c o n s u l t an t , and eventually o ered the role of CEO o f t h e n ew C reem E n t ert ai n m en t . W i t h an i n f u s i o n o f i n v es t m en t m o n ey , K ram er an d M art i n as s em b l ed a n ew t eam t h at i n c l u des f o rm er Creem edi t o r J aan U h el s z k i as edi t o r em eri t u s , M ari a S h erm an ( au t h o r o f L arg er T han L if e: A H istory of Boy Bands f rom N K O T B to BT S ) as s en i o r edi t o r, an d p h o t o g rap h er D av e C arn i e — t h e f o rm er edi t o r o f t h e s k at eb o ardi n g m ag az i n e Big Brother an d al s o a c reat o r o f M T V ’ s J ac k ass. U h el s z k i , wh o i s c o n s i dered o n e o f Creem’ s O G s , s ay s s h e h as b een i n v o l v ed i n t h e m ag az i n e’ s v ari o u s
i n c arn at i o n s t h ro u g h o u t t h e y ears , wi t h t h e ex c ep t i o n o f t h at c o n t es t ed earl y 2 0 0 0 s era. “ I n ev er c an s ay g o o db y e, ” s h e t el l s M etro T imes f ro m h er c u rren t h o m e i n P al m D es ert , C al i f o rn i a. “ I t was s o u n i q u e. I t h ad s u c h a v o i c e. A n d i t s o defined me, and most of the people I was wi t h . I t ’ s real l y h ard t o l et g o wh en y o u ’ re al l o wed t o ex p res s y o u rs el f , t o ac t u al l y t el l t h e t ru t h , an d f eel like you’re making a di erence, that y o u ’ re c o n n ec t i n g . I t ’ s addi c t i v e. W h y wo u l dn ’ t y o u t ry t o do t h at ag ai n ? ” U h el s z k i g o t h er s t art at Creem wh i l e wo rk i n g i n c o n c es s i o n s at D et ro i t ’ s f o rm er G ran de B al l ro o m v en u e, wh ere Creem h ad s et u p a k i o s k . T h ere, s h e rel en t l es s l y t ri ed t o g et t h e Creem rep s t o g i v e h er a j o b b y b ri b i n g t h em wi t h C o c a- C o l a an d c an dy . Her tenacity paid o , and the magaz i n e ev en t u al l y h i red h er. S h e s h o wed u p f o r wo rk t h e s am e day as L es t er B an g s , t h e l at e wri t er wh o c am e t o Creem f ro m Rolling S tone, rel o c at i n g t o D et ro i t f ro m C al i f o rn i a f o r t h e g i g . B an g s , wi t h h i s s ardo n i c h o m em ade “ D et ro i t S u c k s ” T - s h i rt , h as b ec o m e a cult figure himself his articles have b een c o l l ec t ed i n b o o k s ( h i s c o m b at i v e i n t erv i ews wi t h L o u R eed are t h e stu of legend) and he eventually was immortalized on film in 2000’s A lmost F amous, p l ay ed b y P h i l l i p S ey m o u r Ho man. Uhelszki became an icon too, as one of the first women to work i n ro c k j o u rn al i s m , ev en do n n i n g f ac ep ai n t t o j o i n K i s s o n s t ag e f o r a g o n z o j o u rn al i s m as s i g n m en t . “ I t h i n k o ri g i n al l y , we were j u s t s c rap p y p eo p l e wi t h o u t an y k i n d o f c o l l eg e deg rees o r an y t h i n g , ” U h el s z k i s ay s . “ N o w J J ’ s real l y g o t t h e c ream o f t h e c ro p . ” K ram er s ay s h e wan t s t o m ai n t ai n Creem’ s i den t i t y rat h er t h an t ry i n g t o c o m p et e wi t h o t h er m u s i c p u b l i c at i o n s . “ W e are n o t t ry i n g t o g et i n t o t h e rat rac e o f t h ro wi n g 3 0 art i c l es a day , just to drive clicks and tra c,” he says. “ T h at ’ s n o t t h e b u s i n es s t h at we’ re i n . We’re not going to sacrifice quality for s c al e at al l . ” The first print issue should land in S ep t em b er, h e s ay s . “ T h i s i s n o t y o u r p aren t s ’ Creem m ag az i n e, ” h e s ay s . “ I t wi l l c ert ai n l y h av e s i m i l ar s en s i b i l i t i es an d i n s t i n c t s , an d i t wi l l p ay h o m ag e t o O G Creem, but it’s going to be a di erent book.” U h el s z k i adds t h at wh i l e i t wi l l f eat u re c l as s i c ro c k art i s t s , i t i s m o re ab o u t c ap t u ri n g t h e es s en c e o f ro c k ’ n ’ ro l l
“This is not your parents’ Creem magazine,” Kramer says. “It will certainly have similar sensibilities and instincts, and it will pay homage to OG Creem, but it’s going to be a different book.” t h an dev o t i o n t o c ert ai n b an ds o r ev en g u i t ar- b as ed m u s i c . “ I t h i n k t h e deat h o f Creem wo u l d b e n o s t al g i a, ” s h e s ay s , addi n g , “ Y o u do n ’ t j u s t wan t t o c o v er a b u n c h o f 7 0 y ear o l ds wh o l o o k l i k e 7 0 y ear o l ds . ” S ay s K ram er: “ T h e way we’ v e b een t al k i n g ab o u t i t , i t ’ s l i k e Creem’ s g o i n g f ro m b ac k o f t h e t o i l et t o m i ddl e o f t h e co ee table — but still with that back i n t h e t o i l et s en s i b i l i t y . ” O n e as p ec t o f t h e o l d Creem m ag az i n e t h at ag ed l i k e c u rdl ed m i l k i s i t s s o p h o m o ri s h , b o o m er- era h u m o r, wh i c h o f t en rel i ed o n m i s o g y n y an d h o m o p h o b i a f o r p u n c h l i n es . K ram er s ay s t h at wi l l rem ai n i n t h e p as t . “ T h ere were v ery c l earl y t h i n g s t h at were wri t t en i n Creem i n t h e ’ 7 0 s t h at weren ’ t O K t h en , an d i t ’ s c ert ai n l y n o t O K n o w, ” h e s ay s . “ W e h ad s o m e di s c u s s i o n s i n t ern al l y ab o u t h o w we wan t ed t o p res en t t h e arc h i v es . C ert ai n brands take di erent perspectives on t h ei r p as t . S o m e b ran ds s c ru b t h at k i n d of stu , but we made a determination t h at we’ re p res en t i n g i t , wart s an d al l , b ec au s e I t h i n k t h at ’ s i m p o rt an t . ” He adds, “I’m confident that we h av e a t eam i n p l ac e t h at ’ s ab l e t o s t i l l s t ri k e a l ev el o f i rrev eren c e an d f u n an d s n ark i n es s . ” K ram er s ay s Creem wi l l m ai n t ai n i t s edi t o ri al i n t eg ri t y wi t h a m o del t h at do es n o t rel y o n adv ert i s er do l l ars o r c l i c k s — h en c e “ C reem E n t ert ai n m en t . ” “ T h at was k i n d o f o u r s t art i n g p o i n t , l i k e, h o w c an we b u i l d t h i s t h i n g , wh ere we c an ac t u al l y h av e an o p i n i o n , an d a p ers p ec t i v e, an d t ak e s o m e c reat i v e ri s k s ? ” h e s ay s . “ W e’ re p o s i t i o n i n g Creem n o t as a m edi a c o m p an y , an d n o t as a p u b l i s h i n g c o m p an y , b u t as an en t ert ai n m en t c o m p an y . A n d t h e b i g di s t i n c t i o n b ei n g t h at m edi a c o m p an i es , t h ei r m o del i s real l y t o ag g reg at e ey eb al l s an d s el l t h em t o adv ert i s ers , wh ereas en t ert ai n m en t c o m p an i es are p o s i t i o n ed t o b u i l d l o n g - t erm rel at i o n s h i p s wi t h t h ei r au di en c e aro u n d s t o ry t el l i n g an d v ari o u s ex p eri en c es . ” T o t h at en d, K ram er en v i s i o n s a s o rt o f Creem ex p an ded u n i v ers e o f ex c l u s i v e m erc h dro p s , p o dc as t s , T V s h o ws ,
g rap h i c n o v el s , an d ev en i t s o wn m u s i c f es t i v al . “ W e’ re em b rac i n g o u r an al o g s p i ri t i n t h e m ag az i n e, wh i c h i s g o i n g t o b e s o rt o f t h e h eart b eat o f C reem E n t ert ai n m en t , b u t f ro m t h at m ag az i n e, there’s going to be lots of di erent opportunities to spin things o into di erent channels,” he says. “What it’s g o i n g t o c reat e i s t h i s wh o l e ec o s y s t em of di erent ways that you can interact wi t h o u r b ran ds . N o t ev ery b o dy ’ s g o i n g t o s u b s c ri b e t o t h e m ag az i n e, an d t h at ’ s O K . M ay b e t h ey j u s t c h ec k o u t t h e web s i t e, o r m ay b e t h ey l i s t en t o t h e p o dc as t , o r m ay b e t h ey b u y a T - s h i rt . … T h ere’ s s o m u c h o p p o rt u n i t y t h ere t h at c an b e s p ru n g f ro m t h e p ag es o f t h e m ag az i n e. ” T h at wi l l al s o al l o w Creem t h e f reedo m t o c o v er ri s i n g o r o b s c u re art i s t s , h e s ay s . “ W e c an t al k ab o u t s h i t t h at ac t u al l y m at t ers , ev en i f n o b o dy ’ s h eard o f i t y et , ” h e s ay s . “ T h at ’ s a b i g p ro b l em o u t t h ere, i s n o b o dy ’ s t al k i n g ab o u t t h es e real l y c o o l b an ds , b u t j u s t b ec au s e i t ’ s n o t g et t i n g t h e c l i c k s , t h at do es n ’ t m ean t h at t h ei r m u s i c i s n ’ t an y g o o d. I t m ean s t h at n o b o dy ’ s wi l l i n g t o t ak e t h e ri s k t o t al k ab o u t t h em . ” I t s t eam i s s c at t ered ac ro s s t h e c o u n t ry , f ro m N ew Y o rk t o C al i f o rn i a. B u t K ram er an d U h el s z k i , wh o b o t h g rew u p i n m et ro D et ro i t , s ay t h ey h o p e t o m ai n t ai n t h e b ran d’ s M o t o r C i t y ro o t s . “ I t h i n k i t ’ s s t i l l a l i t t l e D et ro i t c en t ri c , ” U h el s z k i s ay s . “ I t h i n k t h at t h at s p i ri t o f D et ro i t i s s t i l l t h ere, ev en t h o u g h I t h i n k i t ’ s p ro b ab l y o n l y J J an d m y s el f . ” L i k e t h e o ri g i n al Creem t eam , wh o at v ari o u s p o i n t s l i v ed an d wo rk ed t o g et h er i n a s o rt o f c o m m u n e, K ram er s ay s t h e n ew t eam s h ares a p as s i o n f o r t h e p ro j ec t . “ A l l t h e p eo p l e t h at h av e j u m p ed i n , j u m p ed i n b ec au s e t h ey b el i ev e i n i t , ” h e s ay s . “ T h at m ean s m o re t o m e t h an an y t h i n g . W e’ v e g o t a t eam o f p eo p l e t h at are n o t i n i t f o r t h e p ay c h ec k . T h ey ’ re do i n g i t b ec au s e t h ey b el i ev e i n t h i s , an d b el i ev e t h at i t des erv es t o ex i s t , an d t h at ’ s real l y c o o l . ”
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FOOD
Bellflower has an eclectic menu with an emphasis on seafood.
Deep cuts By J ane S laug hter
If a restaurant wi t h p ri c es i n the $ 0s can fill the room regularly on Monday nights, that’s a sign that it’s doing something right. It seems psilantians think so, and I agree. The nearly two-years-old Bell ower has an eclectic menu with an emphasis on seafood. Out of 15 items on a recent list — it changes frequently — eight were from the watery deeps. Despite the prices the vibe is unpretentious and friendly. It’s one plain square room with a bar and paintings by local artist Jason Wright, plus a patio, an open kitchen, and an entrance area where patrons pick up sandwiches, also emphasizing seafood, from 11 to 4. To describe Bell ower’s food, I looked in a thesaurus for another way to say “love.” The closest I found was that I was “delighted” by chef Dan Klenotic’s dishes. One exception was perhaps just a disagreement between him and me on whether certain items go together. That exception was Bu alo skate cheeks. Bu alo sauce is too assertive for just about any fish, hiding its avor. But the sauce was certainly authentic and vinegary, the cheese sauce was so
good I brought home my leftovers, and the dilly potato salad made me want to change my mom’s recipe. Another starter was simply greens with a charred-lemon-green-garlic vinaigrette, with lots of pecorino, no need for any other vegetables. At the opposite end of the how-filling-do-youwant-your-starter spectrum, an outstanding vegan dish of red beans and rice was infused with both heat and the mellowness of coconut milk. Among four entr es we tried, my favorite was shrimp etou e. It’s made with cream, which is not standard, but who can deny cream’s magic properties? Combining it with smoked ham was genius on Klenotic’s part the result is both mellow and sharp. Three big pork chops came with a complicated beef-tofu mapo sauce — yes, beef on pork, but it worked. The chops were crusty, with enjoyable bits of fat. A whole black sea bass looked perhaps too crusty and fried, but its crunchy coat did not overwhelm the delicate fish. It’s probably a good thing that you have to go carefully to avoid the tiny bones prevents wolfing. Clams and gumbo is a big seller,
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TOM PERKINS
according to co-owner Mark Maynard. (The third partner is Jesse Kranyak, who also owns psi’s Wurst Bar.) The sweet and juicy Manila clams are on the side, and the spicy sausage gumbo incorporates clam stock. For dessert we had a fantastic cr me br l e that was, oddly, called “burnt custard” on the menu. Which term would make you more likely to order? In any case, the crisp and smoky crust was exactly what a cr me br l e is supposed to wear. Bell ower’s high prices are mitigated by the fact that portions are quite large. The skate cheeks are positioned as a starter but you get five of them, plus a big mound of potato salad. Rice and beans are similarly hefty. A starter could serve as an entr e, and sharing entr es is fine. Wine prices are noticeably low, $7$10 per glass, many bottles under $40. Sommelier Jenn Lucier seeks “known varietals from unknown regions,” Maynard said, and they are “aggressively priced because we want people to drink wine.” I enjoyed a vinho verde and a tangy French ermentino, new to me, and also the Perennial Spark cocktail, with cava, hibiscus tea, and ginger and apricot liqueurs. It came in layers in a cone-shaped glass the avor changed as the pink sank from top to bottom. There’s also a list of six absinthes and some familiar and unfamiliar beers,
Bellflower 209 Pearl St., Ypsilanti bellflowerypsi.com Handicap accessible 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and FridaySaturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday Starters $9-$25; entrées $19-$54, average $31-$32
plus three “teetotaler” drinks with Seedlip distilled non-alcohol spirits. A new British company, Seedlip o ers spirits like Garden 10 “A oral blend of peas & hay...with a complex herbal base character of Spearmint, Rosemary & Thyme.” I have no doubt the Bellower mixologists make it good. The sta works with a dozen local farms, whose o erings determine the rapidly changing menu, posted to Facebook and Instagram daily. They have their own smoker and two bakers whose specialty is milk bread. They’re bringing back a rye for the sandwich bar and a bread to complement their mu aletta. The sandwich board reads like New Orleans fried oysters, fried shrimp, fried oysters and shrimp, chicken boudin, just $10-$1 . Cold cuts include soppressata, mortadella, and capiccola. I’m seldom in psi, but I got the feeling that Bell ower, named after the Michigan native, is already a proudly beloved local institution.
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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FOOD Bites
Detroit’s Traffic Jam & Snug restaurant damaged in fire By L ee DeV ito
Midtown’s longstanding Traffic J am & S n u g res t au ran t
su ered extensive damage in a Friday morning fire and could be considered “a total loss,” according to Detroit Fire Department public relations o cer James Harris. He tells M etro T imes t h at t h e t wo alarm fire started just before 2 a.m. and was contained within two and a half hours, but as of 7 40 a.m. the department was still putting out some hot spots. The cause of the fire is not yet known, he says. “We’re doing a thorough investigation to see how it started,” he says. “We still don’t have those facts yet.” M etro T imes observed heavy damage Friday morning, including broken windows and debris strewn across Canfield Street. Water was gushing out of the side of the building onto 2nd Avenue. “It’s severe damage,” Harris says. “We’re not sure if it’s a total loss at this time, but there is extensive damage.” No civilians or firefighters were injured, Harris says. “Not to sound cold, but you can get another building,” he says. “ ou can’t get another human, so we’re glad nobody got injured.” The building is located near other businesses including Shinola and Third Man Records, which appeared intact. The business, referred by fans as TJ’s, has stood on the corner of Canfield Street and 2nd Avenue for more than 50 years, and is known for making almost everything in-house, including beer, bread, and ice cream. M etro T imes could not reach Tra c Jam & Snug management for comment.
Grosse Pointe Park’s Sprout House sold to WDET’s Lisa Brancato and Ann Delisi
The longtime owners of the Sprout House health food store in Grosse Pointe Park have handed o their busi-
Heavy damage at Midtown’s Traffic Jam & Snug restaurant seen Friday morning, including broken windows and debris strewn across Canfield Street. LEE DEVITO
ness to a pair of new owners that might be familiar to metro Detroiters. Blake and Marie Maconochie, who owned the 40-plus-year-old business since 2002, sold the business to Lisa Brancato and Ann Delisi, both of public radio station WDET-FM. “Lisa and I are close friends and have joined forces on some exciting projects in the past, but this is our biggest collaboration yet,” Delisi said in a statement. “We are two crazy Italians who love delicious food and can’t wait to share our love of healthy eating and great local products with the community.” “We are looking forward to keeping the longstanding recipes that dedicated customers have come to love about the Sprout House,” Brancato said. “We are excited to explore relationships with local food entrepreneurs and farms to introduce new products into the store.” “Lisa and I value the time Blake and Marie spent training us to prepare customer favorites like the Southwest Avocado Sandwich, Thai Peanut Soup, and the Sprout House Cookie, an item that has been on the menu for over 0 years,” Delisi added. “Our goal is to make the Sprout House a real community gathering place. As we learn to perfect these longstanding Sprout House classics, we will also begin exploring new recipes and ideas.”
32 June 1-7, 2022 | metrotimes.com
Brancato and Delisi say they plan on adding new menu items to store, which is known for vegan and vegetarian homemade soups and sandwiches, as well as products like fresh-pressed juices made to order and vitamin supplements. Brancato, a Grosse Pointe Park resident, recently resigned from WDET, where she served as director of strategic partnerships for 10 years. Delisi will remain at WDET, where she hosts the shows Essential Music, The Don Was Motor City Playlist, and the Essential Cooking podcast with Chef James Rigato. The Sprout House is located at 152 Kercheval Ave. More information, is available at sprouthousenaturalmarket. com. —Lee DeVito
A new curling and ax-throwing facility in Novi
We have to admit, we became absolutely entranced by the strange sport of curling while watching the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where players slide stones across a sheet of ice toward a target, using tools to guide the stone’s movement by subtly altering the surface of the ice. Well, now we — and you — can try it out. A new $10 million facility called
the HUB Stadium in Novi bills itself as the only place in Michigan for the general public to try curling. While there are other facilities in Michigan that o er curling, those are clubs that require memberships. The HUB Stadium allows walk-ins. The HUB Stadium also runs a location in Auburn Hills, but the Novi location (located in the former Lucky Strike bowling alley in the Fountain Walk) is the first to o er curling. The 70,000-square-foot facility includes six curling sheets. It also has 22 ever-trendy ax-throwing stalls, though HUB Stadium uses high-tech projection mapping to make its ax-throwing what it bills as “the first interactive ax-throwing kiosk in the country,” projecting games and scores onto the boards. The facility also includes eight football bowling lanes, as made popular by Detroit’s Fowling Warehouse. The HUB Stadium will also include a restaurant and bar, dubbed the Concession Stand, that serves what it calls “a travel-in uenced menu centered around fire-enhanced cooking and the freshest ingredients.” The HUB Stadium is located at 44 25 W. 12 Mile Rd., H-1 0, in the Twelve Mile Crossing at Fountain Walk. More information is available at novi.thehubstadium.com. —Lee DeVito
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Wed 6/01
PATIO BAR OPEN @5PM Eastown & Long Drink PROMOS TOPP DOGG hot dog cart @6pm Thurs 6/02
CRAVEN IDOL(UK)/ Berator (CHI)/ Jesus Wept Doors@9 $5 cover Mizz Ruth’s Grill @7pm Happy Birthday, Luch! Fri 6/03
PATIO BAR OPEN @2PM Bizarre(of D12) HE GOT A GUN Album Release Party, prod. by FOUL MOUTH Doors@7 $10 Cover Mizz Ruth’s Grill @5pm Sat 6/04
PATIO BAR OPEN @2PM Poor Player/HONEY & BUFFALO/ WC Edgar Doors@9 $5 cover Happy Birthday, Taru Lahti & Dan Jones! Sun 6/05
PATIO BAR OPEN @2PM SLUSHY SUNDAY’S PROMO by LONG DRINK @2PM Mon 6/06
PARTYUP PRINCE BDAY DANCE PARTY w. DJkage/Crème de La crème/ wsg. Donna Gardner Doors@9pm $5 cover FREE POOL ALL DAY TOPP DOGG hot dog cart @9PM Happy Birthday, Sebastian! Tues 6/07
B. Y. O. R. Bring Your Own Records You Can DJ! 9pm NO COVER! Coming Up In June:
6/10 Sudden Death Syndrome/Scum Queens/ Macho/Hail Alien 6/11 PARKHOUSE NIGHT 6/12 TIED DOWN Post-Fest (hardcore) 6/16 Full Moon Party w/ Tony Nova 6/17 Hourlies/Checker/Idiot Kids 6/21 MAKE MUSIC DETROIT (no cover) 6/24 FUNK NIGHT (monthly) 6/25 Something Elegant Dance Party (monthly) JELLO SHOTS always $1
34 June 1-7, 2022 | metrotimes.com
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
35
WEED
Doghouse Farms has Detroit’s first license for a recreational cannabis grow facility.
SHUTTERSTOCK
One-Hitters
Detroit’s first recreational marijuana license awarded to a brand from Oregon By Randiah Camille Green
Detroit has finally awarded its first recreational cannabis license. But what’s giving us major side-eye energy is that the license went to Doghouse Farms, a brand originally from Oregon, with a grow facility in Detroit. After a two-year clusterfuck of trying to allow recreational weed in the city and a lawsuit over giving lifelong Detroiters first dibs, the first adult-use license goes to a business that isn’t even originally from Detroit. Isn’t this what we were trying to avoid in the first place— brands coming in from outof-state and capitalizing on weed sales before longtime Detroiters? Doghouse Farms’ Detroit facility is just a grow operation, which the city’s current regulations allow an unlimited number. However, only 100 adult-use recreational marijuana retailer licenses are available in the city. The Doghouse Farms brand was formed in Oregon in 2005 and now has operations in Michigan, Florida, and Washington state. The brand opened its Detroit facility shortly after weed became legal in Michigan back in 2019, spending roughly $4 million to open up shop, Crain’s Detroit Business reports.
They’ve been running as a strictly medical operation for the past 15 months. “A (recreation license) is the only reason we came to Detroit,” Eric Slutzky, CEO of Doghouse Farms in Michigan, told Crain’s. “The city taking this long really cut the knees out of the local market, but we had faith the city would do the right thing.” Detroit communities that were ravaged by the war on drugs and thought they might finally be able to benefit from recreational marijuana regulations had faith the city would do the right thing too. Guess they’ll just have to keep waiting. Slutzky told Crain’s that Doghouse Farms was able to get its license so quickly because they had everything already prepared to file. “I had a file ready to go as soon as the city went live,” he said. “I’ve spent the last year following very closely with what the City Council was going to do.” Doghouse now has two Class C adultuse recreational grow licenses, allowing them to grow 4,000 plants at a time, and three Class C medical marijuana licenses to grow 4,500 plants for medicinal use at its 25,000 square-foot Detroit
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operation, according to Crain’s. Doghouse Farms’ Detroit location does have some ties to the city, as COO Nir Saar is a former principal in the Detroit Public Schools Community District and Slutzky is the former corporate vice president of real estate for Farmington Hills-based insurance brokerage H.W. Kaufman Group. Still, we were hoping that Detroit’s first recreational marijuana license would go to a business that was more homegrown. With the city facing a pending lawsuit over a provision that prevents medical facilities from getting a recreational license until 2027, the future is uncertain. Will Detroit ever get it together? How long will Detroit business owners have to wait before they can participate in recreational marijuana sales? Find out in the next episode of “who even knows at this rate?”
Camp Cannabis music fest announces initial lineup
A music festival that bills itself as the first licensed cannabis event in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has announced
its initial lineup. The “Camp Cannabis” music festival, sponsored by The Fire Station Cannabis Co., announced a first round of artists, including national acts like The Floozies, Asher Roth, Afroman, Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, and comedian Nimesh Patel, among others. The event is planned for Oct. 7-9 in Marquette’s Tourist Park. “We’re so excited to share this lineup,” The Fire Station co-owners Logan Stauber and Stosh Wasik said in a joint statement. “It’s our hope that everyone in the community will appreciate the wide variety of genres and the level of talent that we’re bringing in for our inaugural festival.” More artists will be announced in the coming weeks, The Fire Station says, adding that artists will also be able to compete for a spot to perform at a Digs City Beach Battle of the Bands event during the summer. Tickets to Camp Cannabis can be purchased at thefirestation.com/ camp-cannabis, with early bird ticket pricing expiring on Sunday, June 5. —Lee DeVito
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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CULTURE ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is only so bold By Georg e E lk ind
Memory punctuates action t h ro u g h o u t T op Gun:
M av eric k in its many ashbacks — but successful evocation of any feeling richer than nostalgia is a bit tougher of a task. As a remarkably sturdy, fan-saluting sequel, M av eric k stands comfortably on its own, extending and repeating much of the action and tensions of the first film with some new wrinkles that make it feel like an episode in the same series helmed by a di erent, lesser name. While this is an accomplishment in entertainment of a certain kind, its unwillingness to color outside decadesold lines speaks of a certain artistic weakness at its heart. For declining to press viewers or its own style in any richly new directions, the film feels circular and slavish in its devotions to uncreative gestures, highlighting a conservative tendency that keeps it from (if not succeeding) truly setting itself apart. The first T op Gun could hardly be called non-commercial. Its late director, Tony Scott (also of T rue Romanc e and T he L ast Boy S c out) came to feature films via painting and then production of commercials and music videos, retaining a searing visual sensibility that set even his paycheck projects apart. The director of T he H ung er always seemed artistically hungry himself, showcasing even in conservative projects a taste for the unexpected. The cuts he assembled with his editors were marked throughout his career by ever-increasing spontaneity, a kind of time-based impressionism many still grapple with today. His works as such could feel heatedly subjective, getting at something close to the peaks of first-person, adrenalized experience. Even when working o scripts rooted in familiar tropes — or serving promotional needs for the U.S. Military — his projects carried a distinct voice and sensibility as a consistent signature. As a product of artistic restlessness, the many features
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick.
of Scott’s work would be hard to push through the more rigorously capitalized, focus-grouped system of production that’s overtaken Hollywood now. T op Gun: M av eric k , whatever its many virtues, can only serve to strengthen the case. In 19 ’s T op Gun, Scott’s sensibility ran alongside those of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, as well as a warm and sweeping cast. Rendering competitive jockeying between pilots in an elite naval ight school as a melodramatic sphere of quasi-athletic striving and accompanying romantic drama, Scott and his collaborators sold ying as a kind of daredevil sport, capturing pale (and largely white) actors ushed and sweat-beaded. This vision, not attering in the most Hollywood pop-conventional sense, evoked a striking specificity in time, place, and milieu nonetheless. Thanks to Scott’s hand and a robust if under-sketched cast (filled out beyond the page by each actor), even the most rote plot maneuvers could be lifted to a heightened space of textured sensuality. And even as it could pull double-duty as a recruitment ad, Scott’s work asserted film’s capacity as a visual and sonic medium both to transport and to tantalize, as he continued to do after. T op Gun: M av eric k remains in thrall to Scott’s many distinctive gestures, though its structure is in significant part its own. Set at the titular ight school, it sees Cruise as ever-roguish pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell sent to train a group of younger pilots at T op Gun for a daunting mission. Requiring extraordinary aerial acrobatics and physical endurance, the film oscillates between training sessions with Cruise as a guru-like instructor and — as in the first installment — Maverick’s interpersonal and romantic entanglements. These spheres overlap most with the addition of “Rooster” (a mustachioed Miles Teller), the long-fatherless son of Goose (Anthony Edwards in the first film), who died tragically on a mission alongside Maverick decades earlier. Navigating both Rooster’s and his own suspicions of himself here
38 June 1-7, 2022 | metrotimes.com
proves Maverick’s chief emotional task, providing a sharply pointed reminder of all he owes his new crop of trainees in terms of safety as well as mentorship. Against considerable odds, these intense teaching and training sessions manage to be both buoyant and absorbing. With Maverick operating as a fairly manic, albeit regimented and at times guru-like instructor, his work catches him between his own penchant for daredevil improvisation and his need to control and account for contingency, considering the youthful lives at stake. “It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot” becomes one of many repeated mantras, highlighting — as in the first film the very American notion that extraordinary individuals can overcome through discipline and force of will even the plainest of technological and physical laws. A theory put to the test early when Maverick and Rooster’s planes whirl together in a helix formation that takes them below the “hard deck,” or lower limit of where they’re authorized to y, Maverick’s exercises make space for him to collide with military orthodoxy on the one hand and the needs of his trainees to both accept and mitigate risk on the other. The task works in easy harmony with Cruise’s own persona as both athletic daredevil and control freak, edging a attering role with shades of real pathology. These test runs and the eventual, inevitable real mission are choreographed finely enough, with aerial action framed either in wide or cockpitmounted angles that capture the film’s impressive acrobatics with a highly competent sheen. Di ering from the sometimes fractured editing and grainy, shimmering shots of the first film — which conveyed a sense that the work of image-gathering may have often proven a struggle — there’s some energy lost in work made easier by virtue of new technology. In this sense, M av eric k ’s ight sequences epitomize a thorough contrast prizing the same honed-and-polished sturdiness, the same principles of clarity and precision that guide the film in ight undergird and constrain its action on the ground.
SCOTT GARFIELD / PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Top Gun: Maverick Rated: PG-13 Run-time: 131 minutes It’s in those sequences, without acrobatic spectacle as a shield, that M av eric k reveals its aws most plainly. Aping (its collaborators might say “honoring”) countless gestures from the first film — whether the pulsating visual exposition of its opening or Scott’s deep and nuanced a nity for wide figures caught between shadow and fields of solid color in shimmering silhouette — Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda fail regularly to approximate the feeling and adventurous verve beneath them. With dialogue scenes shot in T -like, symmetrical compositions, sometimes in front of cartoonishly oversized American ags or just-refracted strings of lights, M av eric k feels as though it’s leaning into rather than straining against the limits of its source material. (Scott, by contrast more creatively restless, tended to do the opposite). Accomplished as it seems on watching — especially in the parched landscape of contemporary studio filmmaking — M av eric k is largely drained of voice, subversion, or personality in its direction even as it makes space for its many performers (actors and pilots both) to shine through. As with Rooster’s studiously fanboyish aping of his dad, to mimic rather than to deviate is regarded within M av eric k as the clearest possible gesture of appreciation — or even of love. But two things can be true — and in the end, M av eric k succeeds more often than it fails, proving absorbing enough for most of its length. What it doesn’t get to be beyond its old and new performers is expressive, experimental, or potent in engineering its drama or its themes. Working mostly through mimicry, subtle variation, and substitution, it can hardly be said that it’s been anything but finely engineered. So as a work of engaging, less than profound surfaces, it works — but it would be better if it allowed for even accidental depth.
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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CULTURE Q: I’m a 31-year-old queer person liv-
ing in Europe. I recently met a 46-yearold man. We were visiting the same city for work and met on an app and went on a series of amazing dates. We have a lot of similar interests and work i r llel el s. o e re l i trip to see each other. It’s partly a work trip for him, but we will take a vacation together after the work part of the trip for him is over. To get to the point… he makes a lot more money than I do. e s offere to co er s m c o the costs as he needs to. I feel like I’m out of my league here! I really like him and he seems to really like me but I’m str li to t eeli li e t is is “Daddy and His Boy” situation. Do I ee to t t t eeli or le i to it? It’s not a dynamic he said he wants. I don’t mind if we agree that’s what we are doing. But I don’t want to fall into a Daddy/Boy dynamic accidentally because of money and “status.” How do I date him like I would someone closer to my age and income? —K n ow in g E c on om ic P os ition T en u ou s
A: If the Daddy/boy dynamic isn’t
something you want (if it doesn’t turn you on and/or you worry it’ll make things weird), and it isn’t something he wants (assuming he didn’t just say that because he thought it was what you wanted to hear), then you definitely shouldn’t “lean into it.” Instead, you should handle the expense of this trip the same way committed couples with large income disparities split the rent. If you were making $50k a year and he was making $150k a year and you wanted to move in together but weren’t ready to merge your finances, you should pay a quarter of the rent and he would pay three quarters of the rent. Same should go for utilities, food, and other expenses. But you’re not moving in together, KEPT, you’re just going on a vacation, so things can be a little looser. If you can a ord to y coach and he wants to y first class, he should cover the di erence between coach and firstclass fares. If he wants to cover the hotel (a major expense), you should cover meals — maybe not all of them, particularly if he wants to eat in fancy places, but enough of them that it will be clear to you, to him, to your waiter, and to the angels and saints watching from heaven that you aren’t a kept boy. (Nothing will make you feel less “kept” than pulling out your own credit card.) And the first part of the trip is for business and he would presumably be
going with or without you, KEPT, you shouldn’t feel guilty about not paying for meals or the hotel on that leg — a hotel room he would be staying in with or without you, meals he would be putting on his expense account with or without you — but maybe treat him to a surprise excursion on that leg of the trip that you can a ord. (Assuming either of you wants to leave your hotel room at this stage of your relationship.) The kind of disparities you describe — in ages, incomes, and the stages of your respective careers — are something almost all couples have faced — or in the case of income and career advancement, something most couples eventually face. But don’t spend too much time thinking about how you’re going to make this work over the longterm; you just met, you really liked each other, and you’re both willing to travel long distances to keep seeing each other. That should be your focus right now, KEPT. If he wasn’t comfortable covering most of the expenses, he wouldn’t have o ered to do that. He could’ve spent his vacation time in the city where you live instead. Of course, there’s a chance it was a trick o er — he o ered to cover the expense of the trip expecting you would turn it down — and he’s going to punish you in some passive-aggressive way for taking him up on it. If that happens, well, you can go back to dating boys closer to your age and tax bracket and/or wello guys who don’t play games.
Q: I’m a single and kinky gay man,
doing mainly vanilla dating at the moment. Recently, I got dumped by a guy because I fessed up to being kinky. I also told him I believe in God. I realize that might appear contradictory, but I don’t see why both can’t coexist. He told me he can’t date anyone who’s sexually deviant who also believes in “fairies at the bottom of the garden.” Both were equally problematic for him: my belief in God and my kinks. I wasn’t expecting to be both kink-shamed and God-shamed in the same breath. Are there such things as kinky Christians? ere c m tri e —F r u s tr a ted A b ou t I n s u l tin g l y T er m in a tin g H ook u p
A: One of the kinkiest guys I ever
met — dungeon-in-his-basement kinky, og-you-until-you-are-screaming kinky — was an episcopal priest. So yeah, FAITH, there are kinky Christians out there. But instead of sitting at home alone wondering where your
40 June 1-7, 2022 | metrotimes.com
Savage Love By Dan Savage
A: He gets it, NHG. The awkward-
JOE NEWTON
tribe is, get out there and find your tribe. Get on kinky dating apps, go to leather/fetish events, date some non-vanilla guy, make some nonvanilla friends. If you find a welcoming tribe and it turns out you’re the only believer, so long as no one judges or shames you, FAITH, join that tribe. If you meet guys who have a problem with your faith, they don’t get to be a part of your tribe. As for the guy who called you a sexual deviant… what the hell does he think he is? Without deviation from the norm, there wouldn’t be “normal” gay guys for that asshole to date at all. Some of us may deviate more than others, FAITH, but that’s as true for gay people as it is for straight people.
Q: A man I very casually “dated” for
more t YEARS AGO — a man I have maintained a friendship with ever since — tells his new girlfriends that I am his “ex-girlfriend.” This disclosure causes a lot of unnecessary awkwardness between whoever his current girlfriend might be and me. I’ve told him he shouldn’t do that because I was never o ci ll is irl rie . or . of the time I’ve known him, we’ve been rie s com re to t e . o t e time when we were very casually dating. He says he doesn’t want to lie?!? But it’s not a lie to say we are friends! I hate the awkwardness that it causes between me and the women he dates now. They never have a chance to get to know and trust me. Help me explain t is to im so e ll ets it —N ev er H is G ir l f r ien d
ness he’s creating between you and his girlfriend-of-the-moment — the awkwardness you see as unnecessary and avoidable — is exactly what he wants. Introducing you as his ex makes things awkward with his current, and his current girlfriend’s intuitive sense that he’s either intentionally or thoughtlessly making things awkward makes him a less appealing partner. He doesn’t want a commitment or anything long-term, and instead of being honest about that, he’s weaponizing your existence to erect barriers between him and whoever he’s dating at the moment. He may not be doing it knowingly, but he’s doing it just the same, and it’s a shitty thing to do to a friend. And the next time he does it, NHG, object and object loudly: “Don’t be ridiculous! I was NEVER your girlfriend!” Hey, Everybody: The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest protestant denomination in the United States, has always been terrible. It was founded in 1845 by supporters of slavery and the organization is racist to its core still. Leaders, churches, and preachers in the Southern Baptist Convention have also been the loudest anti-gay voices in the country for decades, and lately they’ve been loudly promoting the lie that gay and trans people — by simply existing — are somehow grooming children. Well, it turns out the groomers were in the building all along. In their buildings, in their megachurches, in their leadership — and they weren’t waving r i o s or re i rom e t er s o ommies. e ere i o e er te ttle s re i from Leviticus. A blockbuster report released last week documents decades of sexual abuse committed by pastors and leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention. The same preachers who were accusing gays and lesbians of ‘coming for your kids’ were the ones coming for your kids. And in them. As with all power-obsessed social conservatives, as with all Trumpers (and the Southern Baptist Convention is now a Trump property), every accusation — of corruption, of rigged elections, of sexual abuse — is an admission of guilt.
Ask: questions@savagelove.net! Listen to o t e e o ec st ollo o itter @ e e Columns, podcasts, books, merch and more at savage.love!
metrotimes.com | June 1-7, 2022
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CULTURE
Free Will Astrology By Rob Brez sny
ARIES: March 21 – April 19 Who loves the truth better than you Aries people? Who has the greatest potential to speak the real story in every situation, even when it requires extra courage? Who has more fun than you in discovering and defining and expressing the raw facts? In my Book of Life, you Rams are radiant beacons of candor — the people I go to when I need accuracy and honesty. And all I’m saying here will be especially crucial in the coming weeks. The whole world needs concentrated doses of your authenticity. Now read this pep talk from Aries philosopher St. Catherine of Siena: “Let the truth be your delight; let it always be in your mouth, and proclaim it when it is needed. Proclaim it lovingly and to everyone, especially those you love with a special love — but with a certain congeniality.” TAURUS: April 20 – May 20 Before the 20th century, you couldn’t buy a loaf of bread that was already sliced into thin pieces. Then in 1912, the American inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedder developed a slicing machine. But all his work, including the blueprints and the machine proto-
types, was destroyed in a fire. He had to seek new funding and begin again. Sixteen years later, his innovation was finally ready for broad public use. Within five years, most of the bread in the U.S. was sold sliced. What does this have to do with you? I am picking up an Otto Frederick Rohwedder vibe when I turn my visions to you, Taurus. I suspect that in the coming months, you, too, will fulfill a postponed dream. GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 A blogger named Sweetlikeacherry reminds us, “Some epiphanies are only possible when you put away your phone and go completely o ine for a while.” She adds that sometimes you also need to at least partially avoid your phone and the internet if you hope to incubate new visions of the future and unlock important discoveries in your creative work and summon your untamed genius. According to my astrological analysis, all these possibilities are especially likely and necessary for you in the coming weeks. I trust you will carry out the necessary liberations to take full advantage. CANCER: June 21 – July 22 Poet Carolyn Kizer (1925–2014) won a Pulitzer Prize for her poetry. She was smart! But when she was young and still studying her craft in college, a professor objected to one of her poems. He said, “ ou have pigs in this poem pigs are not poetic.” Kizer was incensed at such ignorance. She testified, “I got up and walked out of that class and never went back.” Judging from the astrological omens, I suspect you may have comparable showdowns headed your way. I advise you to be like Kizer. ou are the only one who truly knows the proper subjects of your quest. No one else has the right or the insight to tell you what your work (or play) should be about. LEO: July 23 – August 22 Leo author James Baldwin said it wasn’t often “that two people can laugh and make love, too — make love because they are laughing and laugh because they’re making love. The love and the laughter come from the same place: but not many people go there.” our assignment, Leo, is to be the exception to Baldwin’s rule during the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, there’s a high possibility that interesting eros can converge with humorous fun in a glorious synergy. ou will have a knack for conjuring up ribald encounters and jovial orgasms. our intuition will guide you to shed the solemnity from your bliss and replace it with sunny, carefree cheer.
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other,” wrote Sagittarian novelist Jane Austen. Sagittarian politician Stacey Abrams said, “From the moment I enter a room, I am clear about how I intend to be treated and how I intend to engage.” ou’ll be wise to cultivate those attitudes in the next seven weeks, Sagittarius. It’s high time for you to raise your self-respect in ways that inspire others to elevate their appreciation and regard for you. JAMES NOELLERT
VIRGO: August 23 – Sept. 22 I’m worried you will over-indulge in your pursuit of perfection during the coming weeks. It’s fine to be exquisitely skillful and masterful; I hope you do that. But if you get obsessed with awlessness, you will risk undoing your good intentions. As an antidote, I o er you two pieces of advice. The first is from actor and activist Jane Fonda. She said, “We are not meant to be perfect; we are meant to be whole.” The second counsel is from philosopher and psychologist William James, who wrote, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” LIBRA: Sept. 23 – Oct. 22 Author Mustafa Mahmoud described the signs of love between two people: 1. feeling a comfortable familiarity; 2. having no urge or need to lie; . being natural, not trying to be di erent from who one is; 4. having little or no possibility of being embarrassed in front of the other person; 5. experiencing silence as delicious, not alienating; 6. enjoying the act of listening to the other person. I bring these pointers to your attention, Libra, because the coming months will be a favorable time to define and redefine your understandings about the signs of love. How do you feel about Mahmoud’s ideas? Are there any more you would like to add?
CAPRICORN: Dec. 22 – Jan. 19 In 1963, Jim Munro and Alice Munro founded Munro’s Books, a store in Victoria, British Columbia. After being on the job for a few months, Alice found she was not impressed with many of the products they sold. “I can write better books than this,” she told Jim. Five years later, she published her first collection of short stories, Danc e of the H ap p y S hades. Fourteen books later, she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Will the coming months bring your equivalent of Alice Munro’s pivotal resolution? I suspect they could. AQUARIUS: Jan. 20 – Feb. 18 “True love for whatever you are doing is the answer to everything,” proclaimed performance artist Marina Abramovic. Amen to that righteous attitude! I hope you will embrace it in the coming weeks. I hope your heart and imagination will reveal all you need to know to bring tender fresh streams of true love to the essential activities of your life. Now is an excellent time to redefine the meaning of the word “love” so it applies to all your relationships and pursuits.
SCORPIO: Oct. 23 – Nov. 21 “We do not love each other without changing each other,” wrote author Madeleine L’Engle. Meditate on that gem, Scorpio. Now is a perfect time for you and your loved ones to acknowledge, honor, and celebrate the ways your love has changed each other. It may be true that some transformations have been less than ideal. If that’s the case, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to correct those trends. As for the positive changes that you and your allies have stimulated in each other: I hope you will name them and pledge to keep doing more of that good work.
PISCES: Feb.19 – March 20 A homeless woman in a wheelchair stopped where I was sitting outside a café. She was pushing her belongings in a small shopping cart. “Would you like to go dancing?” she said to me. “There’s a nearby park that has a great grassy dance oor.” “Maybe another day,” I told her. “My energy is low. I’ve had a lot of personal challenges lately.” I’m sure the expression on my face was less-than-ebullient. “Cheer up, mister,” she told me. “I’m psychic, and I can tell you for sure that you will live a long life and have many more fine adventures. I’ll be in the park if you change your mind.” My mood instantly brightened. “Thanks!” I yelled toward her as she rolled away. Now I predict that you, Pisces, will have comparable experiences in the coming days. Are you willing to welcome uplifting surprises?
SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 22 – Dec. 21 “I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any
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