Collections by Michelle Brown WSG LGBTQ Historian Tim Retzloff PhD

Dr. Retzloff teaches LGBTQ studies and U.S. history at Michigan State University. The Tim Retzloff oral history interviews (1993-2012) consist of over eighty oral histories conducted by Retzloff with members of Detroit's LGBTQ community. In 2018 we sat down with LGBTQ historian Tim Retzloff to talk about his research on Michigan’s LGBTQ+ History. H returns to update us on his work as we celebate LGBTQ History month

His work chronicling the lives of the LGBTQ+ community continues with the addition of his website Michigan LGBTQ Remembers. The site was launched in March of 2017. It is dedicated to documenting the diverse lives of LGBTQ Michiganders and their allies who are no longer with us.The individuals on the website were leaders, activists, and volunteers. Some were bar owners or employees, customers, or entertainers. Some were elders, and some were still in their youth. All were ordinary people who were members of the LGBTQ community who went about their everyday lives. The website posts their obituaries and has even written obituaries for some members of the community who had no one to celebrate their life with a remembrance upon their passing.

In his blog “Queer Remembering” Dr. Retzloff offers advice for members of the community looking for an archival home for their records and other thoughts on comings and goings in the LBTQ community