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2002 Catalyst Awards |
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Compiled by GayToday
Awarded at the Annual Museum Dinner Event, scheduled for Sunday, 28 April 2002 at the Henry Ford Museum-Lovett Hall, this year's Catalyst Award Recipients will be presented to the following: Michael Gibson-Faith, MSW, Community Activist Catalyst Award; Detroit Black Gay Pride, Community Activist Catalyst Award; Margaret Dodd, Mayor-City of Traverse City, Allied Activist Catalyst Award; and Braden Jahr, Henry D. Messer Youth Activist Catalyst Award. In addition to the Catalyst Awards, a special tribute will be made to honor the director and cast of the Jewish Ensemble Theater's recent production of The Laramie Project. Michael Gibson-Faith Activist, campus and community organizer, Michael Gibson-Faith, was born and raised in Detroit. For the last six years, Mike has planned and managed educational and outreach opportunities to raise awareness and knowledge of queer issues for campus groups and departments, nonprofit and community organizations around Michigan. He is a key player in organizing the annual "Beloved Community Lobby Day" with the Triangle Foundation, and is helping other social workers learn how to influence their legislators by working with Dr. Betty Brown-Chapell from Eastern Michigan University to create a TBLG-inclusive How To Lobby video. Mike also works with Kathleen Russell at EMU's LGBT Resource Center, as well as with Project YES (Youth for Equality and Safety), which helps child welfare agencies become LGBT-affirming. Mike and his partner, Clayton, live in Ann Arbor. Detroit Black Gay Pride Detroit's pride for same-gender-loving (SGL) people of African descent was established because of Kwanzaa. The positive spirit and collaborative energy that was generated during the Kwanzaa celebration was both infectious and powerful. One evening a group of community leaders sat around a piano in a local cafe to discuss how inspiring and spiritual it was to celebrate building community. Many had likened the energy to the success of black gay pride celebrations in LA and DC. It didn't take long for these men and women to realize that not only could the same energy be reproduced in Detroit (of all places), but that it could be done successfully with a broader purpose. Everyone agreed that the initial focus of the event would be on strengthening our community-based organizations. As a result of that conversation around a piano, Detroit Black Gay Pride, Inc. (DBGPride, Inc.) emerged. Founded in 1996 as a non-profit, grass-roots organization, whose mission is to provide educational, social, political and cultural resources to lesbian, gay, bi-attractional and transgender men and women of African descent in Southeast Michigan, DBGPride, Inc. provides management and budgetary oversight of Detroit's Hotter Than July! and the HTJ!2002 Planning Committee. In addition, DBGPride also organizes bi-weekly Community Forums as well as networking/planning sessions. >From the vision of a few individuals and the faith of many, Detroit's Hotter Than July! was founded and established in 1996. DBGPride, Inc focuses its energy towards enriching the lives of SGL people of African descent in Southeast Michigan. We encourage the celebration of culture, self-empowerment and self-identity. Margaret Dodd, Mayor-City of Traverse City Margaret Dodd was born in Scotland and left there at age 22 to travel around the world before settling down. In 1977 Dodd moved to Traverse City.
During her political career, Dodd has served as Mayor Pro Tem for Traverse City as well as and serving on the Planning Commission, the Commons Parkland Committee, the Grand Traverse County Township's Association, and as Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Serving on innumerable City Commission Ad Hoc committees including the Cherry Festival Committee, the Carnegie Renaissance Committee, the Community-Law Enforcement Liaison Committee, and the BATA Advisory Committee, Dodd worked to ensure her philosophy of making better use of the land available to the people of Traverse City and yet not follow big city models, thus retaining the "small town" quality that she herself found so attractive. Among her accolades, Dodd has been voted "Best Local Hero," "Environmentalist of the Year," and "Best Elected Official" in her hometown of Traverse City. Most recently, Dodd, who designed the now infamous "We Are Traverse City" rainbow campaign and among the leaders in opposition to the AFA backed Proposal One, which would have appealed Traverse City's charter enacting civil rights for "gays, homosexuals and bisexuals," was elected as mayor of Traverse City during a hotly contested race against Phil Orth. An open ally and supporter of the glbt community, Dodd has "consistently shown the courage to respond to public concerns without bowing to political pressures." Braden Jahr As a gay youth, Braden learned about the painful assaults so often directed towards sexual minorities. The harassment made him feel unsafe in a public school, and he left school to finish his education at home. Because of his experiences, he has taken on the "role" of an advocate. Braden has formed a "Diversity Group" at his former school, to help inform others about respecting individual differences. He is also involved with the Triangle Foundation in forming a local chapter to bring GLBT people together in our area. Braden is one of the founding members and serves on the Board of this local chapter. One of the projects in which he is involved, through Triangle, focuses on youth. Braden also has been chosen, by Advocates for Youth, to serve as an on-line peer educator, to assist and counsel other teens. Through Advocates, he was awarded a scholarship to attend their annual conference in Washington D.C., where he spent time lobbying at the national capitol. Braden has taken a negative experience and turned it into a positive one. His care and concern for others is evident by the actions he has taken. His life has become one of advocacy and love. Triangle Foundation's Eighth Annual Museum Dinner Event will begin with a Cocktail Reception and Silent Auction at 5:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, 2002, Henry Ford Museum, Lovett Hall. Tickets for this event are $150 per person from Michael Lippy: jmichael@tri.org |
Mayor Margaret Dodd, Traverse City, Michigan, will receive one of the Triangle Foundation's 2002 Catalyst Awards on April 28 