A new historical marker celebrating a monumental era in LGBTQ+ history will be introduced on Thursday, September 4th. The unveiling event will begin at 11 a.m. on the south side of Larcom City Hall.
The site commemorates 1972 Ann Arbor City Council members Nancy Wechsler and Jerry DeGrieck, the first elected officials in the United States to come out as gay while in office.
After facing discrimination by bar employees on October 14, 1973, Wechsler called the police, citing Ann Arbor’s 1972 Human Rights Ordinance. The incident involved Wechsler and her friends getting kicked out for kissing and dancing together. Neither the bar employees nor the police knew about the new ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The next day, at a city council meeting where Chief of Police Walter Krasny was giving his yearly report, Wechsler and DeGrieck asked about the lack of enforcement of the new ordinance. They both came out during that meeting.
While in office, Wechsler and DeGrieck worked with Jim Joy, who had started the Human Sexuality Office at the University of Michigan. Jim co-drafted the country’s first “Lesbian-Gay Pride Week Proclamation,” and Wechsler and DeGrieck introduced and passed it.
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The site also honors Kathy Kozachenko, the first openly gay candidate to win an elected seat in the United States. She was one of thousands of LGBTQ+ people to come out after the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. She won her Ann Arbor city council seat in 1974, a year after Wechsler and DeGrieck came out.
Ann Arbor’s application for State Site No. 769, Ann Arbor and LGBTQ+ Rights/ Ann Arbor and Human Rights, was approved by the Michigan Historical Society in February 2024. The City Clerk and City Council collaborated on this project throughout 2024, Ann Arbor’s bicentennial year.
Mayor Christopher Taylor said in a press release,“This marker is not just about honoring the past, but about reaffirming our commitment to equity, dignity, and inclusion for all. The bravery and leadership of Nancy Wechsler, Jerry DeGrieck, and Kathy Kozachenko remind us that change begins when individuals speak out and take action.”
The ceremony will host speeches from elected officials, community leaders, and city staff. The permanent plaque highlights Ann Arbor’s history of activism and the impact of Wechsler, DeGrieck, and Kozachenko’s time in leadership.
