Collections By Michelle Brown

The name “Jim Toy” is synonymous with the queer movement in the state of Michigan.  The first publicly “out” man in Michigan, Jim was a founding member of the Ann Arbor Gay Liberation Front.  In 1971 he established the first campus center in history devoted to the support of sexual minority group members.  The Human Sexuality Office (HSO) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was later renamed The Spectrum Center Jim served as its Co-Coordinator, and Gay Male advocate at the Spectrum Center, from 1971 until 1994. His status as a TBLG icon is based on over 40 years of tireless efforts to create safety and equality for people of all sexual and gender preferences through his speaking, teaching, writing, administrating, organizing and protesting. The Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project an Ann Arbor resource center that existed to provide information, education, social events, and advocacy by and for the Queer and Ally community in the Washtenaw County area was renamed the Jim Toy Community Center in 2010 to