The Metro: The leading legacies of Gayly Speaking and ‘Come Out! In Detroit’
Dr. Tim Retzloff discusses the leadership and impact of Gayly Speaking show in Detroit. He and illustrator Clare Paul also spoke about the comic book “Come Out! In Detroit,” describing it as a love letter to the first Pride of Michigan.
A pride flag waves over Detroit.
In 1973, the Gay Radio Collective began producing Gayly Speaking through WDET. The Lesbian Radio Collective collaborated with them to shape episodes that resonated with the queer Detroit audience for a decade.
“They were not afraid to tackle broad topics in the community,” said Dr. Tim Retzloff, returning to WDET after celebrating the 40th anniversary of Gayly Speaking on the Craig Fahle Show in 2013. Now he teaches history and queer studies at Michigan State University.
Isabel Clare Paul is a freelance illustrator who graduated from the College for Creative Studies. She illustrated a comic book called “Come Out! In Detroit” with Dr. Retzloff in 2022. It was in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Michigan Pride.
Dr. Retzloff joins The Metro to discuss the leadership and impact of Gayly Speaking in Detroit. He and Clare Paul also spoke about “Come Out! In Detroit” and referred to it as a love letter to the first Pride of Michigan.
“I remember we were focusing a lot on color, because so many of the pictures we had were black or white,” Paul said. “I wanted to get across the historical time period of the 70s.”
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
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