LGBTQ+ Oral History Project

Chris Armstrong 

Christopher H. Armstrong was the first openly gay student body president of the Michigan Student Assembly at the University of Michigan. While president, he was virtually attacked by Michigan’s Assistant Attorney General, Andrew Shirvell. Armstrong spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper to talk about the experience, and today works for the Office of the University of Michigan Development as the Spectrum Center Special Gifts Officer.

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Harold Gatewood 

Harold Gatewood is a 2001 graduate from the University of Michigan. In this interview, he reflects on his experiences growing up in Chicago, going to school and working for the University of Michigan from 1995 to 2010, and reflecting on the intersections between race and sexuality. Harold currently works in health care in the greater Chicago area.

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Jess Jackson 

Jess Jackson, MBA, M.ED is a multimedia designer, community architect, educator, and healing practitioner. Her human-centered approach, cultivated by direct service in education, has impacted a wide range of national and local community-based activism.

Mari Longmire 

In Mari’s words: a funky, spunky, queer artist lost in thought, but found in community. A bridge builder to the radical possibilities of every moment—within the limits of a day job. A Pisces, so I prioritize rest, but dream with my eyes open.

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Mary Heinen McPherson 

Mary Heinen McPherson is a Master Social Worker and a Senior Administrative Specialist. She was sentenced to prison in 1976, is Glover v. Johnson’s lead plaintiff, and earned three degrees. Since her release in 2002, Mary co-founded the Prison Creative Arts Project and the National Prison Arts Coalition. She was an Open Society Foundation Fellow in 2011, received her MSW from U-M in 2012, and became PCAP’s Program Manager in 2016. Mary works to start a Center for the Study of the Carceral State.

Saawan Tiwari 

Saawan Tiwari (Class of ‘20) identifies as a gay genderqueer person of color aspiring to work as a costume designer. Originally from Sacramento, CA, they came out senior year of high school, at which point they very quickly started wearing women’s clothes and embracing androgyny in gender expression. When they were interviewed, they had just moved to Brooklyn, NY during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Jim Toy 

Jim Toy is a long-time activist for social justice. After earning an MSW from the University of Michigan, Jim worked for the University for over twenty years. Jim has mentored several prominent community members and touched the lives of many through finding the Spectrum Center, the Ann Arbor Gay Liberation Front, and several other LGBTQ organizations. Jim passed away in 2022.

AK Krauss 

AK Krauss (they/them) graduated from the University of Michigan in 2019. While at U of M, they were the Resident Advisor for the Gender Inclusive Living Experience, a member of the Educational Theater Company, and a facilitator for the Change it Up! Workshops. Since graduation, they are pursuing a Master’s in Social Work at The University of Texas Austin.

Sergio Barrera 

Sergio G. Barrera is a native of Pharr, Texas in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, where he grew up on both sides of the border simultaneously. Barrera identifies as a Queer Chicano and Fronterizo. His studies revolve around Latinidad, social identity theories, masculinities among men of color, performance, and the performing arts through an embodied and critical consciousness approach.

Caroline Michele Uy

Caroline Michele Uy (they/them/theirs) is originally from Los Angeles, CA. They identify as non-binary and queer. Caroline is a 2020 graduate from the University of Michigan, and received bachelor’s degrees in Theatrical Design & Production, focusing on stage management, and Cognitive Science, focusing on language, with a minor in German.