Black, gay and graying gracefully – The Washington Post

I first met Mike and Phil in 2019 while reporting my book, “Queer Love in Color.” We were introduced by Curtis Lipscomb, the executive director of LGBT Detroit (also featured in the book), who, hearing me lament the dearth of older gay men in my life, insisted that I meet this couple. He described them as “vital” to the city’s gay Black community, and it was easy for me to understand why: I spent my teen years in Detroit. I came out of the closet there. And for so many years, I could never imagine myself growing old, being healthy, in love and happy in this city, like Mike and Phil. It would’ve changed my life to meet someone like them when I was younger.