BBB Detroit
BBB National/Detroit Chapter
Black Bear Brotherhood National/Detroit Chapter and Contact
Damon Magic Percy (President)
Danon Magic Percy is a Detroit native, who has been working within the LGBT+ community for the last 31 years. I Damon is also an acclaimed writer, publicist, poet, and author. Damon currently sits on the boards of several organizations here in Detroit, including the Detroit Sound Conservancy, which is a musical historical preservation society. He is also a member of Kappa Psi Kappa Fraternity Incorporated, and long-time contributor of LGBT Detroit, which is the longest-running black lead LGBT+ organization in the country.
Terry Allen (Vice President)
A healthcare worker and part-time black bear icon, Terrance “Terry Bear” Allen is an officer of the Black Bear Brotherhood Detroit. Allen has worked for such esteemed health care facilities as the Detroit Medical Center and worked in the committed service of developmentally challenged adults for over a decade. Father to a loving cat, Allen is a lifelong Detroiter and full-time human services advocate for vulnerable and disenfranchised populations.
L. Michael Gipson, MS (Founder/Officer)
A writer, educator, and 25-year advocate for a range of social justice causes, L. Michael Gipson, MS is the Founder and Principal of Faithwalk, LLC, the Urban (W)rites Project, the Black Bear Brotherhood of Detroit, and co-founder of the Black Alphabet Film Festival in Chicago. Mr. Gipson previously served as Deputy Director at Equality Michigan, Executive Director for the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, and is the co-founder of the Beyond Identities Community Center, the first LGBTQ youth of color drop-in center in Ohio. In 2017, he launched The Black Bear Brotherhood of Detroit, a social collective for Black gay/bi/SGL/GNC men of size and their allies, which has since expanded to chapters in Seattle, Cincinnati, and Washington, DC. An Editor-at-Large at SoulTracks.com, Gipson is a Red Dirt Press author and the Lead Writer and Co-Producer of the docuseries Indie Soul Journeys. Gipson’s essays, articles, and short stories have been variously anthologized in several commercial properties. Gipson holds a BFA from Goddard College and an MS from Full Sail University. Chicago bred and D.C. refined, Gipson now proudly calls Detroit, MI home.
Brandon Totten (Treasurer)
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio is Higher Education professional and sexual health advocate. He has a passion for positive sexual health awareness and believes that in order for us to have truly authentic “safe” spaces we as people have to truly accept, embrace and learn to truly grow from vulnerability.
Chris INPAQ Sutton (Communications/Media)
Chris Sutton (who also goes by the artistic alias of INPAQ) is a Detroit born, 7 Mile and Meyers raised, visual storyteller, who uses the art form of filmmaking to impact social change, while elevating culture-shifting narratives within the realm of cinema. With over 15+ years of film production experience, INPAQ has spent much of his filmmaking career passionately honoring the often underrepresented stories of Detroit’s QTPOC (Queer Trans People Of Color) communities, specifically from the African diaspora. INPAQ also reflects on his own unique experiences growing up black and gay within the 313, while also investing in the next generation of LGBT+ creatives within Detroit. Currently INPAQ work as the Broadcast Manager at LGBT Detroit leading the LGBT Detroit Broadcast Network (LDBN), and recently awarded as a Detroit Narrative Emerging Filmmaker Fellow for his upcoming narrative film, honoring the legacy of of Detroit’s iconic – Club Heaven. For more information on INPAQ, you can visit his official website at www.inpaq.me
Rev. Dr. Roland Stringfellow (Officer)
The Rev. Dr. Roland Stringfellow (he/him/his), Senior Pastor and Teacher of the Metropolitan Community Church (sometimes referred to as the MCC, also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, or UFMCC) in Detroit, Michigan, has lived this statement out in his ministry: “In order to do anything in the world, you have to understand yourself.” A leading voice in advocacy and activism for the LGBTQ+ community from adolescents to elders, Stringfellow’s journey has led him to a spiritual life anchored in a progressive, fifty-year-old denomination. Through the establishment of The Umoja Project, he aids participants in understanding the impact of exclusion from church life and broader communities.
Paul D. Phillips (Officer)
Paul is a systems administrator with a strong passion for community service, actively involved in a neighborhood radio patrol. In addition to their professional role, they run a technology consulting business, offering expert solutions to address diverse IT needs.
To reach BBB National/Detroit Chapter, please email us at BlackBearBrotherhood@gmail.com
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