Toy was catapulted into the public sphere when, on April 15, 1970, the Chinese-American activist announced his sexuality to the world at a rally against the Vietnam War at Kennedy Square.Ī year later, he helped establish and directed for over 20 years what became the Human Sexuality Office at the University of Michigan, since renamed the Spectrum Center, which for five decades has worked to support LGBTQ students and staff on campus.Īt the university, where he received his master's degree in clinical social work, he also spent nearly 40 years advocating for the inclusion of gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation as protected categories in the University of Michigan's non-discrimination bylaw, ultimately a successful effort. Speaking as a representative of the Detroit Gay Liberation Front, Mr.
Toy was a founding member of the Detroit and Ann Arbor chapters of the Gay Liberation Front, an international activist network formed in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall riots and often viewed as the birth of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. I’m thinking about his family, friends, and the Ann Arbor community as we mourn this great loss." "Love continues to win because of the dedication that Jim put into his work," wrote Dingell. "We owe so much to him and it’s on all of us to ensure his legacy continues. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, described him as a "champion for equality" who spent his life working to ensure that people could live with pride and without fear of discrimination in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. He co-authored the first official Pride Week proclamation by a governing body in the United States, the Ann Arbor City Council, as well as the city's non-discrimination policy based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and helped create and retain Ypsilanti’s non-discrimination ordinance as well. "I am committed to making as much trouble as I can to create and maintain justice," he told NPR in 2020.