Drag Queen Storytime to Continue After Madison Heights Council Takes New Vote
(Crystal A. Proxmire, June 5, 2026)
Madison Heights, MI – Following community push back, Madison Heights City Council reversed course on a decision earlier this week to remove Drag Queen Storytime for Sunday’s Arts and Pride event.
On June 1 City Council held a special meeting, and voted 4-3 to cancel the storytime portion of the Pride event, with Assistant City Attorney Jeff Sherman stating ““So the question before this Council today really should be re-framed. It’s not about drag queens. It’s about children because the proposed programming decision specifically involves children. Many would claim that drag queens are historically tied to adult nightlife, cabaret, or sexualized entertainment for adults. And although the drag queen in question will not be engaged directly in their act, their costumes, humor, or themes, it may blur boundaries between children’s programming and the adult performance culture…I would not want a drag queen to read to my grandchildren any more than I would want an exotic dancer to read to them.”
According to a press release sent by the City, “In the days that followed, the Mayor, members of City Council, and event organizers, continued discussions to explore whether a solution could be reached that addressed the concerns expressed by residents while preserving the event’s broader goals. Those conversations were conducted in good faith and focused on advancing understanding, acceptance, and respectful coexistence within the community. As a result of those discussions, City Council held a second Special Meeting on June 5, 2026, to reconsider its previous action. The purpose of this meeting was to consider a revised approach allowing the Drag Queen Story Time reading to take place inside the Jaycee Building at Civic Center Park as part of the Arts and Pride Event. This resolution was agreed to by the boards and commission and the city council. The vote was 6-0 in favor of this resolution.”
Councilmember Sean Flemming, who had voted previously for the cancellation, did not attend the June 5 meeting.
Mayor Corey Haines, who had originally supported cancelling the storytime, said he acknowledged “the hurt, the disappointment, frustration our earlier decision caused for a lot of people.”
“ For that, I’m sincerely sorry,” Mayor Haines said. “Since that vote, there has been extensive collaboration among community members, city staff, the human rights and equity commission and the arts board. Through thoughtful dialogue, and a shared commitment to finding common ground, an agreement was made, and reached of how drag queen story time can be included in this year’s event.”
Councilmember Toya Aaron also had originally voted to cancel the storytime. After speaking about having gay relatives, she told the audience, “I apologize to any person in this room or any community that feels that I slandered the LGBTQ community., cause I did not. And that was not my intent….I support the LGBTQ community.”
Councilmember Emilie Rohrbach supported the event at both meetings. I”m glad that we’re having this conversation. I’m glad that the public outrage made it to the ears of the people that needed to hear it,” she said.
Arts and Pride takes place Sunday from 1-5pm at Civic Center Park. Drag Queen Jadein Black will be reading and doing a meet and greet in the Jaycee building at 1pm. Learn more on Facebook.
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