Charles Pugh, a TV reporter turned politician, made history in 2009 as the first openly gay elected official in the city of Detroit. In an overwhelming show of support, Pugh won a seat onto Detroit city council and replaced Cockrel as council president.

Born and raised in Detroit, Pugh rose up from what some might call insurmountable circumstances. Pugh’s mother was murdered when he was only 3 years old. Four years later, Pugh’s father committed suicide when he shot himself in the head just across the hall from Charles’ bedroom, leaving him to make a 911 call no child should ever have to make. Raised by his grandmother, Pugh went on to become an honor student in high school and eventually left Detroit to attend the University of Missouri on a journalism scholarship. He did a stint as a reporter in Virginia and Indiana before returning to his hometown to join the Detroit Fox 2 News team.

Pugh is known for being a very public and positive figure in the LGBT community. Unapologetically gay, Pugh speaks very candidly about his sexuality. “I don’t hide the fact that I’m gay,” says Pugh. “I don’t hide it at work. I don’t hide it with my friends. I don’t hide it in public. I’m not ashamed of anything, so I don’t have anything to hide.” Pugh was even once quoted as saying, “it surprises me that there are not more African-American men in the spotlight who have come out of the closet.”

Pugh is passionate about the community and especially the LGBT youth in it.

“We need to come together as a community because there are too many kids who feel that they’re alone, who feel like they’re the only gay person who has been kicked out of school, who has been kicked out of their home, who has been abandoned by their friends, who still goes to church and feels like they’re going to burn in hell because God does not love them anymore,” said Pugh in a 2004 interview. “So many young people never see any normal gay people, they see the extremes because those are the people who are most noticeable. Those are the most obvious among us, but those are the minority. To be honest, most gay people you would walk right on by without noticing. And because of not recognizing folks, it makes a lot of young people feel isolated. What we need to do as professionals who are running this community and who are influential, we need to embrace these young people and let them know that they have role models and mentors and confidants, people who can show them that they be successful and the sky is the limit.” Source

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