30 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021
OUR COMMUNITY
W
hen Howard Bragman was
growing up in Flint, the city had
a small but vibrant Jewish com-
munity, and he had a lot of family nearby.
His family belonged to the old Beth Israel, a
Conservative congregation.
Still, growing up in the Midwest in the
1960s, without a lot of peers or role models
to look to, Bragman said he never quite fit
in. “
As a fat, Jewish, gay kid in Flint, I always
felt like a Martian,
” he said,
That all changed when he got to the
University of Michigan.
“This campus allows you to be yourself. It
allows you to spread your wings in the way
you want to spread your wings,
” he said.
Now a public relations expert and crisis
manager, Bragman has gone on to a career
of helping people — some quite famous —
do just that, his approach to work and life
formed in large part by his time on campus.
These days, Bragman is a member of Kol
Ami, an LGBTQ temple in Los Angeles. He’s
an activist and a philanthropist who said he’s
doing what he learned growing up Jewish
in Flint.
“I saw what my parents did,
” he said. “I
remember when Israel was under attack and
them giving money at the shul. That’s what
Jewish people have done. We have helped
each other. I’ve always tried to help others,
too.
” He’s often called upon by rabbis he
knows to help people coming out in the Los
Angeles community where he’s lived for the
last 35 years.
COMING OUT
Bragman knows that even in a place as pro-
gressive as Ann Arbor, coming out as gay is
a challenging journey.
“I tell people, ‘Stay strong, even when it
hurts.
’ And, I promise, it hurts sometimes.
But, there are places that will help you
ease the pain sometimes. That’s what the
Spectrum Center did,
” he said.
The Spectrum Center, the nation’s first
LGBTQIA+ support center to be formed
on a college campus, is celebrating its 50th
anniversary this year.
“When I needed help trying to under-
stand my own sexuality, it was there for me,
”
he said. “I left accepting who I was.
”
To make sure the center will continue
providing support and guidance to U-M’s
LGBTQIA+ community, Bragman has
made a $1 million bequest to establish the
Howard Bragman Coming Out Fund. The
fund will be used to provide emergency
financial assistance to students through the
Spectrum Center, including help for mental
and physical health services, short-term
housing, long-term housing, transportation
and tuition.
“I don’t care how liberal the school is. I
don’t care how accepting and loving your
parents are. I don’t care how ‘woke’ the times
are. Coming out is this most personal of
journeys, and it’s a challenging journey,
” he
said. “It’s so important for students to know
they are not alone and that the Spectrum
Center is there for them. I want to assure
that other people get that same access that I
had: life-changing, life-saving access.
”
After graduating from U-M in 1978,
Bragman went on to a prominent career
in public relations and crisis management.
After serving as a vice president in the
Chicago and Los Angeles offices of Burson-
Marsteller Public Relations, he founded the
media strategy and public relations firms
Bragman Nyman Cafarelli and Fifteen
Minutes, was a vice chairman of Reputation.
com, and currently runs La Brea Media
in Los Angeles. A dynamic activist for
LGBTQIA+ rights, he has earned acclaim
for helping dozens of actors, athletes and
executives come out as gay in the past 30
years.
He said he hopes his gift inspires other
alumni to give, but also hopes to raise
awareness of what the Spectrum Center is.
“The Spectrum Center is certainly one
area where Michigan is the leader and best,
”
he said. “I hope this will let the students
know that they have this extraordinary
resource available to them.
”
Bragman is excited about the 50th anni-
versary celebration, which kicks off this fall
and will culminate in a gala May 20, 2022.
Bragman hopes to return to Michigan for
the event.
Ann Marie Aliotta works at the University of Michigan’s
Office of University Development, where this story first
appeared. Reprinted with permission. Additional report-
ing by Jackie Headapohl, JN Director of Editorial.
U-M Spectrum Center’s largest gift ever
helps celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Million-Dollar
‘Coming Out’ Fund
ANN MARIE ALIOTTA SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Howard
Bragman
“I TELL PEOPLE, ‘STAY STRONG, EVEN WHEN IT
HURTS.’ AND, I PROMISE, IT HURTS SOMETIMES.
BUT, THERE ARE PLACES THAT WILL HELP YOU
EASE THE PAIN SOMETIMES. THAT’S WHAT
THE SPECTRUM CENTER DID.”
— HOWARD BRAGMAN