How the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago is staying connected

"I work at Center on Halsted, an LGBTQ community center here in Chicago. We never fully closed. People don’t stop needing services during a pandemic, but reaching them means we get creative. In the past couple months, I’ve helped to distribute food to the community, made closing and opening plans, and connected with staff while they kept on delivering direct services.

Participating in protests both in my car and hitting the streets with my mask on and doing clean up in neighborhoods have also kept me busy. And writing about Juneteenth and the need for LGBTQ organizations to center Black trans women’s lives and needs and donating to LGBTQ Black-led organizations are things done right from my couch.

Walking my dogs along trails near my home keeps me centered and driving my 18 year old queer niece to her job on the front lines when the trains shut down and the streets are chaotic oddly enough keeps me connected to family."

"For me, Pride is unequivocally about the intersections of Black liberation and trans liberation. My role is to propagate Black joy through music and celebration, to listen and signal-boost emergent voices in the community, and to be a facilitator for material redistribution. As my friend and community member Jared Brown (Central Air Radio/ WHPK) said so eloquently, 'Everyone has a place. Everyone has work to do.'"

"Social media has always been an important tool for entertainers of every flavor. And now we just keep growing and expanding from there. I'll be performing live public and private story times along with outdoor performances at Hamburger Mary's in Andersonville and Campit Resort in Michigan, all of which will be streamed live. In these times it's important for us to not only be seen but to also spread a message of love and unity to our LGBTQ community and our brothers and sisters of color."

"For me, connection means healing. It means that no matter how far the distance between us, we can come together by phone, by Zoom, by Instagram and heal—together. As someone who has been a racial justice educator and digital organizer for years, I’m relying on communities like Affinity Community Services to help me reclaim my foundations. We’re currently raising $50,000 this Pride Month to offer other Black LGBTQ+ people on Chicago’s South Side that same healing. That healing that you get when you are home, safe, and affirmed." (They/Them/Theirs)

"For Pride, both Slo 'Mo and Reunion along with OTV have combined resources to present #4theQulture, a three-day virtual Pride celebration June 26–28 that features over 40 Black queer and trans Chicago creatives. While this project initially was envisioned as a multicultural presentation, we felt it was essential to shift this platform to fully support Black LGBTQ+ community and causes. Following COVID-19 protocol, we've been able to use our studio to film many of these performances, skits and segments and it's been beautiful to witness the affirmation of Black joy and genius."

"Pride Month is a time to celebrate the progress and sacrifices Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community has made in the 51 years since Stonewall. This month, my family and I will be reflecting on the struggles we’ve won, and those we must continue to fight on behalf of other marginalized communities. More than ever, we need to stay connected to our family and community, and this month my family and I will be doing it in all the ways you expect—online, over the phone, over video, and in groups of 10 or less (appropriately masked and distanced, of course)."

"I've been using this time to reflect and think critically about my role in the LGBTQ+ community. During this time of physical distancing and a global uprising, I find myself leaning into the work of my Black queer ancestors, which inlcudes revisiting novels by Octavia E. Butler, sonic experiences by Frankie Knuckles and video art by Marlon Riggs. This research has provided me with an abundant amount of gratitude for my place in the movement for Black queer and trans lives as an artist, hunter-gather and intergaltic being. Ultimately, over the last few months, I've tried to remain grounded and present which has contributed to the creation of some incredibly relevant (and ridiculously ambitious) initiatives such as #4theQultureFEST, a three-day virtual pride experience that celebrates the rich history and role of Black LGBTQ+ leading the movement for intersectional liberation taking place June 26-28."

"Since the beginning of quarantine, we have seen the artform of drag shift online to platforms such as Twitch and Instagram. What was once considered a sign of greenness of a 'bedroom queen' has become a new and impactful way for drag artists to create content that follows current events. One of my favorite showcases has been the Chicago-led Black Girl Magic, curated by The Vixen.

However, with COVID-19 restrictions lifting in Chicago, drag has gone to the streets in the form of the Drag March for Change. A peaceful protest march that received national attention in support of the Black Lives Matter movement led by Jo MaMa, Lucy Stoole, Shea Coulee and other prominent black figures in the Chicago queer community. Including representation from Brave Space Alliance, the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ center on the South Side."