The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA) held the first in a series of “Civilized Celebrations” to honor those who were joined in civil unions at the Chicago History Museum on June 3, 2011. The event was held Aug. 31 at the nightspot The Joynt and featured two couples, Jayson and Roberto Rosario-Bernard and Erica and Vanessa Feliciano.
About 75 people attended the event, which featured a DJ and dancing as well as a video showcasing the two couples’ stories and hopes and dreams for the future. TCRA Executive Director Anthony Martinez followed the video with a presentation about the work that they are doing and their new push for marriage equality in Illinois.
Vanessa expressed how excited she was to be honored and to be a part of the next step that TCRA is trying to accomplish. Erica said, “We don’t just want to be in a civil union we want to have that option of marriage and I think it’s great that they are actually pushing for that so it’s great to be a part of this.”
Jayson, like Vanessa and Erica, talked about how honored he was to be at the event while Roberto said, “We’ve been together for so long. … We both felt that we didn’t want to go somewhere else to get a civil union we wanted to wait until it passed here so we could have our ceremony in Chicago.”
Jacob Meister, founder and governing board president of TCRA, said, “This event is a part of our Families United project to break down barriers and win people’s hearts and minds that LGBT people are just like them in the workplace, in the home and at the voting booth.”
For more information on The Civil Rights Agenda visit jointcra.org.