In the low-lit, velvety atmosphere in Dorothy Downstairs, 2500 W. Chicago Ave., queer people across generations gathered to hear stories and view decades-old photos from four older LGBTQ+ Chicagoans on June 27.
The Intergenerational Dialogues panel at Dorothy’s was its second iteration in two years. The event was a collaboration between the Intergenerational Dialogue Project through the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and Gerber/Hart Library and Archives.
Four elders told stories of their youth, including memorable moments from coming out, getting married and creating community through groups. Panelists included Darrell Hill, LonnieLuv Kenebrew, Kathy Munzer and Phyllis Johnson. Katia Ellise Klemm, a younger member of the Intergenerational Dialogue Project, moderated.
The project was started in 2019 by SAIC anthropologist Karen Morris; Todd Williams from the Center on Halsted; and Adam Greteman, a faculty member at SAIC.
“Adam and I have been teaching college students for 20 years, and realized that most LGBTQ young adults don’t realize that LGBTQ elders exist, and many don’t think that they will live past 40,” Morris said. “And with the elders, they feel very isolated.”
The project’s main purpose is to bring different generations together to engage in dialogue, learn from one another, and build community. So far, 130 people have participated in the project.
The panel took place on the day after the nine-year anniversary of the 2015 Obergefell v. Hobbes Supreme Court decision, which legalized gay marriage. Gerber/Hart volunteer Kaitlyn Griffith played footage from that day outside of the courthouse, as well as some other footage from their archives.
Many in the audience were young when the decision was handed down, but it marked the end of a long fight for the older generation.
Johnson married her wife soon after same-sex marriage was legalized in Illinois in 2013. She showed the audience pictures of her pink wedding dress, shoes and the matching custom top made for her wife.
“The thing I love about our community is that we get our needs met, even if we have to force people to do it,” Johnson said.
Hill spoke about the many years he spent in the closet. He and his closest friend served as the other’s cover, acting like a straight couple so they could both remain in the closet.
“Everybody around us knew, but we made our own lives more uncomfortable,” Hill said.
He reflected on the time he said he wasted in the closet, and noted how important it was for him to ultimately get out of his own way.
“We are our worst enemies when it comes to coming out and being ourselves, and just being authentic,” Hill said.
Munzer was a fierce advocate for finding community through LGBTQ+ groups. For more than 20 years, she was an organizer for Moving Mountains Coffeehouse, a lesbian feminist music and culture group.
She described how memorable being part of the project has been for her.
“The kind of support of everybody in this project was so great. I can’t tell you how supportive and kind and loving [it was],” Munzer said. “If you can get into this project, I really think it should be all over the country—all over the world, really.”
Kenebrew walked the audience through his lifelong experience of self-discovery and ultimate journey towards authenticity. He was raised as a girl in a family of 12 kids, and he was very involved in the church. Kenebrew discovered that he was intersex, and began transitioning in 2016.
His many years of experience in his church community prepared him for entering the LGBT community.
“I’m involved. I love my community. And, you know, I thought that the church community rejected me, but I have a community. I have you all,” Kenebrew said.
The panel showcased just a few of the kinds of stories that participants share in the project. It was an opportunity to bring the idea of building community across generations out of the classroom and into the public. Many panelists even stayed at the bar after the program was done to connect with younger audience members.
“A lot of people have changed their perspectives in huge ways coming through this [project],” Morris said. “But it’s through dialogue—where you’re listening to each other, and you’re talking to each other and you’re listening to each other’s stories—that you come to understand where other people are coming from, and they come to understand you.”