Rage. Resistance. Renewal. was the theme of this year’s Affinity Community Services (Affinity) annual Burning Bowl March 23 at the UIC Student Center.
This year, the Barbara “Robbie” Smith Award of Excellence (named after Affinity’s founding board member) was given to Onyx Medical Wellness Founder and Chief Health and Equity Officer Dr. Maya Green. Green was previously Howard Brown Health’s Regional Medical Director and was inducted into Chicago’s LGBT Hall of Fame in 2022 for her many years of service.
Speakers included Affinity Board President Aisha Davis; Affinity Board members Phyllis Johnson (Robbie Smith’s widow) and Dr. Nick Alder; Affinity Co-Founders Dr. Chris Smith (Robbie Smith’s daughter) and Ted Dobbins; The Care Plan Owner Jacqueline Boyd; E3 Radio Founder and CEO and former Affinity Board President Anna DeShawn; and A.S.C. Concepts Founder, Affinity Communications and Storytelling Consultant and former Affinity Board President Kelly Suzanne Saulsberry.
Johnson and Smith presented Green with her award. Smith said that Affinity’s presence is vital, especially due to the current national political climate. She added that her mother set a standard of how Affinity would operate financially.
Boyd told the audience that Green was unable to attend due to a prior engagement in Houston, where she received a special certification from the American College of Healthcare Executives. She also said that Green extended her “deepest gratitude” and that it was “an honor to be recognized by Affinity Community Services.”
Noted poet and activist e nina jay wrote and performed a rousing poem that touched upon a number of themes: freedom; those who silence women and marginalized communities’ writ large; the Jim Crow Era; being “embarrassed to be seen in the star-spangled crowd”; and the carceral state, among others.
Davis said that most Black queer women-centered organizations don’t often make it to 30 years like Affinity has; the organization reached that milestone thanks to the hard work of numerous people. She added that the Rage. Resistance. Renewal. theme notes that “there’s no way for any person in this room to be their authentic self without fear of some kind of reprisal or challenge. A space like Affinity wouldn’t be here without rage, without resistance and without renewal.”
Davis also read a quote from late award-winning lesbian author Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Sower, a book that predicted this very dangerous moment in American political and social history. She reminded attendees of the pro-LGBTQ+ legislation that Affinity has worked to get passed, alongside other organizations.
Saulsberry (via a video message since she was unable to attend in person) said her role this year is to communicate Affinity’s message to the wider world so the organization can “continue for another 30 years.” She added that Affinity is now a shared leadership with two co-chairs leading the board.
“There is no stopping what we can do together,” Saulsberry said.
Boyd spoke about the work Affinity’s board has been doing, which includes four social justice core areas of focus—civic engagement, health and wellness, financial literacy and combating social isolation.
Boyd added that reclaiming Affinity’s social justice past is important because “sometimes evil comes out into the light and we have to figure out what we are going to do about it.” She asked everyone to spread the word about what Affinity has done, and find out where they fit within the organization as a participant or leader. She also read a part of poem “Paul Robeson” from the late award-winning poet, author and educator Gwendolyn Brooks.”
Alder asked each table to brainstorm their vision for the next year at Affinity, and said they need to tie these ideas to the four social justice core areas of focus.
DeShawn encouraged attendees to consider making a one-time or monthly donation to ensure that the organization continues its mission in the coming years. She added that $5 a month goes a long way and is especially vital because “when you’re running a non-profit organization, in a country led by evil people seeing fit that we do not exist. When you can have funds that are guaranteed to come every single month. There’s nothing more secure than that. There’s no, depending on foundations, there’s no depending on grants, there’s no depending on the federal government, we must depend on ourselves.”
Johnson and the rest of the Affinity board members who were present presented Boyd with flowers to honor her for all the work she has done to help the organization.
Dobbins invited attendees to write down the negative things they wanted to leave in the past on special paper. Attendees then put these papers in the water-based burn bowls.
Attendees also wrote letters to themselves where they outlined their goals for the remainder of the year. These letters will be mailed out in the fall to those who participated in that activity.
Singer China Christine closed out the afternoon’s event with her signature performing style. She also invited the crowd to sing and dance along with her.