The Legacy Project is set to induct Chicago LGBTQ+ icon, activist and Society for Human Rights (the first LGBTQ+ rights organization in the United States) founder Henry Gerber into its Legacy Walk outdoor museum on Halsted Street in Chicago’s Northalsted neighborhood.
The free streetscape dedication ceremony will take place Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day, from 2-2:30 p.m. at 3311 N. Halsted. Immediately following the ceremony, there will be a 21+ year old only reception at Sidetrack (the event sponsor), 3349 N. Halsted, from 3-5 p.m. The $28.52 ($25 plus fees) tickets for the Sidetrack event include one drink ticket and a light buffet.
“We are thrilled that Legacy Walk patron Paul Highfield has chosen to honor Henry Gerber through a dedication of a bronze memorial on the Legacy Walk this October,” said Legacy Project Executive Director and Co-Founder Victor Salvo. “When it comes to selfless, courageous, determined and visionary Chicago LGBTQ activists, it is upon Henry Gerber’s shoulders we all stand. Gerber sacrificed everything to create The Society for Human Rights in 1924. His job. His family. His name. And he went to prison for doing so 100 years ago this year. Honoring Henry Gerber is long overdue.”
“Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is thrilled that the Legacy Project has chosen Henry Gerber to be included on the Legacy Walk,” said Gerber/Hart Development Manager Michael Rashid. “When the founders of Gerber/Hart selected Henry as a co-namesake of the library almost 45 years ago, it was to shine a spotlight on one of the most important figures in LGBTQ history not only in Chicago and the Midwest, but in the country. Gerber/Hart is also honored to be a sponsor of Henry’s plaque, which features a previously unseen and unpublished photograph shared with us by his family. We’re deeply grateful they have allowed us to share this photograph with the Legacy Project and Walk, and hope that it draws more attention to Henry Gerber’s life and legacy of activism in a time when it is most needed.
“Henry’s activism in Chicago—inspired by his experiences in Weimar Republic-era Berlin in the early 1920’s, where human sexuality of all types was studied, published, flaunted and celebrated—came to a swift end when he and other members of the Society for Human Rights were arrested and jailed, and all copies of their newsletter Friendship and Freedom were destroyed. Part of Gerber/Hart’s core mission is to preserve LGBTQ+ materials such as these to ensure they will not be destroyed by those who do not agree with them, and to make them accessible for future generations so they will know and celebrate this history.”
Additionally, the Legacy Project’s #WeWillNotBeErased social media campaign was launched earlier this year to educate the public about LGBTQ+ people and milestones that are being systematically erased from federal governmental entities by the Trump Administration.
Note: Carrie Maxwell is also the Legacy Project Senior Researcher.