“Power Through Unity” was the focus of this year’s sold-out Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Chicago’s annual gala Nov. 15 at Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park.
The evening’s awardees were Boots lead actor Miles Heizer (Visibility Award) and Center on Halsted CEO Joli Robinson (Community Impact Award).
To kick off the festivities, singer/songwriter VINCINT wowed the crowd with an emotional and rousing performance.
E3 Radio and The Qube App Founder and Owner Anna DeShawn and Emmy winning NBC-5 Chicago Today producer and host and NBC-5 Chicago Matt in the Morning segment host Matt Rodrigues served as the honorary co-chairs for the event.
Rodrigues said the event’s theme “reflects the collective strength we all have when we work together toward our common goal of equality … we recognize that joy and justice aren’t mutually exclusive … that joy is a revolutionary act in the face of oppression.”
DeShawn called on everyone to recognize each other as family who have each other’s back “because that’s all we’ve got.”
HRC and HRC Foundation President Kelley Robinson said it was great to be back in Chicago where she was born and raised on the South Side of the city. She spoke about the most recent election victories where almost all of the pro-LGBTQ+ candidates won their races across the United States. Robinson reminded the crowd of their power and that “hate has no policy.”
Robinson said while on HRC’s recent American Dreams tour she heard people tell her “their most intimate truths” which included a teacher living with HIV who had to choose paying for his medication over his next meal, a veteran who honorably served for 17 years and is now being denied her retirement benefits because she is a trans woman and an 80-year-old Stonewall Uprising participant who expressed dismay at the current political situation in America.
“I have to be really honest with everyone here tonight,” said Robinson. “It can be hard to dream when we are living in a nightmare. These are not ordinary times. There is nothing ordinary about masked ICE agents and Blackhawk helicopters terrorizing our Black and Brown communities right here in Chicago. To prioritize building a ballroom over feeding 42 million Americans.”
Robinson said the hate directed at the LGBTQ+ community in recent years has led to a backslide in queer and especially trans rights across the country. She reminded everyone to fight back and choose courage, love and joy because “courage is contagious.” She added that Chicago has shown the rest of the country how to fight back against the Trump Administration’s fascism.
Indivisible Chicago Alliance Vice-Chair Denise Poloyac spoke about the acts of resistance that have taken place in Chicago and across the country over the past 10 months where many Americans have said no to ICE and the hatred directed at the LGBTQ+ community. She added that every time someone resists and protests against atrocities that inspires others to join them in those efforts.
Chicago 26th Ward Ald. Jessie Fuentes, who received a standing ovation ahead of her remarks, said she is proud to stand “with a city who refuses to be intimidated into silence … and leading in this moment.” She added that every marginalized group is “under coordinated attack by someone who believes he is a King.” Fuentes also spoke about collective liberation, righteous anger, protecting one another and radical love and joy.
Heizer accepted his award from former U.S. Navy Captain, Obama and Biden administrations appointee, HRC Board of Directors member and trans woman Shawn Skelly. He said the courage of the many LGBTQ+ people who have come before him has given him a chance to “stand here today proudly and freely celebrating our community and everything we have achieved … but unfortunately, we’re in a time where many of those rights and protections are being stripped away from, specifically the trans community, and attempts are being made to remove the basic freedoms from our community as a whole, so I promise to continue the fight that they started.”
Heizer added that LGBTQ+ people are not a threat to society. He said it is a “very strange time right now under this Administration and it’s so important that we make ourselves seen right now. The [federal] government is trying to create a false scenario about us, and we need to remind the world that our message is very simple. It’s love, acceptance and equality … Our community is very rich and diverse, and it’s important that we lift each other up and create opportunities for all of us.”
Robinson accepted her award from HRC Board of Governors Chair Julie Anderton. Robinson said, “This honor is a recognition for the ancestors that endured generations of back-breaking work in stolen labor so that I could live this life fully and unapologetically today.” She spoke about how the LGBTQ+ community’s “mix of unique histories and superpowers is what gives us strength to power on … Unity and only unity will get us to that promised land together. We are made from generations of overcomers, and this current moment is yet a blip on the radar of our society’s moral arc.” Robinson said the fight for LGBTQ+ equality is a marathon that has gone on for generations and urged everyone to continue with those efforts.
Additional speakers included HRC Chicago Board of Governors members JoAnn Killackey (dinner co-chair), Adam Lanter, Tory Mitchell (dinner co-chair) and David Prince and HRC Chicago Steering Committee members Kevin Kiser and Stephen Lewis.
Live auctioneer Renee Jones’ animated and entertaining efforts led to over $80,000 in additional donations to HRC.
DJ Aaron Sager, DJ Vlad and drag performers Gina Belle and Sativa Diamond also wowed the crowd.
