“Family Reunion” was the theme of this year’s sold-out 700-plus attendees Center on Halsted (The Center) annual Human First Gala April 11 at The Geraghty, 2520 S. Hoyne Ave., in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
NBC-5 Chicago Today producer and host, NBC-5 Chicago Matt in the Morning segment host and executive producer, creator and host of the Peacock streaming series It’s Ok To Ask Questions Matthew Rodrigues served as the event emcee.
Rodrigues said he felt lucky to have a front row seat to the joy that occurs because of the Center’s work—and joked about being thankful for the Center’s Santa Speedo Run fundraiser.
The Center CEO Joli Robinson said she was “honored to stand with you here tonight surrounded by so much love, brilliance and power,” and added that the gala is “what family looks like.”
She added that, for the LGBTQ+ community, the notion of family includes “not just the families we are born into, but the [chosen] families we build and fight for.” Those families, she explained, are built in living rooms, ballrooms, community centers and “chosen circles in moments of crisis and celebration.
“The truth is we are still living in a time that demands it. We are still witnessing attacks on our rights, our dignity and our very existence. And in times like this, it would be easy to retreat, disconnect and lose hope. But that is not who we are. We are a people who come together, organize, love fiercely and unapologetically and make joy an act of resistance.”
The signature Human First Awardee was bestowed on the Frankie Knuckles Foundation (FKF) The award was given to the foundation in memory and honor of out gay DJ Frankie Knuckles who was known as “The Godfather of House Music” and launched the genre in the early 1980s in Chicago. FKF’s focus is on music education in schools, LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, HIV/AIDS research and prevention and diabetes research and education.
KFK Founder, President and Executive Director Frederick Dunson accepted on behalf of the organization. The Center Board members Alicia Ozier-Washington and Lee VanderLinden (Board Secretary) presented Dunson with the award.
Dunson said house music is all about love, unity, inclusion, freedom and putting people first and those values are at the “very heart of this award and are the same values Frankie lived by every single day. Frankie believed that the dance floor was a sacred space, a place where everyone belonged. Where differences disappeared for joy, freedom and humanity took center stage. Through his music and spirit, he taught us how powerful it can be when we lead with love which we [at KFK] try to accomplish with our initiatives.” He also acknowledged his co-founder, the late Randy Crumpton, for his vision that was the “guiding star when establishing this organization. Dunson closed with a quote from James Baldwin: “The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now.”
This year’s Community Spirit Awardees were author, LGBTQ+ historian and Legacy Project Chicago Co-Founder Owen Keehnen; author, journalist, Press Forward Chicago Executive Director and Windy City Times Co-Founder/Owner Tracy Baim and this publication which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Windy City Times Managing Editor Jake Wittich accepted the award on this publication’s behalf.
The Center Board members Anne Dooley (Governance Committee Co-Chair) and Nick Bruce (Programming Committee Co-Chair) presented Keehnen, Baim and Windy City Times with their awards.
Keehnen said when he moved to Chicago the LGBTQ+ community in the city “welcomed and accepted me” and that “changed my life.” He spoke about the how that acceptance gave him a “deeper purpose” to “capture and celebrate stories of our coming together—to party, dance and have fun w/ each other; to volunteer and protest beside one another and when necessary to fight for each other. The end result is hopefully a history that comes to life—to educate, to entertain, to inspire and to entrench our story so deeply there will be no erasing us or pretending us away.”
Additionally, Keehnen recognized his mentor Baim and said his work “would not be possible without Chicago’s rich history of LGBT press and journalism and the work of Chicago queer historians like Jon-Henri Damski, Marie Kuda, Malone Sizelove, John D’Emiliio and St Sukie de la Croix.” He also acknowledged his biological family, husband Carl Blando and his “late pal and chosen family member Lori Cannon” who taught him “about honoring pioneers, about legacy, about the power of storytelling and about giving back.”
“I’ve only been part of this newsroom for a little over two years,” said Wittich. “But in that time, it’s completely changed my life. And what’s become very clear to me is that this recognition is larger than any one person, it’s about the collective that powers this work. It’s about the team standing with me here tonight; our dedicated contributors and also the generations of writers, photographers, printers, delivery drivers and community members who have built Windy City Times into what it is today.”
Wittich recognized this publication’s digital editor Jean Albright and publisher Matt Simonette who were also on-stage with him and the CEO Terri Klinsky. He also said Windy City Times is honored to be recognized alongside Keehnen and Baim due to the decades of work they have done and their leadership which has helped shape this publication and “LGBTQ+ journalism and storytelling across Chicago and beyond.
“We are at a time when local news is really struggling—and our LGBTQ+ rights are so under attack. That is why independent, community-rooted journalism has never been more critical. We are committed to continuing this legacy of telling our community’s stories with care, accuracy, purpose and pride. Thank you so much for believing in our work, and for supporting the future of LGBTQ+ journalism in Chicago.”
Baim dedicated her award to her mentor—philanthropist, world-renowned and groundbreaking veterinarian and Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Nan Schaffer. She spoke about Schaffer’s financial investment in Outlines and later this publication as well as Lambda Legal in their fight for marriage equality, the Center (and before when it was called Horizons). She said the recent loss of Shaffer has hit her hard because she “looms among the largest in my life … I would not be standing here without Nan.”
Additionally, Baim recognized the other Windy City Times staffers who were also onstage—Jerry Nunn, Anna DeShawn, Carrie Maxwell, Vivian Gonzalez and Kat Fitzgerald (who was the gala’s photographer for this publication) for their work. She spoke about her start in LGBTQ+ press in Chicago at age 21 with Gay Life newspaper. Baim also recognized the new generation of leadership in Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community.
The Corporate Impact Award was given to Comcast for their support of the Center and its mission/vision for almost 20 years. Comcast has specifically supported the Center’s cyber center and Wi-Fi access at all of its locations. Comcast Director of Advocacy and Strategic Affairs Joe Higgins accepted the award on Comcast’s behalf.
The Center Board member Phillip Rutherford and the Center’s Corporations and Fundraising Events Philanthropy Officer Mitchell Kraemer presented Higgins with the Corporate Impact Award.
Higgins said Comcast has had a proud history with the Center. He added that Comcast’s goals are to advance digital opportunities throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods and have “simple, stronger connections, smarter tools and fewer meetings that start with ‘can you see my screen?’” Higgins spoke about their internet essentials program which has allowed one million more Chicagoans connect to the internet so they can apply for jobs, attend virtual classes, access health care and connect with chosen family. He added that Comcast provides the free wi-fi access at all Center locations in Chicago so clients who visit can access the internet while they are in those buildings. Higgins said that the Center’s cyber center at its Halsted Street location is a “powerful example” of that access. He also spoke about the Comcast employees who have volunteered at the Center over the years.
The Center Board members Victor Draine (development committee co-chair), Troy Fahey, Victor Ravago (treasurer and past board chair) and Michael Nelson (development committee co-chair) also spoke.
Videos were shown featuring the signature Human First and Community Spirit awardees work as well as the work the Center does for the LGBTQ+ community.
Auctioneer Dani Hollis rallied attendees to donate more money to the Center so it could reach its mission goal of $800,000 which it exceeded that evening.
Lakeside Pride Strayhorn’s Jazz Combo performed during the cocktail hour.
DJ Celeste Alexander, one of Knuckles mentees, spun tunes to close out the night.
Photos by Kat Fitzgerald, Mystic Images Photography
