LGBTQ+ rights advocate, philanthropist and arts patron Fred Eychaner used a lifetime achievement award from the Chicago History Museum to warn that many of the freedoms and institutions he spent decades defending are under renewed attack.
Accepting the museum’s Making History Award for Distinction in Visionary Leadership on June 3, Eychaner reflected on his experiences during the AIDS epidemic and drew parallels between the political climate of the 1980s and what he described as growing threats to science, public health, civil rights and democracy today.
“The same woeful ignorance of science and medicine reemerges now with a vengeance,” Eychaner said, pointing to cuts to HIV programs, attacks on transgender people and efforts to undermine public institutions.
The award recognized Eychaner’s decades of leadership in LGBTQ+ rights, civil liberties advocacy, historic preservation and arts philanthropy. Through the Alphawood Foundation and other endeavors, he has helped support Chicago’s LGBTQ+ infrastructure, independent media, cultural institutions and landmark preservation efforts.
Introducing Eychaner at the Chicago History Museum’s 32nd annual Making History Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, longtime LGBTQ+ activist Art Johnston described him as a “powerful voice, generous advocate and hero” whose impact has been felt across Chicago’s civic and cultural landscape.
“Most of all, Fred has always been an activist,” Johnston said.
Johnston traced Eychaner’s activism back to the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Chicago, recalling how he helped advance the city’s human rights ordinance while building a reputation as a philanthropist, businessman and community leader. He credited Eychaner with supporting organizations that form the backbone of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community while also championing arts education, architectural preservation and civil liberties.
One story, Johnston said, illustrated Eychaner’s approach to philanthropy.
When Johnston nervously asked him for a $5,000 contribution to help launch the organization that later became known as Equality Illinois, Eychaner responded with a question of his own.
“How much are you going to give?” Johnston recalled Eychaner asking.
After Johnston pledged $5,000 himself, Eychaner agreed to match it.
“I learned about Fred’s generosity and commitment to fighting systemic discrimination,” Johnston said. “But also I witnessed how he used his position as a philanthropist to build communities of philanthropists.”
Johnston also highlighted Eychaner’s leadership of Newsweb Corporation, his service on numerous nonprofit boards and his receipt of the National Medal of Arts in 2021.
In his acceptance remarks, Eychaner repeatedly returned to the AIDS epidemic, which he described elsewhere as the defining experience of his life.
He recalled encouraging friends to become plaintiffs in American Civil Liberties Union cases challenging discrimination against people living with HIV and LGBTQ+ Chicagoans. Though those legal battles resulted in victories, some of those plaintiffs died from AIDS-related complications shortly afterward.
“It was a time of profound ignorance and prejudice,” Eychaner said, criticizing the federal government’s response to the epidemic during the Reagan administration.
Eychaner argued that many of the same forces are resurfacing today. He pointed to cuts to the president’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, threats to Medicaid funding, attacks on transgender people, vaccine misinformation and efforts to censor museums and universities.
“These are very troubling times,” Eychaner said. “Our democracy is truly at risk.”
He closed his remarks by urging attendees to consider how future generations will judge the choices made during the current political moment.
“When your grandkids ask you, which side were you on in 2026, what will you say?” Eychaner said. “Were you complicit in the destruction of American democracy, or did you stand up and be counted when it was necessary?”
