Equality Illinois held its annual Pride Kick-Off brunch June 7 at Venue West in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood.
This year’s Community Pride Honorees included ACLU Illinois Senior Policy Counsel Aisha N. Davis; 15th District Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison; and City of Chicago LGBTQ+ Affairs Director Antonio King.
Equality Illinois Board Chair and Equality Illinois Institute Board member Justin DeJong and Equality Illinois Board Vice-Chair Liz Stovall introduced and presented Davis and Morrison with their awards. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced and presented King with his award.
Equality Illinois CEO Channyn Lynne Parker noted that her organization has been instrumental in multiple legislative wins during this Spring’s session in Springfield. Parker called Equality Illinois’s supporters a “winning team,” adding that they were “a community that keeps Illinois a leader in equality.”
DeJong said, “Pride is joyful, powerful and a reminder that our stories, our identities and our lives are valuable.”
Stovall added that Equality Illinois was instrumental in the removal legislatively of testosterone and medication abortion prescriptions from Illinois’s prescription monitoring program.
Davis said, “I know a lot of times we talk about standing on the shoulders of giants, but I would like to say that I’m standing in honor to my community and I feel that so strongly today. Nature and nurture have made me all the things that I am … but I’m also a product of every lesson, long night and difficult conversation that I’ve had [throughout] my life.”
Additionally, Davis said, “In this moment it is especially important to remember that Black people are uniquely American and undeniably queer in so many ways … what is more radical than a community that was attempted to be snuffed out at every turn of success. What is more rebellious than continuing to succeed in the face of every type of oppression and harm.”
Morrison spoke about ensuring he was not the first and last out LGBTQ+ person on the Cook County Board during his re-election year. He noted the board has had two more out queer members Anthony Quezada (who is now a Chicago Alderperson) and Maggie Trevor, and potentially Drake Warren after this November’s election. He also said he is both hopeful for the future and ready to continue the fight for full equality in his role as an attorney.
Johnson pledged a a commitment to “uplifting the history and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community and celebrating the inclusion and access that we provide in our city. We know that our fight continues.”
The mayor further acknowledged the work Morrison has done on the county level to make things more inclusive, and added that his “administration is committed to this partnership with all of you as leaders in this room.” He called on attendees to make this year’s Chicago Pride Parade a success because “celebration is a revolutionary act … They hate it when we express joy.”
Additionally, Johnson spoke about his cousin Michael who lived his authentic self in the 1980s when it was hard to do so and the pressure from their shared grandfather “who did not understand Michael’s expression” of who he was.
Johnson reaffirmed his commitment to serve the LGBTQ+ community and make sure they are “seen and protected and most importantly, invested in because where your treasure is, your heart will also be … and that means standing up to the federal government whenever they attempt to roll back our rights and freedoms.”
He said that it is not enough to be reactive when there is a “moment of crisis.” To be proactive, he said, he created Chicago’s first director of LGBTQ+ affairs position, which is the first such executive municipal-level LGBTQ+ post in the country.
King thanked Johnson and recognized the siblings and allies who helped put him in his new job, adding, “We are making sure that Chicago not only notices and recognizes the LGBTQ+ community, but that they [can] connect the community to government.”
Equality Illinois Institute Board Chair and Equality Illinois Board member Kelly Emery closed out the event.
DJ Pedrito spun tunes as guests noshed on a variety of brunch items.
Photos by Carrie Maxwell
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