On June 7 The Chicago Gay Black Men’s Caucus kicked off Pride month with its annual Spring Fling Soiree.
The event, which took place at The Iron Lab, 3700 S. Iron St., has for many marked the start to queer summer. This year’s edition featured a full lunch buffet, a silent auction; a fundraising paddle-raise segment with Pastor Stephan Thurston; liquors from Uncle Nearest Whiskey and Bayab African Spirits; and a special musical performance by Malone and his band, who paid tribute to Motown great Marvin Gaye.
The event was hardly just a party though, as the Caucus awarded a number of awards to individuals who largely work behind the scenes.
Maya Green, MD, received the Lora Branch Community Award for her roles as a physician entrepreneur, healthcare executive, media voice and community advocate whose work sits at the intersection of HIV medicine and LGBTQ+ health. In accepting her award, Dr. Green made a point to thank her mother, who was in the audience. Green said that when she came out her mother surprised her by telling her, “I don’t care if you are gay…I care that you are great.”
Otis Mack almost broke down in tears during much of his acceptance speech for his induction into the Black LGBTQ Hall of Fame; he had just recovered from a health emergency which left him in the hospital for a week. Awarded for the creation of Heavy Diva Productions and serving as a proud and outspoken Chicago LGBTQ+ promoter, comedian, host, podcaster, educator and entrepreneur, he made it clear that back at the end of May he was not sure that he would be standing at this event.
Author, scholar, artist, professor and creator E. Patrick Johnson gave away his secret to getting so many queer people to tell him their intimate stories: “I ask them…there are so many personal stories that never get told because people never listen.”
Other awardees include Justin L. Hill, who received the Civic Engagement Award as director of special initiatives at Westside Health, and as a policy strategist and public health leader. David Dodd received the Community Leader Award for his decades long career as a Chicago based LGBTQ+ event curator and community activist as well as the director of marketing and communications at The Night Ministry.
Ken Beach was on hand to accept induction into the Hall of Fame for himself and his late business partner, Craig Cannon; they both created KC Productions, a groundbreaking entertainment company in Chicago.
Sponsors for the event included Uncle Nearest Whiskey and Bayab African Spirits.
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