On the warm and partly sunny afternoon of Sept. 15, LGBTQ+ activist Robert Castillo hosted the second annual Bisexual Pride Flag raising ceremony in Logan Square Park near the Centennial Monument to mark the start of Bisexual Awareness Week (Sept. 16-23).
The ceremony was co-sponsored by Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th Ward), Bisexual Queer Alliance Chicago (BQAC) and the John Pennycuff Legacy Fund (JPLF).
Castillo said he came out as queer in the early 1990s and when he entered the activist part of the LGBTQ+ community there was a “vibrant, loud, proud bisexual component … That experience has impacted my desire to make sure the B is not lowercase, but is big, bold and beautiful.”
He said he wanted to make sure Logan Square sees, honors and proudly waves the Bisexual Pride flag because, “Chicago has a rich bisexual history, despite the efforts of erasure by some in the LGT community and the larger straight community.”
Additionally, Castillo spoke about the late Latiné bisexual activist Ed Negron who has an honorary street named after him called Ed Negron Way at the intersection of Devon and Clark Streets, and called the Logan Square event a “nod to his legacy.”
BQAC Co-Founder and longtime bisexual activist Michael Oboza (who donated his Bisexual Pride flag for this year’s event) said in 2009 he became the first bisexual liaison at the Center on Halsted. Oboza said this led to him meeting Negron and forming BQAC together, which changed his life forever.
Chicago Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th Ward), who represents Logan Square, said how important it is to “show there is representation and recognition of all of our families who live under the LGBTQ+ community” including bisexual people.
The federal government is “waging war on our communities and it’s a war of attrition … and this kind of injustice needs to be challenged through our solidarity and love for one another,” Quezada said. A visible Bisexual Pride flag in Logan Square, he added, sends a message that that community is seen, represented and celebrated.
City of Chicago LGBTQ+ Mayor’s Advisory Council Chair and LGBTQ+ activist Star De Los Santos (the first Latiné chair of the council) spoke about the importance of representation. She said bisexual people keep having to explain themselves and defend their identity because people say they are going through a phase or are confused.
She added, “Somehow their relationship status becomes a referendum on their identity.”
According to De Los Santos, Bisexual Awareness Week, which was created in 1999, is a reminder of how long the fight for recognition has been going on.
City of Chicago Director of LGTBQ+ Affairs Antonio King spoke about the importance of ensuring that the “layers within our community [who] are pushed to the back burner get visibility, access and a voice.”
BQAC Board Vice-President Hugo Escobar also spoke.
Second City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Sister Lucy Gucy (alongside Second City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Novice Sister Pegatha Bundy) gave this event a blessing and affirmation prior to the flag being raised. Gucy also invited bisexual attendees to be individually glitter blessed by her.
