United Black Pride comes together at Rainbow Beach

After an internal conflict split the Chicago Black Pride Committee into two factions, the groups reformed to create United Black Pride at the tail end of last year. The fruits of that reunification manifested in a variety of events aimed at the African-American LGBT community in the last week, headlined by the traditional festival held at Rainbow Beach on the South Side July 6.

Additional photos at the link: windycitytimes.com/gay/lesbian/news/photospreadthumbs.php?APUB=wct&ADATE=2014-07-07&AGALLERY=UnitedBlkPrdHester.

The festival was hardly a departure from the versions that came before it in the last several years but this time it managed to be more mirthful, ribald, and better organized.

The usual suspects were in attendance; Otis Mack, Trina Trulove and Ms. Ruff ‘n’ Stuff shared emcee duties, saucy barbs and performances.

This version of the festival was also packed with top-flight Chicago LGBT talent that included singers, dancers and rappers. To top that off, there was a vogue showdown, a sissy bounce dance-off, free giveaways, barbecue and smoothies, a picnic area and an HIV testing site.

The punchline for the entire afternoon was that the weather—despite the humidity and heat—behaved, delivering a perfect summer day.