“We are trailblazers, we are educators, we are innovators. We are
unstoppable,” spoke Michelle Brown to a crowd of awardees, family
members and friends at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted St., for the 2025 Esteem Awards on July 5.
The awards celebrated an array of change-makers, artists and community leaders.
Among the awardees were Roderick Hawkins with the Outstanding Service Award; Pen & Paper: A Joint Creative for local service; Reyna Ortiz and Toni Newman for transgender advocacy; and Guy Anthony and Angela Harvey recognized as national awardees.
Other honorees included Noel C. Green and Darriyhan Edmond, recipients of the Future Leaders Award; Thresholds Chicago and AIDS United for excellence in social services; Dr. Daniel Driffin for contributions to health care; One Roof Chicago for institutional impact; and The Black & Brown Femme Film Fest and Queer Voices/NYC for artistic expression.
“It’s everybody, collectively in the room as if they were a mosaic, if
you will,” said Philip Esteem, who founded the Esteem Awards in
2007. Since then, he added, they’ve awarded over 350 community members.
“We’re giving them a platform to just be themselves,” said Esteem.
Recently grants recognized as promoting Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion initiatives have seen cuts by the federal government,
largely impacting many LGBTQ+ nonprofits.
Esteem said that the cuts have made things difficult, noting longer
wait times for grants, from organizations uncertain about their funds
from the federal government. For him, now especially is the time to
host these awards.
“It’s extremely important that we continue to recognize ourselves and
our own,” Esteem said, noting that the current federal administration
is erasing the LGBTQ+ community.
“We have to say that we exist by having events like this,” he said.
