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Gerber/Hart dips into archives to mark Black History Month
Black LGBTQ+ History was the focus of a Life is Work-hosted presentation, Black Queer History: Celebrating the Black LGBTQ+ Community in Chicago and the Midwest Through the Archives, on Feb. 26 at the organization’s resource center location in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Gerber/Hart Library and Archives Operations Director Erin Bell led the discussion. She first detailed Gerber/Hart’s work, then reflected…
Out the Archives: Jesse Jackson at the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
Today, we revisit coverage from Windy City Times and Outlines of the Oct. 11, 1987, March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. This was a historic gathering that drew hundreds of thousands to the nation’s capital at the height of the AIDS crisis and amid escalating battles over civil rights. Among the speakers was…
VIEWPOINT: Black queer history matters
Black History Month is a time to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements and courageous acts of people of African descent in the United States and around the world.This year Black History Month celebrates its 100th anniversary. Yet Black History Month has failed to fully acknowledge or celebrate the contributions of Black LGBTQ+ people. Our icons…
Equality Illinois leader at 2026 gala: Organization “built to face” political challenges
Equality Illinois’s new CEO, Channyn Lynne Parker, gave the keynote at the rights-advocacy’s 2026 annual gala the evening of Jan. 31, where she asserted that the event, which according to estimates hosted about 1,500 attendees, was “not just a gala—it is a sanctuary.” Parker praised both Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both of whom…
Out the Archives: A BLACKlines interview with trans leader Lorraine Sade Baskerville
Out the Archives is a recurring feature diving into the Windy City Times collection, offering a look back at the rich history of LGBTQ+ Chicago. In this edition, we look back at the June 2000 issue of BLACKlines interview with Lorraine Sade Baskerville, a pioneering transgender activist, social worker and community builder who died recently…
Antonio King named Chicago’s Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs
Mayor Brandon Johnson has appointed Antonio King as Chicago’s Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs. King is a longtime city employee and LGBTQ+ health advocate who previously served as the LGBTQ+ Health and Outreach Liaison at the Chicago Department of Public Health. His appointment comes after years of calls from advocates for a more visible, centralized point person on LGBTQ+ policy…
PASSAGES Saundra Johnson
HIV/AIDS activist Saundra DeAnné Johnson died Jan. 21 due to complications from chronic congestive heart failure and kidney failure illnesses. She was 65. Johnson, an out queer woman, was born Oct. 13, 1960, and grew up in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. She graduated from Hyde Park Academy High School. One of the things she did while in high school…
Out the Archives: The Black Gay and Lesbian Archive Project
Out the Archives is a recurring feature diving into the Windy City Times collection, offering a look back at the rich history of LGBTQ+ Chicago.In this edition, we look back at the May 2003 issue of BLACKlines. For more Black LGBTQ+ news—past and present—please sign up for our monthly BLACKlines newsletter. Beginning with musings on how…
Black Women & HIV mixed media exhibit to launch on World AIDS Day
CHICAGO, IL – November 7, 2025 – Chicago’s own award winning journalist Anna DeShawn is launching a new series titled, “Shine a Light on It: Black Women, HIV & Its Impact,” a powerful mixed-media exhibit scheduled to open on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2025, at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago. This project was created out of urgency,…
Honey Pot Performance: Performing and telling heartfelt stories about the Black experience for 25 years
For a quarter-century, Honey Pot Performance(HPP)—an interdisciplinary beacon for Black women at a variety of intersections—has been educating, entertaining and enthralling audiences, telling stories that are rooted in pleasure, memory and radical imagination. In addition, Honey Pot Performance is celebrating its ongoing partnership with the historic First Church of the Brethren in Chicago’s East Garfield…
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