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Fall Fashion Show offers trans and non-binary Chicagoans a chance at expression
On Oct. 2, FashionBar LLC presented its 9th Annual Fall Trans Media Fashion Show at Water Tower Place, 875 N. Michigan Ave. The presentation was the second of the year and featured clothing and designs from IAMTONYLONG, Out of the Closet, Haley from the Third Period and Brown Elephant and served as a fundraiser for Vernita Gray Council for Philanthropy and Broadway Youth Center. Guests were treated to…
Chicago’s E3 Radio raises $50K at Purple Tie Affair
On Oct. 3, E3 Radio presented the 12th annual Purple Tie Affair at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted St. The nearly sold-out event aimed to both raise $10,000 and celebrate Chicago producer/entrepreneur/activist/educator Otis Mack for his contributions to the LGBTQ+ community. The event featured a concert with rousing sets from vocalists Frenchie Davis and Kenyotta and…
BUSINESS Yvonne Welbon uplifts Black women and gender-expansive creatives with Sisters in Cinema
When lifelong Chicagoan and Sisters in Cinema Founder and CEO Yvonne Welbon started her Master of Fine Arts in film and video program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1991 she knew the name of only one African American woman director, Julie Dash. “When I asked one of my professors to help me find…
Activist Lluvia Ramirez on her journey of HIV advocacy and community activism
For activist Lluvia Ramirez, helping out others has always been a constant. Her activism extends to various communities, many of which she belongs to. At the root of it all, her intersectional identity drives what she does. Ramirez is currently the senior program manager for public health at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation; president of FLUX…
Chicago HIV diagnoses drop 38%, could reach record-low level
Provisional city data also show declines in late diagnoses, but stark racial disparities persist.
OPINION The unapologetic queer history at the new Obama Presidential Center
Walking onto the 19.3-acre campus of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side was a respite, and a revelation. As a proud Chicagoan and an inductee into the Chicago LGBTQ Hall of Fame, I didn’t step onto the grounds expecting to experience all of the queer history I saw on full display. Partnering with GLAAD for…
Annual Esteem Awards celebrates queer Chicagoans’ courage and creativity
On the afternoon of July 18, Philip M. Fleming, along with the Epiphany Arts Foundation and Pride Index, presented the 19th Annual Esteem Awards and the Red, Pink, and Purple Polka Dot Poetry Slam in front of a packed room at Sidetrack Video Bar at 3349 N. Halsted St. The awards recognize individuals in the LGBTQ+…
Love in Action Festival closes out Pride 2026
As stroke inducing heat, irritating dust storms and torrential rains bedeviled the Fourth of July celebrations in the nation’s capital, the opposite occurred at the 8th Annual South Side Pride Festival on the campus of Dusable Museum at 750 East 56th Place. Hundreds gathered for Love in Action, the official close of Pride Month on July 5 for a full…
After decades of organizing, Darrell Gordon is still showing up
Over the course of Pride Month, Darrell Gordon was a steady presence at LGBTQ+ events across the city. He kicked off the celebrations at a Pride flag raising in Logan Square, celebrating LGBTQ+ visibility beyond Chicago’s most recognizable queer enclaves on the North Side. Days later, he DJ’d the opening of “Right to Assemble,” an intergenerational…
Picnic closes out 2026 celebrations with queer hootenanny
While tens of thousands marched down north Halsted Street, a smaller, more concentrated group gathered in Jackson Park at 6300 E. Hayes Dr. by Lake Michigan and threw a wild party stuffed with music, drag, fashion—and an awful lot of butt-shaking. Chicago Urban Pride presented the second Pride Picnic on June 28. The title this year…
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