Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Lighthouse Foundation looks ahead to 2021 survey
by Matt Simonette
2021-01-19

This article shared 1919 times since Tue Jan 19, 2021
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Lincoln Park-based Lighthouse Foundation, an advocacy that primarily uplifts Black LGBTQ Chicagoans and has its roots in Lincoln Park-based Lighthouse Church of Chicago, will survey five prominent LGBTQ-focused local organizations to measure their inclusion of Black individuals at their staff, board and client levels.

The project, Lighthouse's key initiative for 2021, will be called the Black LGBTQ-plus Equity Index, and signals a transition from "reactive confrontation to proactive collaboration," according to Rev. Jamie Frazier, who officiates at Lighthouse Church and is the Foundation's executive director. He spoke about the project Jan. 9 during the Foundation's virtual Black Queer Pride winter edition.

Lighthouse Foundation became especially active in the summer of 2019, when it played a key role in a number of protests against racist incidents and overall systemic racism in Lake View. Frazier described the organization's work in part as presenting a challenge to white gay men who until now have been the "prime beneficiaries" of progress the LGBTQ community has made the last five decades.

"LGBTQ-plus folks, since Stonewall, have made huge strides—strides in rights, employment opportunities and access to generational wealth [for example]—but those rights have not been fairly and equitably distributed," Frazier said. "Black queer folks have not seen the benefit and uplift that our white queer siblings have experienced."

He added, "We envision a Chicagoland in which all Black LGBTQ-plus people are safe, liberated, healthy, whole and well-resourced."

The Index would be an initiative measuring how well five Chicago organizations "mirror the clients that they serve" and researching the experiences of Black staff and board members. Those organizations include AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago House, Center on Halsted and Equality Illinois.

"The Index affords us, and the organizations we collaborate with, powerful opportunities to pursue racial equity in meaningful—and measurable—ways," said Frazier.

He added, "We need more than Black faces in queer places. We need intersectional analysis and need to know if they are properly supported by their institutions so that they aren't just 'present.'"

Frazier emphasized that the study would not be a "calling out," naming it a "calling-in" instead. The project would likely be "scaled up" to include more institutions in subsequent years.

Lighthouse Foundation has two full-time and three part-time staff members, and pays stipends to three other individuals, Frazier noted. As with nearly all organizations, Lighthouse underwent a dramatic pivot in 2020, moving its events online and raising funds to assist Black LGBTQ Chicagoans in need. About $16,000 was distributed by its Black Queer Mutual Aid Fund.

Lighthouse's Rev. Smash, who organizes the foundation's CARE (Coalition of Accomplices for Racial Equity) read responses in gratitude from recipients of that financial relief Jan. 9.

"It helped a lot of folks stay afloat, so we are really grateful," added Smash.

"It was so necessary because there was an unprecedented number of people out of work," said Black Queer Caucus Program Coordinator Morgan Sherm. " ... It was vital to their sanity at times."


This article shared 1919 times since Tue Jan 19, 2021
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Lambda Legal Launches "Speak OUT" awareness campaign uplifting trans, nonbinary voices
2024-03-28
--From a press release. VIDEO BELOW - (NEW YORK, NY — March 28, 2024) In advance of Transgender Day of Visibility, Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest legal nonprofit working to achieve full equal rights for LGBTQ people and everyone living with ...


Gay News

Brown Elephant Returns To Northalsted
2024-03-26
Brown Elephant's Lake View location is moving to Northalsted and already accepting donations. Howard Brown Health, the largest LGBTQ+ health center in the midwest, operates three Brown Elephant resale shops in the Chicagoland area to help ...


Gay News

Be here, be queer, play polo: Gay Polo League creates safe athletic space for LGBTQ community
2024-03-26
LGBTQ+ athletic clubs aren't too hard to come by, offering a variety of sports such as softball, soccer and more in cities across the country. But LGBTQ+ athletes would be harder pressed to find someplace to ...


Gay News

After 30 Under 30: MAP Executive Director Naomi Goldberg
2024-03-25
NOTE: In this series, Windy City Times will profile some of its past 30 Under 30 honorees. Windy City Times started its 30 Under 30 Awards in 2001, presenting them each year through 2019. This year, ...


Gay News

United Church of Hyde Park hosts LGBTQ+ storytelling event
2024-03-25
About 20 people had gathered around four round tables in the community room of the United Church of Hyde Park, 1448 E. 53rd St., on March 23. They were listening quietly to a man tell the story of how, on a ...


Gay News

Former Chicago Girl Scouts CEO Brooke Wiseman to receive Luminary Award
2024-03-22
Brooke Wiseman, a now-retired nonprofit leader in the Chicago area, spent most of her career creating leadership development opportunities for girls and women—and making sure that hungry children could be fed. While leading Girl Scouts of ...


Gay News

Affinity celebrates Burning Bowl while looking toward the future
2024-03-19
On March 17, Affinity Community Services held its annual Burning Bowl ceremony even as it already sets its organizational sights on 2025. The event, titled Burning Bowl 2024 Evolution, was held at Studio Imani, 5917 N. ...


Gay News

Howard Brown experts discuss advocacy and allyship for Chicago's trans community
2024-03-14
By Alec Karam - Howard Brown Health's Trans & Gender Diverse People's Rights & Patient Care panel convened March 12 to discuss both resources for—and opportunities to provide allyship to—the city's trans and gender diverse communities. The event hos ...


Gay News

Howard Brown Health faces October trial if settlement isn't reached with union
2024-03-13
Howard Brown Health could go to trial over unfair labor practice allegations if the LGBTQ+ health center doesn't reach a settlement with its agreement soon. Chicago's regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed ...


Gay News

No 'explanations' needed: Affinity remains a haven for Chicago's Black queer community
2024-03-12
Back in 2007, Anna DeShawn came out while she was studying for her undergraduate degree. At around the same time, she searched online for "Black lesbians in Chicago." Her search led her to Affinity Community Services, ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77
2024-03-12
On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner
2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted's signature Human First Gala to return
2024-03-11
--From a press release - CHICAGO, IL — Center on Halsted's signature Human First Gala will be held on Saturday, April 20 at The Geraghty. The gala brings together LGBTQ+ community members and allies for an evening of celebration to recognize ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted celebrates Dreams of Drag
2024-03-11
On March 9, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., in partnership with the Ralla Klepak Foundation, presented the Dreams of Drag Spring Cohort Class of 2024. The event featured performances from a class of new ...


Gay News

Affinity Community Services' Latonya Maley announces departure
2024-03-06
Latonya Maley, executive director of Affinity Community Services, announced March 6 that she would be stepping down from her post. The announcement came from a statement with Affinity board members. Maley said that, "It has been ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.