Chicago Black Gay Pride Guide 2019

June is Pride Month

Pride South is a coalition of organizations and organizers working to bring queer affirming spaces to the South Side of Chicago.

Pride South Side seeks to build sustainable spaces for queer youth of color on the South Side.

Through this initiative, Pride South Side is building a city where health, economic and social outcomes for queer youth of color is not determine by race and zip code.

PRIDE Parade, Sunday June 30 at noon | https://northalsted.com/pridefest

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How this former media executive created a powerful network for black gay professionals Emil Wilbekin is one of FastCompany’s Most Creative People of 2019

Media executive Emil Wilbekin founded Native Son, an advocacy and networking group for professional black gay men, to create “not just a safe space, but a beautiful space,” he says, where members of the community can celebrate their influence.

Wilbekin’s three-year-old organization hosts panels and events at companies including Google and has signed on high-profile partners, such as Bloomingdale’s, with whom it has created Pride-themed hats and tees. Reminding brands that black gay professionals are often affluent consumers, Wilbekin lined up HBO, Cadillac, and Belvedere to sponsor the Native Son Awards this past February, which honored author Michael Arceneaux and choreographer George Faison.

To raise awareness around the fact that black gay and bisexual men account for a quarter of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S., Native Son helped promote an interactive play about HIV last May called As Much As I Can, in partnership with drug manufacturer ViiV Healthcare. It’s an issue close to Wilbekin, who disclosed his HIV-positive status after he founded Native Son. “No one [else] is going to treat this as the national emergency that it is,” he says. “So we have to do more.”

Virgil Abloh Store: Church & State Museum of Contemporar y Ar t

The Abloh-designed 1,850-square-foot pop-up store named Church & State fills two fourth-floor galleries at the MCA, with walls covered in massive photographs by renowned fashion photographer Juergen Teller.

Did someone say sneakers?

Just look down. If the sneakers that museum security guards are wearing are blowing your mind, the limited-edition Nike Air Force 1 ’07 Virgil Abloh x MCA — known as “Flooded Blue” — will be available, but not at the store and not on a set date. Throughout the exhibition, there will be multiple surprise drops via the Frenzy app. If you’re quick, you can get the shoe for $159, but the sky’s the limit on the resale market.

There will also be surprise T-shirt drops, $65, on the app that will be limited to as many as can be ordered in a 24-hour period, then end. The first drop last week sold nearly 10,000 shirts.

The store will feature reinventions of approximately 20 of Off-White’s greatest hits adapted exclusively for the MCA. The MCA x Off-White Culture Wall collection allows you to — literally— wear the art from the exhibition, with suits, skirts and hoodies printed with images from the photo montage at the start of the exhibition depicting things important to Abloh.

Louis Vuitton Menswear Chicago Residency

1100 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL To celebrate Virgil Abloh and his fall 2019 collection for the brand, Louis Vuitton has created a West Loop pop-up — also designed by Abloh — featuring an insanely cool, limited-edition range of day-glow orange accessories designed exclusively for Chicago. The space, which Louis Vuitton is calling a “residency,” is stocked with all of the essentials needed for your sizzling summer.

The sunglasses are a standout — think Marcello Mastroianni in Fellini’s “8½,” but with a very hip twist — and are in the running to be summer’s hottest shades.

The pop-up will also feature key pieces from Louis Vuitton’s fall collection, including a rainbow-hued logo carry-on that’s sure to become one of the brand’s most-sought-after bags. The residency runs June 8 to July 7.

Welcome to Chicago’s summer of Virgil Abloh.

TASTE OF CHICAGO

JULY 10 – 14, 2019 Grant Park, 337 E. Randolph St.

Free admission (ticket purchase required for food) Wednesday – Friday: 11a.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Friday, July 12: Taylor Bennett, De La Soul Sunday, July 14: Bilal, Meshell Ndegeocello, India.Arie

WOW! What a way to kick off the Pride Parade!

For the 50th celebration of Pride, "The Reader Chicago" had a month long tribute to Gay Pride Month! Their final installment was a lovely pictorial spread of Queer Families.

I am so happy to share the cover with one of my Beautiful daughters, Miss.Mya! Screaming thank you to "The Reader Chicago" for coming to our home and garden while shedding light on the subject of family, IN EVERY FORM! This issue hits newsstands across Chicagoland tomorrow. #LOVEWINS #FAMILYFIRST #CELEBRATEDIVERSITY

Fireworks at Navy Pier Thu, Jul 4 – Fri, Jul 5

Soul2SpeakEnt and Big Boy Pride Present Born Free: Chicago Black Pride Weekend In addition to BBP Events, we will be providing access and discounts to our partner events. Please text bbpchi to 94253 so that you will receive ALL information and updates

BBP Kickback July 4th The New Celebrity Lounge 2020 E. 83rd St, Chicago, IL 10:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M. | Drink Specials and Door Prizes DJ Trae Tunes will be spinnin We are coming together to support Black business in Chicago. Providing a relaxed kickback after chowing down on BBQ all day LOL

BBP Day Party July 6th Fantasy Nightclub 3641 N Halsted St., Chicago, Illinois | 3:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M DJ Trae Tunes Drink Specials and Door Prizes We have moved our annual day party to a new location and look forward to a great time again.

House Music Picnic & Festival - Chicago

W hat I’ve Lear ned Since My Son Came Out

Jalen and Ted at 2018 Pride Parade

Our son Jalen came out as gay when he was 15 years old. His mom and I were not surprised.

We had expected this to be true from a very young age. By the time he told us, we were waiting with open arms. Our entire family celebrates who he is, just as we celebrate the uniqueness, authenticity and beauty of each member of our family.

When Jalen first confirmed his truth, I was – and remain – fearful for his safety. At the time, I was not worried about how his gender showed up or didn’t, how he expressed himself sexually or who he loved. No, I feared for his life.

Research shows that sexual orientation consistently ranks as the third-highest motivator for hate crime incidents. Attacks motivated by race are most common.

Jalen is a young, Black male, now living openly and outwardly gay. The discrimination, hatred, racism, homophobia, heterosexism and ` countless other dangers that await at these intersections make me want to never leave his side.

I was prepared for our son’s announcement and truthfully, I was waiting with excitement for him to embrace and share his full and authentic self with us. However, I was not fully prepared for all the ways my own heterosexist conditioning would emerge.

I consider myself pretty woke and I welcomed all the major milestones – the coming out to family and friends, meeting the first boyfriend, and conversations about sex, self-care, and

responsibility. But I caught myself struggling with the smaller things. I regularly took my

children for manicures and pedicures and one day at the salon, Jalen asked to have his nails painted. On the outside, I encouraged his expression, but on the inside, I was hoping he would choose darker colors – black, navy, brown. My reaction wasn’t about him – it was about me! I didn’t share this with him at the time, but my distaste for the colored nails was surfacing because of my fear that he would be bullied or teased, and my heterosexism.

Brightly colored nails are not what “men” do, and Jalen’s expression of his gender was making me uneasy.

Jalen had always looked like the stereotypical high school athlete and was read as straight by others, so I never had to fear the hatred and discrimination until Jalen chose to present differently. The colored nails were a change for me. And my reaction was a wake-up call.

My socialization – the ways the world has taught me to be a man – remains deeply rooted. It is critical that I acknowledge this, even after spending my life working to promote healthy manhood and male authenticity. I am not immune – no man is.

Fortunately, I was able to work through my issues and support Jalen in the evolution of his nail colors and later, even share in his excitement when he discovered a makeup palette. Last year, Jalen asked to go to his first Pride Parade. I informed him that he could go, as long as I could go with him because, “after all son, I’m proud too!”

At A CALL TO MEN, we teach that heterosexism is the glue that holds the Man Box together.

When men or boys do things that are outside of the traditional, hypermasculine notions of manhood, they are punished, ridiculed and bullied. When men and boys step outside the Man Box, there is a dominant majority quick to tell them they are falling short, they are not man enough, they are acting like a girl or a gay man.

Recent research found that boys still feel the Man Box dictates how they should think, act and feel. Asked “what society expects boys to do when they feel angry, they said they were We traveled to Pride by public transportation supposed to be aggressive or be quiet and suck with a number of his friends. He wore a long it up. When they felt sad or scared, they felt rainbow cape – as any superhero would – a pressure to hide those feelings.” This is a trap. pair of shorts, rainbow socks, white sneakers, The Man Box polices men, demanding and had his stomach painted with rainbow adherence to its teachings, and condemning glitter. anyone who falls short. The teachings of the

Man Box not only lay the foundation for As you can imagine, we got quite a bit of violence and discrimination against women and attention. While we were traveling, a man girls to persist, but it shortens men’s life spans approached me and shared a sentiment that many other men, women and non-binary ` and increases men’s suicide rate. The American Psychological Association recently released individuals have also shared. He said, “It’s wonderful that you support your son.” I didn’t first-ever guidelines for addressing toxic reply with the polite “thank you” that he likely masculinity. The guidelines were based on expected. I simply asked, “What is there not to more than 40 years of research showing that traditional masculinity is psychologically support?” harmful and that socializing boys to suppress

their emotions causes damage that echoes Jalen is 17 years old now, and his experience both inwardly and outwardly. has added another complex layer to my

understanding of what we at A CALL TO MEN Nothing and no one have taught me more call the collective socialization of manhood. about how to be my authentic self than Men and boys are taught to not show fear or watching my son love and claim himself. weakness, not ask for help, not to cry or

express emotion other than anger, to exhibit

qualities associated with power, dominance

and control, to be tough, to man up, and to

believe that men and boys have more value than women and girls. We coined a term called the Man Box to illustrate these teachings. In the Man Box, women and girls are property, sexual objects, and have less value. Heterosexuality is the norm, and people who identify as LGBQ, trans and gender nonconforming are inferior.

`

Commissioned painting of Jalen during a dance recital titled: “Breaking Out of the Man Box” - Art created by InnerChild Galleries

My journey as the father to six unique, beautiful and very different children continues to evolve. Like all parents, I have certainly made mistakes and of course, I would do some things differently if I had the opportunity. But one thing I know for sure is that I try to be a great dad – and for me, that means thinking critically about why things like the colored nail polish come up for me, seeking to value authenticity in myself and those around me, and understanding that my children, like yours, are unique, perfect and have much to teach us.

If you are a father or a father figure in a young man’s life, I encourage you to consider how your collective socialization – your Man Box – might be impacting that relationship. Manhood and fatherhood are both wonderful and challenging. With the best of intentions, we can still

miss the mark as a man or a father. I continue to examine my own thoughts and behaviors. I would ask all fathers and male role models to consider the ways the Man Box has shaped your thoughts about manhood, women, girls and LGBQ, trans or gender non-conforming people.

Were you teased as a young boy for “throwing like a girl” (by the way, girls throw just fine!) or “crying like a b****” or dressing a certain way? Did you react to that criticism by trying to overcompensate or act more traditionally masculine? How did your relationship with your own father impact the kind of father you want to be?

I still have so much to learn as a father – and especially as Jalen’s dad – but I believe what matters most to our children is knowing the security and love he/she/they have always received is still intact and always will be.

A CALL TO MEN’s Tips for Fathers and Father Figures

Ø Follow your child’s lead in who they choose to come out to and when. Don't out them, even if it's within your own family circles. Ø Love your child enough to examine your own assumptions and reactions. ` Ø Be your child's biggest champion. Ø Support your child as they navigate this new community and new situations. Ø Take time to get to know the people in your child’s new chosen community and allow them to get to know you. Ø Challenge and confront family members or loved ones who do not show value or respect for your child. Ø Challenge and confront others who do not show value or respect for your child (coaches, teachers, strangers on the street). Ø Educate yourself on violence and discrimination against LGBQ, trans and gender non-conforming people. Ø Keep learning and follow your child’s lead as they reveal their authentic self to you and others. Ø Initiate conversations about safety, sex, self-care and responsibility. Ø Encourage your child’s unique talents and passions – even if they conflict with your own ideas about gender.

A CALL TO MEN’S Chief Development Officer Ted Bunch

http://www.acalltomen.org/

A CALL TO MEN is a violence prevention organization and respected leader on issues of manhood, male socialization and its intersection with violence, and preventing violence against all women and girls.

JULY 20-21, 2019 | Click here for more info.

The Silver Room Sound System Block Party Hyde Park, Chicago

Saturday, July 20th, 2019 12pm – 10pm

THE TRADITION Beauty abounds in Jericho Brown’s daring new poetry collection, despite and inside of the evil that pollutes the everyday. The Tradition questions why and how we’ve become accustomed to terror: in the bedroom, the classroom, the workplace, and the movie theater. From mass shootings to rape to the murder of unarmed people by police, Brown interrupts complacency by locating each emergency in the garden of the body, where living things grow and wither—or survive. In the urgency born of real danger, Brown’s work is at its most innovative. His invention of the duplex—a combination of the sonnet, the ghazal, and the blues—is an all-out exhibition of formal skill, and his lyrics move through elegy and memory with a breathless cadence. Jericho Brown is a poet of eros: here he wields this power as never before, touching the very heart of our cultural crisis.

Author Jericho Brown is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and he is the winner of the Whiting Writer's Award. Brown’s first book, Please (New Issues 2008), won the American Book Award.

His second book, The New Testament (Copper Canyon 2014), won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. His third collection is The Tradition (Copper Canyon 2019). His poems have appeared in The Bennington Review, Buzzfeed, Fence, jubilat, The New Republic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, TIME magazine, and several volumes of The Best American Poetry. He is an associate professor and the director of the Creative Writing Program at Emory University.

Real Talk About LGBTQIAP

by Tara Coyt "Real Talk About LGBTQIAP: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Pansexual" is a sincere conversation about the who, what, when, how, and why of human sexuality, gender identity, and biological sex.

Author Tara Y. Coyt explores these questions by sharing a variety of LGBTQIAP perspectives including LGBTQ Institute Executive Director Ryan Roemerman, Fulton County Commission Co-Chair Joan Garner, Outwrite Bookstore Founder Philip Rafshoon, transgender activist Vandy Beth Glenn, and others from across the United States. "Real Talk" also includes leading researchers like Georgia State University professor Eric R. Wright, and organizations such as GLAAD, HRC, Georgia Equality, American Psychology Association. Also included are biblical scholars and historians like Peter J. Gomes, Reza Aslan, and Evangelicals Concerned.

Readers say "This has to be one of the most interesting, enlightening, and important pieces I've read on in quite some time," "The knowledge in your book has added wisdom and understanding of great value to my life," and "It has brought me understanding, wisdom, selfacceptance, and comfort."

"Real Talk" is an accessible, informative, and thought-provoking conversation.

Let Love Have the Last Word: A Memoir This Hardcover Edition of "Let Love Have the Last Word: A Memoir" is autographed on bookplate by Common. Common—the Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Golden Globe–winning musician, actor, and activist—follows up his New York Times bestselling memoir One Day It’ll All Make Sense with this inspiring exploration of how love and mindfulness can build communities and allow you to take better control of your life through actions and words.

David, a civil rights lawyer and law professor from New York, will be the first Black man and first person of color to helm the HRC in its nearly 40-year history.

Alphonso David Will Be the First Person Of Color to Lead the Human Rights Campaign

BY HARRON WALKER for out.com

The Human Rights Campaign will be helmed by a person of color for the first time in its nearly 40-year history.

The HRC announced on Tuesday that Alphonso David, a 48-year-old civil rights lawyer and law professor from New York, will replace Chad Griffin, who has served as president of the organization since 2012. David will not only be the eighth person to lead the HRC — the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit in the United States — he will also be the first Black man and the first person of color to do so, The Washington Blade notes, as all seven previous leaders were white men and women.

In the past, David has served as a staff attorney for Lambda Legal’s Defense & Educational Fund, where he worked on the first same-sex marriage lawsuit in New York state. He has also acted as an advisor and legal counsel to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, advising the governor to sign administrative orders banning conversion therapy for minors and extending legal protections to trans residents of the state.

“I believe that together, we can harness the strength that’s inherent in our differences, to stand together in the face of fear and division,” David said in a statement to the Blade. “And that’s exactly what the Human Rights Campaign was built for.”

Tangentially related, did you know that the HRC’s outgoing president makes, like, half a million dollars a year?

According to the Blade, Griffin “earned $481,375 in reportable income and $20,893 in compensation in related organizations, making for total of $502,268” in 2017. That’s wild! Who knew that nonprofit work could be so, um, profitable?

Northalsted Market Days® is the largest street festival in the Midwest and Chicago’s hottest summer celebration, August 10-11, 2019.

The 38th annual Northalsted Market Days® is a weekend long festival celebrating life & community in Chicago’s historic Boystown/Lakeview district. The 1/2 mile long festival features all-day lineups of live music on 5 stages, 200+ unique vendors, arts, crafts, food and drink, DJ’s and dancing, sponsor booths, and more!

LIVE performers at Northalsted Market Days®, August 10 and 11, 2019

https://northalsted.com/marketdays/