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Lesbian archivists 'disrupt' history as they document their communities' experiences
Queer archivists spoke about their efforts to preserve lesbian history throughout the country during an online event hosted by the Curve Foundation during its Lesbian Visibility Week series. The April 26 panel included founders, archivists and ...
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Queer activism through photography: Exhibit spotlights a 'revolutionary' moment in Chicago history
By Alec Karam
Artists hosted a panel at Dorothy, 2500 W. Chicago Ave., on April 20 to celebrate the debut of Images on Which to Build in Chicago, a snapshot of queer history from the '70s to the '90s. The exhibition, now at Chicago ...
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Gerber/Hart Library and Archives holds third annual Spring Soiree benefit
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Gerber/Hart) hosted the "Courage in Community: The Gerber/ Hart Spring Soiree" event April 18 at Sidetrack, marking the everyday and extraordinary intrepidness of the entire LGBTQ+ ...
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Through a queer lens: Photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya discusses Chicago exhibition
Paul Mpagi Sepuya is a photographer whose works incorporate several elements, including history, literary modernism and queer collaboration. The art of Sepuyawho is also an associate professor in visual arts ...
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Chicago History Museum announces "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s - 70s exhibition
--From a press release
CHICAGO (March 14, 2024) — The Chicago History Museum is thrilled to announce its upcoming exhibition, "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s—70s." Set to open on Saturday, May 18, 2024, this exhibition is ...
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Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians
Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...
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SAVOR Eldridge Williams talks new concepts, Beyonce, making history
One restaurant would be enough for most people to handle. However, this year Eldridge Williams is opening two new conceptsincluding one that will be the first Black-owned country-and-western bar in the Midwest. Williams, an ally of ...
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SAVOR Let's Talk Womxn's 'More Than March'; Adobo Grill's tequila dinner
I was fortunate enough to be invited to a culinary event that celebrates the achievement of womenand, fittingly, it happened during Women's History Month. On March 1, Let's Talk Womxn Chicago held its annual "More Than ...
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Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap
Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...
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Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican McConnell to step down from leading U.S. Senate
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will step down from Senate leadership in November, having served in that capacity longer than any senator in history, The Advocate noted. McConnell has been a senator since 1985 and has ...
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ELECTIONS 2024 Raymond Lopez talks congressional run, Chuy Garcia, migrant crisis
Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez has been a member of City Council since 2015, representing the 15th Ward and making history as one of the city's first LGBTQ+ Latine alderman. Now, he is setting his sights on ...
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Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month
As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...
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SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue
In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...
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On 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Mayor Brandon Johnson reaffirms commitment to reproductive rights
--From a press release
CHICAGO — Today marks the 51st anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which preserved the constitutional right to choose. Chicago has a long history of advocating for women's rights and is considered ...
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Chicago Red Stars sign Mallory Swanson to historic contract
CHICAGO (January 16, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars have signed Mallory Swanson to a historic long-term contract, making it the most lucrative agreement in the history of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and seeing ...
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Gay political trailblazer Ken Sherrill passes away at age 81
Kenneth Sherrilla pioneering political scientist who was also the first out gay elected official in New York historydied in early December at age 81 from surgical complications, Gay City News reported. He is survived by his ...
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SHOWBIZ Alex Newell, Joe Locke, 'Bad Together,' Raven-Symone, Limelight club
Alex Newellwho made history as one of the first two out nonbinary Tony Award winnerswas named Time's Breakthrough of the Year for 2023, The Advocate reported. Newell won the Tony this year as Best Featured Actor ...
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Bradley Cooper conducts a symphony of queer history in Maestro
Composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein was one of the most important musicians of his time, receiving many accolades—the Kennedy Center Honor among them, in 1981—before passing away in 1990. Behind the scenes ...
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Santos voted out of Congress
Now-former U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-New York) was voted out of Congress on Dec. 1. Santos is the sixth House member in U.S. history to be booted from Congress, and the third since the Civil War, ...
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BOOKS Lucas Hilderbrand reflects on gay history in 'The Bars Are Ours'
In The Bars Are Ours (via Duke University Press), Lucas Hilderbrand, a professor of film and media studies at the University of California-Irvine, takes readers on a historical journey of gay bars, showing how the venues ...
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BOOKS Owen Keehnen takes readers to an 'oasis of pleasure' in 'Man's Country'
In the book Man's Country: More Than a Bathhouse, Chicago historian Owen Keehnen takes a literary microscope to the venue that the late local icon Chuck Renslow opened in 1973. Over decades, until it was demolished ...
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Disney exhibition chronicles a century of entertainment history
Disney100, a large-scale traveling exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, has opened at the Exhibition Hub Art Center, 2367 W. Logan Blvd., in Bucktown. Hundreds of props and artifacts from the company's ...
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Rustin film puts a gay pioneer into the spotlight
The story of activist Bayard Rustin is one that should be told in classrooms everywhere. Instead, because Rustin was an openly same-gender-loving man, his legacy has gone relatively unnoticed outside of LGBTQ+-focused history books. Netflix hopes ...
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IDHS head Dulce Quintero reflects on making history, being an advocate
Dulce Quintero has always believed in helping people—and decades of doing so has resulted in an especially noteworthy achievement. Recently, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appointed Quintero, a member of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame, as ...
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Rainbow wave: Historic number of LGBTQ+ Candidates elected in 2023
--From a press release
Washington, DC — Over 200 out LGBTQ+ candidates won their elections in 2023 — including 148 tonight — more than in any other odd-numbered election year in U.S. history. The number of victories is expected to ...
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Mississippi makes history with first LGBTQ+ state lawmaker, county supervisor
On Nov. 7 Fabian Nelsonbacked by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fundwon the general election to represent District 66 in the Mississippi State House, making history as the first out LGBTQ+ candidate to win election to the state ...
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30th anniversary of LGBTQ+ Bud Billiken Parade contingent celebrated
The 30th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays celebrated the original Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays and members of the LGBTQIA+ community who in 1993 actively participated as ...
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WTTW doc chronicles the activism of Danny Sotomayor
Practically everything the late Chicago AIDS activist Danny Sotomayor did was "a fight." So says fellow activist Victor Salvo in the new WTTW documentary The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor, which is part of the station's Chicago ...
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LGBT HISTORY PROJECT: Exploring 70 years of lesbian publications, from 1940s zines to modern glossy magazines
Since the '40s, lesbians have created a vibrant history of publications. From the exploration of daily lesbian life to literary and feminist pursuits, to the modern age of glossy magazines, for over 70 years, lesbians have ...
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THEATER 'This Bitter Earth' tackles both political and personal commitments
I have more decades behind me than before me. Thus, my history comes at me in timeless waves. An event from 1986 will often assail my mind while one from last year follows, dreamily, behind it. ...
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Sean Fader memorializes LGBTQ+ history with Insufficient Memory
One of artist Sean Fader's recent projects project may be named Insufficient Memory, but his crucial work in memorializing LGBTQ+ history will hopefully never fade over time. In 2018, FaderA New York City and New Orleans-based ...
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GAY HISTORY MONTH The evolution of LGBTQ+ online dating
Special to Windy City Times. To mark Gay History Month, the following article appears courtesy of LGBT History Project and Philadelphia Gay News. From casual hook-ups to friendships to meeting the love of your life, LGBTQ+ ...
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Lambda Legal holds nationwide 50th anniversary celebration
Lambda Legal—the nation's oldest and largest legal nonprofit focused on the rights of LGBTQ+ people, as well as those individiuals living with HIV—celebrated its 50th anniversary Oct. 18 with an in-person event in New York City ...
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Plaques honoring MLB's Burke and marriage-equality added to Legacy Walk
On the afternoon of Oct. 14, the Legacy Walk dedicated two new plaques, acknowledging both a prominent gay sports figure and the celebration for a historic milestone for Illinois. This year's additions honored gay Major League ...
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State Treasurer Michael Frerichs honors LGBTQ+ leaders
--From a press release
Gay Men's Chorus, Bar Association president, DePaul art professor honored during LGBTQ+ History Month celebration CHICAGO — Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs today hosted a celebration to commemorate LGBTQ+ History ...
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Boisterous activist/business owner Marge Summit remembered
A group of Chicago-area friends gathered Oct. 15 at the Baton Show Lounge to celebrate the extraordinary life of LGBTQ+ activist and community organizer and former bar owner Marge Summit. Summit, the former owner of the ...
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Statement from President Joe Biden on 25th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death
--From a press release
BRIEFING ROOM STATEMENTS AND RELEASES Twenty-five years ago today, Matthew Shepard lost his life to a brutal act of hate and violence that shocked our nation and the world. The week prior, Matthew had been viciously ...
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GAY HISTORY MONTH George Harris reflects on his late husband and Dallas activism
Special to Windy City Times. To mark Gay History Month, this article appears courtesy of Dallas Voice and the LGBT History Project. When George Harris and Jack Evans became the first couple to legally marry in ...
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GAY HISTORY MONTH When NOW purged lesbians
Special to Windy City Times. To mark Gay History Month, this article appears courtesy of Philadelphia Gay News and the LGBT History Project. The website of The National Women's History Museum (NWHM) describes Betty Friedan as ...
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Legacy Project to host Legacy Walk Outdoor LGBTQ+ History Museum Phase XI dedication Oct. 14
--From a press release
On Oct. 14, 2023 the Legacy Project will host the 11th Anniversary Dedication of Chicago's Legacy Walk Outdoor LGBTQ History Museum. This year's inductees include The Road to Marriage Equality: The Supreme Court Decision that Rocked ...
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Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inducts 2023 recipient class
The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (founded in 1991) held its annual induction ceremony Oct. 3 at the Chicago History Museum. These individuals and organizations were chosen by 29 previous Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductees ...
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GAY HISTORY MONTH Putting an end to the myths of Stonewall
Special to Windy City Times. In recognition of Gay History Month, this article appears courtesy of the LGBT History Project and Philadelphia Gay News. For years, people have debated what actually happened that night in June ...
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GAY HISTORY MONTH In the '60s, drag found a home in San Francisco's Glen Park
Special to Windy City Times. To mark Gay History Month, this article appears courtesy of the Bay Area Reporter. During the '60s most LGBTQ nightlife in San Francisco was centered in the northern neighborhoods of the ...
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WORLD Quebec lesbians, violence study, Rugby World Cup, Ugandan bill
The hidden history of Quebec lesbians is being explored, the CBC reported. Between 1985 and 1996, a group of lesbians leased the Plateau-Mont-Royal school and ran it as a community center. The school was also home ...
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African American Arts Alliance of Chicago names new president for first time in 25 years
--From a press release
CHICAGOThe nonprofit African American Arts Alliance of Chicago announced Charlique C. Rolle as its new board president, effective immediately. Rolle is the first new president in the Alliance's 26-year history ...
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Amigas Latinas Forever and queer Gage Park art exhibits open at Chicago Art Department
Amigas Latinas Forever, an art exhibit exploring this important Chicago organization (1995-2015), opened Aug. 11 at the Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted St. An additional exhibit, En El Abismo, Me Encontre by the Gage Park ...
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Diana Taurasi becomes first WNBA player to score 10K points
Diana Taurasian LGBTQ+ WNBA player who was already the highest scoring athlete in league historyextended her record in a significant way. Taurasi (a teammate of Brittney Griner) became the first player in WNBA history to score ...
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SHOWBIZ Emmys, 'Top Chef,' Hyphen Hyphen, Da Brat, 'Transparent,' Ben Cohen
Videos below
As the Emmy nominations were announced (with Succession leading with 27 noms), openly gay Paris Barclay made history. According to Deadline, the two-time Emmy winner is the first Black (and, certainly, Black gay) director to sweep ...
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Out at CHM hosts its first 2023 event
On June 28, Chicago History Museum (CHM), 1601 N. Clark St., transformed itself into a "supportive space for trans joy" to mark its support for transgender individuals. The event was presented as part of Out at ...
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Woman running to be first openly trans president in world's history
Tamara Adrian recently registered as a presidential candidate in the Venezuelan primarybecoming the first openly transgender person in the world to do so, The Washington Blade reported. The professor/attorney/author/LGBTQI+-rights activista ...
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Supreme Court ruling on 303 Creative: How bad was it? Depends on who you ask
Some believe the U.S. Supreme Court's decision June 30 in 303 Creative v. Elenis may be one of the most consequential in LGBTQ legal history—a kind of "separate but equal" pronouncement on how the courts should ...
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Chicago Fire scores historic victory over Portland
Chicago Fire FC defeated the Portland Timbers for the first time in Fire history with a 2-1 victory on June 21 at Providence Park. Striker Kei Kamara scored the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute to ...
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Chicago City Council approves landmark status for The Warehouse building
On June 21, the Chicago City Council, among other things, approved landmark status for The Warehouse building that featured a now-shuttered club that catered to queer Black and Brown patrons and that is known as the ...
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Patric McCoy exhibition unearths forgotten moments from Chicago's Black queer history
It's the unusual person who is able to transform commutes to and from their office into anything meaningful, let alone a profound body of work documenting a generation. But Patric McCoy has done just that. McCoy, ...
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Fabrizzio Subia navigates loss and grief through art
When it comes to loss, Fabrizzio Subia may know more than most people. Having dealt with everything from familial loss to the erasure of his history, the Ecuadorian-American multidisciplinary artist (who has also done things like ...
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Poet Laureate avery r. young draws inspiration from West Side upbringing
By Michelle Zacarias
North Austin native and multi-dimensional poet avery r. young made history in April after being selected as Chicago's inaugural Poet Laureate. The announcement came as no surprise to those who follow young's career as an award-winning ...
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Ehrenfeld becomes first gay AMA president during Chicago event
On June 13, a truly historic inauguration took place at the annual American Medical Association (AMA) meeting of its House of Delegates as Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld became the first openly gay president in the history of ...
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Nonbinary actors make history at Tonys
A Tony Awards ceremony that was already unique when queer Oscar-winning host Ariana DeBose hosted an unscripted event (because of the writers' strike) became even more historic when two nonbinary ...
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HRC issues 'state of emergency' for LGBTQ+ Americans
On June 6, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time in its history, which spans more than four decades. According to a ...
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SHOWBIZ Lily Tomlin, Daniel Craig, Lizzo, 'Noah's Arc,' Maurice Jamal, 'Heartstopper'
Video below
The Peabody Awards announced that Lily Tomlin and Issa Rae will receive honorary awards at the June 11 ceremony, to be held in Los Angeles for the first time in Peabody's 83-year history, per the Hollywood ...
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White House proclaims 70th anniversary of the 'Lavender Scare'
On April 25, the White House issued a proclamation noting April 27 as the 70th anniversary of the Lavender Scare, which negativelyand extensivelyimpacted the LGBTQ+ community. In 1950, the U.S. State Department fired 91 employees because ...
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PASSAGES: Retired Chicago Fire Department district chief, paramedic Pat Ciara
Retired Chicago Fire Department (CFD) district chief, paramedic and at one time the highest ranking out lesbian in the history of the CFD, Pat Ciara died April 19 of lung cancer in Lake Worth, Florida. She ...
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Gerber/Hart Library and Archives holds Spring Soiree benefit event at Sidetrack
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Gerber/Hart) hosted "This Library is QUEER! The Gerber/ Hart Spring Soiree" benefit April 20 at Sidetrack. A large collection of the history and culture of Chicago and the Midwest's LGBTQIA communities is ...
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House History: World-premiere musical was inspired by the early days of '80s house music
Gay composer Scott Free can rattle off the names of several documentaries celebrating the Chicago origins of house music. This style of electronic dance music was pioneered by Black DJs like Frankie Knuckles and Larry Heard ...
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'Birthplace' of house music to become a Chicago landmark
Shortly after being named to Preservation Chicago's annual list of the city's "most endangered" buildings, the Warehousethe club at 206 S. Jefferson St. that has been often called the "birthplace" of house musicis on its way ...
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Chicago's Fine Arts Building celebrates 125th anniversary with exhibits and tours
--From a press release
CHICAGO (March 7, 2023)—Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building (410 S. Michigan Avenue) celebrates its 125th anniversary this year with two new public exhibits, a self-guided walking tour of significant sites ...
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DuSable Black History Museum to show paintings from collection of Emmy award-nominated actress CCH Pounder
--From a press release
CHICAGO (Feb. 24,2023) — The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center is pleased to announce a new exhibition featuring paintings from the Collection of Emmy® award-nominated actress CCH Pounder. ...
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Passages: Longtime activist Achebe (Betty) Powell passes away
Veteran social justice organizer and educator Achebe (Betty) Powell passed away Feb. 21, according to multiple reports. Powell died of COVID-19 related complications at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Brooklyn, according to a Feb. 22 statement ...
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Hidden History: Pamela Bannos brings the life of 19th-century lesbian photographer to new audiences
Few people outside of New York may know about 19th-century photographer Alice Austen (1866-1952)but author/historian/Northwestern University professor Pamela Bannos wants to change that. Bannos recently completed a podcast series about ...
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Old Town home of gay pioneer Henry Gerber finds buyer
An Old Town row house that was home to two of the founders of the country's first gay-rights organization recently found a buyer, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The Henry Gerber House, 1710 N. Crilly Ct., ...
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Poll: Black Americans support gender equality but split on trans and non-binary issues
--From a press release
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 16, 2023) — Discussions about gender equality and feminism have a long history among Black Americans, with hallmarks like Maria Miller Stewart in 1832; the Combahee River Collective in 1977; Anita Hill in ...
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WORLD Church of England, Japanese officials, Hong Kong ruling, drag kings
The Church of England has voted to bless same-sex marriages for the first time in its history; however, its ban on conducting ceremonies will stay in place, PinkNews reported. It was approved after a six-year consultation ...
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Ben LaBolt of Illinois to be first gay White House communications director
Ben LaBolt—a native of La Grange, Illinois and an alumnus of Middlebury College—is making history as the first openly gay White House communications director, according to an official press release. Kate Bedingfield, who has served as ...
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Pauli Murray becomes first Black queer person on U.S. currency
Pauli Murray (1910-85)—who was an LGBTQ+ human-rights activist, lawyer and Episcopal priest and who is the subject of the documentary My Name Is Pauli Murray—will soon be honored with a quarter of her own, USA Today ...
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Kim Petras is first openly trans singer to win a Grammy
On Feb. 5, Kim Petras made history, becoming the first openly transgender singer to win a Grammy. The German-born singer won in her category of Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Unholy," her chart-topping collaboration with non-binary singer Sam Sm ...
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