At its regularly scheduled monthly meeting April 20, the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues recognized the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), which will be observed May 17 around the world.
The council voted without dissent to officially welcome the annual observance, thus joining national, regional and local government bodies in numerous countries that have acknowledged the international event since it was first observed May 17, 2005.
Longtime council member William B. Kelley, who introduced the proposal that the Advisory Council officially welcome the IDAHO observance, expressed his "hope that it would encourage local organizations, as part of a run-up to Chicago's annual Pride Month, to show solidarity with their international counterparts' struggles against prejudice and discrimination worldwide." One such local organization, Chicago's Gay Liberation Network, has conducted activities here for several years in support of IDAHO.
May 17 was established in commemoration of the date of the World Health Organization's 1990 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. Louis-Georges Tina French university lecturer and a campaigner for Black and LGBT rightsspearheaded IDAHO's creation. The IDAHO Committeecomposed of a largely volunteer, Paris-based board and a diverse international advisory boardoversees the event.
The IDAHO website, www.dayagainsthomophobia.org, currently lists May 17 events planned in the United States, Ireland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Malta, Sweden, France, Rwanda, Russia, Turkey, Chile, Peru and other countries.