AIDS Foundation of Chicago's ( AFC ) Project Elevate hosted a red carpet premiere of storyographers video vignettes Sept. 29 at the Hyde Park Art Center.
These personal video vignette stories were produced by six transgender and cisgender young adults ages 13-24. They addressed overcoming abandonment, bullying and sexual abuse as well as promoting self esteem and HIV and STI prevention.
The red-carpet premiere was produced in partnership with the PrEP4Love campaign and featured music by DJ Tess and a dance performance by The HITTAS as well as mocktails and movie style snacks and refreshments.
Approximately 50 people gathered to view The Corridor by Meghan, Good Enough by Jaine, Love & Acceptance by Beverly, Protecting Karma by Karma, The Guy in the Field by Brandon and The Monster by Rayna.
Meghan's video focused on what it was like to navigate an anti-LGBT high school first as a gay person, and then as a transgender person while Jaine's video talked about being abandoned by her mom and how she's doing things differently with her own kids.
The remaining videos were produced under the Step Up Get Tested umbrella and zeroed in on the lack of education surrounding HIV prevention and what each of them did to change that for themselves and others.
AFC Vice President of Prevention and Community Partnerships Cynthia Tucker spoke about AFC's Youth Expert Advisory Board and the work they're doing to educate young people about STI prevention, including these vignettes and social media outreach ahead of the screening.
Poet/singer Storie Deveraux emceed and performed a hip-hop poem that reflected the intentions of the videos being presented.
During the post-screening Q&A with three of the storyographers ( Beverly, Jaine and Meghan ) and producers/lead listeners ( Marquez Rhyme and Seed Lynn, the panelists spoke about the process of creating these vignettes.
Beverly noted how helpful Lynn was while creating her vignette and Meghan explained that she had to picture herself back in those moments when she was bullied in high school. Jaine said she used the metaphor of Chicago's lakefront to illustrate her story.
As for future plans of these vignettes, Meghan said she wants to use them within Chicago Public Schools and other school districts to teach students and staff/teachers about the effects of anti-LGBT bullying on LGBT students. They all indicated that the HIV/STI focused videos would be great additions to sex education classes across the board.
When asked how it felt to work on this project, Jaine said it was the beginning of her healing process while Beverly noted that her chains were finally broken. Meghan explained that the weekend long retreat with the other storyographers helped her gain confidence to tell her story because she knew she wasn't alone. Lynn added that it was a labor of love for him to help the storyographers tell their stories.
Rhyme spoke about the retreat structure in which they had the storyographers speak more and they ( the retreat organizers ) spoke less. They said it started with a story circle and grew from there until every storyographer knew what story from their lives they wanted to tell.
When asked what they want to see more of in the media, Meghan said she wants to see transgender characters portrayed in a good light. Beverly explained that she wants the broadcast networks to produce documentaries showcasing positive stories about minority communities including the transgender community.
Another point the panel emphasized is the need for companies to hire transgender people. They said it's vital for businesses bottom line to give transgender people a chance in their workplaces.
As for what's next for everyone, Meghan said she wants to tell more stories and Beverly noted she's working on a second story about everyday life as a transgender woman.
Also on hand were the storyographer's videographers: Olivia Blocker, Brooke Greene and Justin Williams.
Project Elevate is, according to AFC's website, "a citywide collaboration with AFC, Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Department of Public Health, Planned Parenthood, Lurie Children's Memorial Hospital, Affinity and a host of other community partners. This peer-led project focuses on the input of the Youth Expert Advisory Board, ages 13-24, to shape marketing materials in support of a robust HIV and STI prevention program and increase awareness of access to services. The program is sponsored in partnership with PrEP4Love Campaign and Storyographers."
See AIDSChicago.org/page/our-work/prevention/project-elevate for more information and/or to view the videos .
