On Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017 The Legacy Project will celebrate the Phase 6 Dedication of Chicago's award-winning Legacy Walk Outdoor LGBT History Museum. This year The Legacy Project will be adding a bronze memorial commemorating "The Harlem Renaissance" — the cultural watershed which established the first urban LGBTQ Community in the United States.
The public ceremonial reveal will begin at 2 p.m. at 3247 N. Halsted. The ceremony will feature remarks by Mona Noriega, Commissioner of Human Relations, representing the City of Chicago; DR. KEVIN MUMFORD, Professor of History at the University of Illinois ( UIUC ), the consulting scholar on the endeavor; Paul Highfield, representing The Highfield Group, sponsor of the bronze memorial; and VICTOR SALVO, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Legacy Project.
Following the ceremony, a Dedication Celebration will take place at Sidetrack/Chicago, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., emceed by NBC Chicago's Wayne Johnson ( "Wayne's Weekend" ); and starring jazz vocalist and recording artist Tovi Kahli, who will performing both music from the Harlem Renaissance era and from her new CD — "French Quarter Style" — an ode to the spirit of New Orleans. There will be raffle prizes, artifact displays, a Sponsored Bar by Stoli USA, and Catering by J&L. The event is sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co., Stoli Group USA, Sidetrack, Millercoors and Center on Halsted.
$50 TICKETS MAY BE PURCHASED AT:
www.eventbrite.com/e/legacy-walk-dedication-6-tickets-38013139323 .
QUOTES:
"We're really excited to bring the Harlem Renaissance to Halsted Street" said Legacy Project Co-Founder and Executive Director VICTOR SALVO. "To finally connect one of the last surviving "gayborhoods" in the United States to what really was the first one is very important for this community to understand. The Harlem Renaissance was creatively driven by queer outsiders of every stripe who pooled their talents to produce literature, music, poetry, and political tracts which endure today. When the renaissance ended they left Harlem and spread out across the country — bringing all of that talent with them. That's what we LGBTQ folk DO: we create culture and we carry it with us wherever we go. It's important that our kids know how connected they are to our past."
DR. KEVIN MUMFORD, Professor of History at UIUC, offered "This Harlem Renaissance installation will richly contribute to the cause of greater cultural and social diversity in Boystown. The Legacy Project's choice to honor the influence of LGBT black creativity in the overall Harlem Renaissance is itself revolutionary, challenging multiple communities to see this iconic moment in African American history from a new perspective which recognizes the crucial importance of black LGBTQ people."
"The Legacy Project is an amazing one-of-a-kind public installation that showcases the contributions of so many important LGBTQ individuals, both well-known and obscure," said WAYNE JOHNSON, from NBC Chicago, who will be emceeing this year's dedication. "It's a source of pride for us locally and an inspiration for folks of all walks of life who are fortunate enough to explore the plaques currently in place along Halsted Street. I'm so honored to emcee this dedication event as this important collection is expanded to include the Harlem Renaissance."
TOVI KAHLI — who will be reprising her role from the Legacy Project's spring benefit Harlem Comes to Halsted — said "I am ecstatic to be asked again to conjure up a time such as The Renaissance Era — which reminds me of what I love about music. The pure, honesty of that time wrapped in jazz! Thank you for another opportunity to do what I absolutely love!"
Accomplished artist and illustrator KRZYSZTOF WASKO — who provided the artwork from which the new memorial will be cast — offered "The Harlem Renaissance has long been a passion of mine. I am pleased to offer my illustration of this amazing era for use in a tribute to this glorious time in LGBTQ and Black History. I am especially thrilled to know this will be the first original artwork used in the creation of a Legacy Walk bronze memorial installation. That means a lot to me."
ABOUT THE LEGACY WALK AND THE LEGACY PROJECT
Dedicated in 2012, Chicago's Legacy Walk is the world's only outdoor LGBT History Museum. This half-mile installation features 38 bronze biographical memorials celebrating the lives of people like Leonard Bernstein, Audre Lorde, Sally Ride, James Baldwin, Jane Addams, Rudolf Nureyev, Frida Kahlo, and Alan Turing. The Legacy Walk's markers serve as an "outdoor classroom" for bullied LGBTQ youth who come for guided tours in order to learn about historically significant positive LGBT role models.
The Legacy Project works to educate the general public about the many roles Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people have played in the advancement of world history and culture. Through "The Legacy Walk"; "The Legacy Project Education Initiative" ( free, downloadable resources ); "The Legacy Wall" ( traveling interactive exhibit ); and "The Legacy LIVE Series" ( cultural programming and events ) the Legacy Project is committed to challenging the cultural marginalization of LGBT people. The Legacy Project is a 501( c )3 Illinois non-profit financed entirely by donations. No public funds are used.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE REVIEW THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
WAYNE JOHNSON:
www.waynesweekend.com/about-wayne/ .
TOVI KHALI:
www.dropbox.com/s/oc8h3kwdsl57l0s/ToviKhaliOnesheet2.pdf .
KEVIN MUMFORD: www.dropbox.com/s/893rd9jj03jc0ta/MumfordLegacyProjectLetter.pdf .
KRZYSZTOF WASKO:
www.galeriawasko.com .
THE LEGACY PROJECT:
www.legacyprojectchicago.org .
