Monthly Archives: July 2013
National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame August 2nd
announce the inaugural induction class, which will be the largest induction class of the NGLSHOF.
allies, former pro sports officials, activists, journalists, retired athletes
and current athletes. The inductees are Gay Games,
Outsports.com, Chicago Cubs, International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA),
Anheuser Busch, Chris Kluwe, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Ben Cohen, Dave Pallone,
Justin Fashanu, LZ Granderson, Christina Kahrl, Dr. Tom Waddell, Chuck Dima,
Jerry Pritikin, Dave Kopay, Glenn Burke, Renee Richards, Billie, Jean King,
Martina Navratilova, Greg Louganis, Patty Sheehan, Andrew Goldstein, Jason
Collins, Orlando Cruz and Johnny Weir.
first honorees will happen on August 2, 2013 through a ceremony at the
Center on Halsted. Tickets are available at www.gayandlesbiansports.com. There
will be two ticket types, VIP and General Admission. VIP $50,
will include a seat in the Hoover-Leppen Theatre and a VIP meet and greet
reception. The General Admission $25, will include a reception and viewing on
TV’s outside the theater. Both tickets will include a hosted bar and food. The VIP meet and greet
reception is 5:00pm-6:00pm. The
general reception is 6:00pm-7:00pm. The Induction
Ceremony is 7:00pm-8:30pm.
with Out at Wrigley on August 3, 2013 – the nation’s largest “Gay Day” at
a major league sporting event. Tickets for Out at Wrigley
can be purchased at www.outatwrigley.com
Steve Grand from Chicago is America’s First Out Gay Male Country Singer
STEVE GRAND…from Chicago is
But starting today… I’m laying it out there. I’m done playing it safe.
I don’t have a manager or a label or any sort of funding other than the
tip money I make playing piano downtown at The Joynt, and also,
ironically to some, in the churches on Sunday morning… (we’ll see how
long I’ll be singing “Glory to God” should this video see the light of
day).
As far as the ascetic achievements of the video… lets
just say I was lucky to have a good friend introduce me to the best team
I could have asked for… who held on to the roller coaster that was
this project and dealt with all my intensity and craziness as the true
professionals they were.
I wrote the song during a drunken
piano jam session at a party. I recorded the vocals in my parents
basement and worked with my friend Max Steger: http://maxsteger.com/ to record and mix the rest of the instruments.
I feel like music industry people wouldn’t like the idea of me
“pigeonholing” myself by telling this story as I have. But I don’t
believe the world sees change until it sees honesty.
So I went in on my own.
BUT my story would never have seen the light of day were it not for the kindness and generosity of so many that helped me through this process, many of whom asked for nothing in return. I know my passion and intensity for this project were a lot to deal with (that might be the understatement of the year.. ;)) I want to thank my crew and everyone involved for doing your best to help me keep my sanity… just barely. And thank you for sticking with me; for your flexibility and patience and helping to bring my vision to life. And to mom and dad… I know you guys don’t always understand just what the hell I am trying to do, but continue to love and support me nonetheless. It means everything to me…
-Steve
Scarlet Bar Chicago – Always Improving Party Machine
DID YOU KNOW HOW SCARLET BAR GOT ITS NAME?
theme starting with its name. In the 1920’s, members of the GLBT
community wore a piece of scarlet colored clothing to signal their
affiliation to others. Traditionally, scarlet is the color of flame.
Further inspiration came from the “pansy craze” of the early 1930s.
Gay life in Chicago, New York, and other cities was more visible and
accepted. Lesbian salons attracted sightseers to Towertown (now known
as the Magnificent Mile), while drag entertainers were a feature at
South Side clubs.
It would take close to 50 years before the seeds of the GLBT
community were planted in Lakeview. Today, it isn’t necessary to wear a
small piece of scarlet, we can display it proudly across the top of our
door.”
There is also new drink menu designed by famed mixologist Ben Newby
Come in and experience a piece of Chicago history and Chicago history in the making at Scarlet.
also visit….
Taverna 750
Illinois Equal Marriage Advocates Plan March on Springfield Oct 22
A day after more
than one million gathered to celebrate Pride in Chicago at a parade
dominated by calls for equal marriage, marriage advocates in Illinois
have announced further details for the March on Springfield for Marriage
Equality on Oct. 22.
The march will be organized by a group of co-chairs drawn from a
diverse cross-section of Illinois’ lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and queer communities. Among the 13 statewide co-chairs announced today
are 6 women and 7 men with diverse ethnic, racial, religious, and
professional backgrounds. The March on Springfield, set for the first
scheduled day of the legislature’s fall veto session, will operate
separately and alongside efforts by Illinois Unites, the broad coalition
of more than 50 organizations working to pass equal marriage in
Illinois, as well as with grassroots activist groups.
“Marriage equality is supported by a majority of Illinoisans and has
new urgency given actions by the U.S. Supreme Court last week,” the new
group of co-chairs said in a joint statement. “When the Supreme Court
struck down DOMA, married couples in 13 states and the District of
Columbia gained benefits that are denied to people in Illinois. On Oct. 22,
we call on Illinoisans from every walk of life and from every district
to come to Springfield and demand full equality for everyone in our
State.”
The group also announced early details on how corporations, small
businesses, and volunteers can get involved in the effort to get people
to Springfield. These include crowd sourced funding through an IndieGogo
campaign to be launched next week, specially priced bus rentals, and a
business partnership campaign to facilitate broad-based participation by
companies and their employees in the March. To learn how your
organization or company can get involved, visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/
March on Springfield co-chairs include:
- Solomon Arnold: College student, media personality, and HIV/AIDS educator in the African American house ball community.
- Tracy Baim:
Journalist, filmmaker, author, Co-vice chair of the Chicago Gay Games
and publisher is publisher of Windy City Times newspaper.
- Kevin Boyer:
Marketing professional, community organizer, former Co-vice chair of
the Chicago Gay Games, and co-chair of GLAAD Chicago’s Leadership
Council.
- Buff Carmichael: Longtime media professional, former publisher of the Prairie Flame, and activist in Springfield.
- Brandy Donaldson: Rock Island-based media professional and activist within the African American lesbian community.
- Emmanuel Garcia:
Latino youth activist working with Association of Latin Men for Action,
Crossroads Fund, Chicago’s largest queer youth prom and Cicero’s LGBT
community.
- Brent Holman-Gomez: Activist working within the welcoming church movement, immigration equality, and international LGBTQI organizations.
- Kim Hunt: Executive Director of Affinity, an African American LBT women’s group, who was also an organizer of the Chicago Gay Games.
- Naomi Lahiri:
Queer feminist with expertise in Asian issues, outreach for trans*
people of Asian descent, immigrant issues, and domestic violence
outreach.
- Alexis Martinez:
Transgender activist working on cross-generation work, the Dyke March
plus Latino, living wage, education and healthcare issues.
- Chris Mullins: Activist and LGBT rights advocate and Chair of Lambda Legal’s Chicago Leadership Council
- Edith Nieves: Long-time activist on union, lesbian, sports and Latina issues; runs Sisters 4LGBTQ Community, a lesbian social network.
- Max Smith:
Activist for four decades especially focused on African American men
and religious issues, and as a member of Adodi, an African-American
men’s organization.
About the March
The March on Springfield for Marriage Equality will take place on Oct. 22, 2013,
the scheduled first day of the fall veto session of the Illinois state
legislature. The “March on Springfield” is part of a broad grassroots
strategy to secure final passage of Senate Bill 10, the “Religious
Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act,” already approved by the Illinois
Senate. Once adopted, Illinois will become the 14th state plus the
District of Columbia, to treat all of its citizens equally under state
marriage laws. More details are available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
