June is Gay Pride month, and last Sunday the Edgewater Historical Society hosted a forum on the history of LGBT politics in Edgewater and the North side. Windy City Media covered the forum with the following article:
LGBT activists talk Edgewater gay history by Kate Sosin, Windy City Times 2011-06-22 | |
According to longtime gay activist Rick Garcia, nearly every piece of pro-LGBT legislation to be passed in Illinois has the fingerprints of an Edgewater resident on it. Of course, many of those fingerprints are Garcia's himself, who lives in Edgewater.
Panelists at a June 18 Edgewater Historical Society meeting all agreed; LGBT life in the neighborhood has long been exceptional.
"You've got a bunch of people who are committed to the [political] process," said Kit Duffy, who served as the first LGBT community liaison under Mayor Harold Washington. "It's different than other parts of the city." She went on to say that LGBT residents never took no for an answer.
Panelists said that many gay people moved to Edgewater because of low rent and because a host of empty storefronts meant ample opportunities for gay bars and businesses. The neighborhood quickly became a hotbed of political activism, led by its LGBT community.
According to the panelists, Edgewater LGBT activists not only produced and battled for life-changing LGBT legislation there. In many cases, they enlisted their communities in the fight for equality all over the city.
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