Four organizations and 14 individuals have been selected to be honored at the 15th Annual Esteem Awards. The event—free and open to the public—will take place Saturday, July 2, at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted St., 2-5 p.m.
A committee of past finalists has chosen this year's recipients.
Author/activist Michelle E. Brown will host this event while comedian Sampson McCormick will provide the entertainment.
The Esteem Awards finalists are:
LOCAL
—Outstanding Service, Male: Ken Meija-Beal, community organizer and Chair of the DuPage County Democratic Party.
—Outstanding Service, Female: Angela Barnes and Renauda Riddle, activists and co-owners of the James Beard Award-nominated Andersonville spot Nobody's Darling.
—Outstanding Service, Transgender: Zahara Bassett, founder/CEO at Life Is Work.
—Future Leaders: Shakur Silas, program manager for Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus.
—Outstanding Social Services/CBO: Lorde, Rustin & Bates is a systemic and structural level change agent that centers LGBTQ communities of color.
—Special Recognition: Black Alphabet Film Festival. Its mission is to promote social equity awareness and education in all aspects of life for the Black LGBTQ+ community.
NATIONAL
—Outstanding Service, Male: The Honorable Mayor khalid kamau, of South Fulton, Georgia.
—Outstanding Service, Female: Ebone Bell, Keynote Speaker and Publisher of Tagg Magazine. Tagg Magazine was created to provide a central source for LGBTQ culture, news, and events.
—Outstanding Service, Transgender: Tori Cooper, director of community engagement at Human Rights Campaign. She is a health and equity advocate, educator, and published author.
—Future Leaders: Tarik Daniels, founder/executive director of WhatsintheMirror?
—Outstanding Social Services/CBO: The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). NCLR is a national legal organization that has been advancing LGBTQ equality.
—Institutional Award: Greater Than AIDS, a leading national public information response from Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), focused on communities most affected in the U.S.
—Artistic Expression: Nina Kennedy is a world-renowned concert pianist, author and filmmaker. She is creative director of INFEMNITY Productions LLC.
—Artistic Expression: Kelly Ross, Artist & Proprietor, K. Ross Original Art. His abstract art reflects his spirit; bold, colorful, strong, and textured.
—Special Recognition: Gemmel & Tim, a documentary from filmmakers Michiel Thomas. Michael Franklin and Niq Lewis. Gemmel & Tim explores the lives and untimely passings of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean—two Black gay men who died from meth overdoses at the home of West Hollywood politico Ed Buck.
Since 2007, PrideIndex.com's Esteem Awards has honored local and national organizations and individuals for their continued efforts in supporting the African-American and LGBTQ+ communities in entertainment, media, civil rights, business and art.
