The Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame has been renamed—it will henceforth be known as the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame to better reflect the city's diversity, according to organization officials.
That's just one part of a three-year strategic plan the Hall of Fame recently undertook in order to raise its visibility in the community, become more relevant to younger Chicagoans, establish connections and partnerships and begin the process of finding for a permanent home, according to Co-Chair Mary Morten.
"We needed to figure out where we are, where we can be, and how we can get there," said Secretary Israel Wright.
The name change is an effort to make the organization relevant and inclusive, Morten said. "For a number of years, it's included individuals who are bisexual and transgender, and we felt it was important to have those people acknowledged in the name."
"It's a sort of coming-to-terms with what's happening today, as far as identifying the organization with the people we represent," said Co-Chair Gary Chichester.
The Hall of Fame operates with a small budget of just about $30,000 a year, the majority of which goes towards running its induction ceremony and Pride Parade entry. Though it has had close ties with the city, it receives no city funding, and has in fact been been financed since 2009 by the 501c3 organization Friends of the Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. "That's solely financed through our own efforts and not related to the city," said Wright. "What we do use is the city's name and seal on our documents."
"We get a lot of questions that come in—when somebody Googles 'LGBT,' we pop up high in the search engine," said Chichester.
Besides its annual induction ceremony, the Hall of Fame this year will present an exhibit at Harold Washington Library showcasing both the 2015 honorees and those from years past. Every library in the city will have a display mentioning the Harold Washington exhibit.
"That came from some of the conversations around the strategic plan—how do we get awareness and visibility throughout Chicago and Illinois?" Morten said. "The libraries were extraordinary to work with. What's wonderful is that the entire Hall of Fame will be exhibited in the Congress corridor."
Morten and Chichester sent out a survey to inductees when they started the strategic plan, and got a 60% response. "That's an unusually high rate-of-response, but it spoke to how much people cared about the Hall of Fame, so now our challenge is get people to demonstrate that, because this is only done through individual, corporate and business donations," noted Morten.
Chichester recalled an Out at CHM event from several years back, when he had been taken aback by how many young people were in the audience. "During the planning, I asked, 'How do we reach out to these folks?' That's how the library exhibit came about, as a way of letting people know about their heritage," he said.
The Hall of Fame will be presenting intergenerationally-focused events, that can appeal to both older and younger audiences that might feel disconnected from other parts of the LGBT community over the next year or two, Morten added.
Wright emphasized that the Hall of Fame is looking for volunteers and would welcome anyone interested in helping plan and execute the organization's events in the months ahead.
"If you're looking for an opportunity to increase your visibility, learn how to work with others or manage things, put programs together, and learn where we came from and how we got to be here, this is the organization that can give you that kind of experience," he said.
The 2015 Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. at Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. For more information, visit glhalloffame.org .
Related coverage at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Hall-of-Fame-display-at-library-including-new-name/53284.html .
