Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  IDENTITY

Letter: Black gay youth
2009-07-01

This article shared 5556 times since Wed Jul 1, 2009
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


As Chicago's largest African-American-owned program serving LGBT youth of color, we felt the need to respond to the big issue at hand facing the population we serve which are at the forefront of media attention and one that will never get media attention.

This past week marked the eighth time a Youth Pride Center ( YPC ) youth was jumped, beat, held up at gunpoint or harassed because of his sexuality—in the same area ( 95th/Dan Ryan, at the end of the CTA Red Line ) since February. Because it happens so much, YPC members have stopped reporting it because, in their words, "it's inevitable."

YPC, a program of Youth Pride Services, Inc. agrees with its youth. As long as there is no visibility on the South and West sides of Chicago, it is inevitable that this will happen. As long as there is no equal media representation ( gay and mainstream ) on West and South Side events, agencies and other concerns, we will continue to collect stories from youth who can't afford to go to the north side of Chicago where all the money, media attention and events are held. As long as every citywide LGBT event is only held north of Madison, the youth on the West Side will have to continue to fight for their lives.

It is no surprise to us that the recent data from CDPH looks grim for gay youth of color, who predominately live on the South and West sides of Chicago. Can anyone even name the two agencies that serve LGBT youth of color on the West and South sides? Combined, they see more youth go through there doors than the Belmont/Halsted area does on a hot day, because when the weather is not ideal ( 10 months out of the year ) , they prefer to stay closer to home.

Youth Pride Services ( YPS ) has never been able to get adequate HIV testing at its events, usually because we "have a million youth," as one agency put it. And this is well-known, and has been a complaint from board members of YPC and YPS for three years now. We are quick to say that youth don't care about their status or sexual partners but not quick to say who is actually putting them in these positions in the first place.

A grassroots organization on the West and South sides will never get as much HIV prevention support or services in Chicago as a mainstream one will—too many barriers in place. Maybe a spot at the table will help people understand how youth think. They don't respond to messages created for them—they respond to messages created by them. They can't afford to go to HIV Prevention Conferences or Summits like most adults can, but they are ready, willing and able to take control of their own health when listened too.

Lastly, these two issues tie in together and are everyday issues for small agencies with huge youth populations on the South and West sides. They are not all on drugs, stealing, going to balls ( although nothing is wrong with that ) and dropping out of school. Some LGBT youth of color are the most talented young people in this city, and are going to colleges that would make your eyes pop open.

Until there is some LGBT visibility and support other places than the North Sde of Chicago, YPC will continue to collect more stories of hate crimes—but until then, "it's inevitable."

The Youth Pride Services Family

( YPC, YPC Entertainment )


This article shared 5556 times since Wed Jul 1, 2009
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Chicago alder proposes renaming street after Obama 2024-03-22
- Openly gay Black Chicago Ald. Lamont Robinson has proposed renaming Columbus Drive after former U.S. President and city resident Barack Obama, media outlets noted. The street stretches through the Loop from East Grand Avenue to DuSable ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece 2024-03-14
- Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


Gay News

Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians 2024-03-12
- Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...


Gay News

No 'explanations' needed: Affinity remains a haven for Chicago's Black queer community 2024-03-12
- Back in 2007, Anna DeShawn came out while she was studying for her undergraduate degree. At around the same time, she searched online for "Black lesbians in Chicago." Her search led her to Affinity Community Services, ...


Gay News

SAVOR Eldridge Williams talks new concepts, Beyonce, making history 2024-03-08
- One restaurant would be enough for most people to handle. However, this year Eldridge Williams is opening two new concepts—including one that will be the first Black-owned country-and-western bar in the Midwest. Williams, an ally of ...


Gay News

Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month 2024-02-23
- As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...


Gay News

HIV criminal laws disproportionately impact Black men in Mississippi 2024-02-21
--From a press release - A new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that at least 43 people in Mississippi were arrested for HIV-related crimes between 2004 and 2021. Half of all arrests in the state ...


Gay News

Human Rights Campaign report releases new data on experiences of Black queer youth 2024-02-14
--From a press release - WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released a report in ...


Gay News

SAVOR 'The Bear,' new pizza lounge, Chicago Black Restaurant Week 2024-02-11
- "Bear" necessities: The third season of the Chicago-set series The Bear will debut in June, per Variety. FX chairman John Landgraf made the announcement during the network's presentation at the Television Critics Association's winter 2024 press ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09
- In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...


Gay News

National Black Justice Coalition commemorates National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2024-02-07
--From a press release - WASHINGTON — Today, Feb. 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). In commemoration, Dr. David J. Johns, CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a leading Black LGBTQ+/same-gender ...


Gay News

Comcast NBCUniversal partners with News is Out, Word In Black on fellowship program highlighting Black, LGBTQ+ issues 2024-02-06
--From a press release - Digital Equity Local Voices Lab Fellows to be placed at 16 local publications to receive training and create content Philadelphia (Feb. 6, 2024) — News is Out [ https://newsisout.com ] , a queer media collaborative of ...


Gay News

SAVOR Jean Banchet Awards, new Black-owned spots and free pizza 2024-02-04
- Congrats!: The winners of the Jean Banchet Awards—which honor Chicago cuisine—were recently announced at Venue Six10. Longtime Chicago Tribune critic Phil Vettel was (justifiably) honored with the Culinary Excellence of ...


Gay News

ART Champaign display looks at the Midwest Black lesbian experience 2024-02-03
- In Illinois, archival photos are the centerpiece of a new display at the Krannert Art Museum focusing on the Black lesbian experience in the Midwest, IPM reported. The new solo exhibition by St. Louis-based artist Jen ...


Gay News

SAVOR Going 'Underground,' change at Skylark and Mango Pickle closing 2024-01-29
- Pop(-up) life: Chef Mariya Moore-Russell—who guided the local spot Kikko to a Michelin star, becoming the first Black woman to helm a kitchen with one of the food world's highest honors—is returning to Chicago to lead ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.