On July 1, DuSable Museum and Pride South Side presented Present and Beyond: The Fifth Annual Chicago Black Pride South Side Festival at 740 E. 56th Place.
The event was the best-attended of the last four Black Pride South Side festivals, and hosted a wide variety of both South Side independent vendors and citywide health and wellness services and organizations. Representatives from Equality Illinois, AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Lambda Legal were also on hand.
Mayor Brandon Johnson also made a late afternoon appearance and told the crowd, "I believe we have everything we need to make Chicago better...and if you don't have any thing to contribute, keep your 'blank' mouth shut." Among the performers at the event were rapper Yng Romance, dancer/singer Mark Angel, rapper Jade the Ivy, DJ Meal House and vocalist Gregory Stewart.
Sponsors included Lambda Legal, South Side Help Center, Howard Brown Health, Gilead, Center for AIDS Research in Chicago, Sophy Hyde Park Hotel, Chicago Department of Public Health, Black Alphabet, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Molson Coors Beverages, Comcast, Walgreens, Equality Illinois, Center for Black Equality, the Impulse Group and HRC.