CHICAGO, ILL.
By Michael Oboza, Special to GoPride.com
Bisexual Queer Alliance Chicago (BQAC), Chicago's largest and the Midwest's longest-running bisexual and queer organization, made history with its milestone sweet 16 fundraiser.
"Welcome. We turned 16 last month on October 16," BQAC President Auggie Rodriguez said. "Tonight, we are hosting our sweet sixteenth fundraiser to help continue our work and our collaborations with interns from Columbia College."
BQAC Vice President Hugo Escobar reflected on the transition back to in-person gatherings.
"We have had gala after gala, but tonight, we are having a fundraiser," Escobar said. "We learned during the COVID pandemic that when we moved to Zoom, we lost funding for our education, bi discussions, movie night programs and Pride events which are much-needed resources."
Escobar introduced BQAC interns from Columbia College Chicago, who sold their original artwork in person during the event.
The evening featured a performance by Ebonii Michaels, followed by a silent auction and the presentation of the Ed Negron Legacy Award. The award honors the late veteran, photojournalist, Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductee and BQAC co-founder who died in 2021.
The recipient of the Ed Negron Legacy Award was Robert Castillo, an inductee into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame and an Illinois LGBTQ History Month Award recipient.
"During my nearly 40 years of advocacy, I knew Ed Negron," Castillo said, "and I'm very honored to be receiving this award."
"I went through four boxes of pictures and I happened to find a picture of Ed. The picture is from the year 2000."
"It was 26 years ago. It's a picture of me and Ed at Humboldt Park. Ed was proud to be Puerto Rican and queer."
"One of the things I liked about Ed, like me, was that he was unapologetic, unashamed and he put himself out there."
"I'd like to thank BQAC for this tremendous honor, like I said, I knew Ed Negron and respected the work he did."
"While I'm pleased and humbled to have this award, I'd rather have Ed here."
"But he is here."
"The seeds he and others planted have borne fruit, and today, we are celebrating 16 years of making sure the B isn't silent. That is quite an achievement in the queer community. If you know, you know."
Also in attendance was Antonio King, the city of Chicago's first director of LGBTQ affairs appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
"Thank you BQAC Director of Governance Jill Dispenza for inviting me," King said.
"In my position, I'm determined to bring the visibility and voices of marginalized communities to the front. And the B in the LGBTQIA community is one of those voices."
"One of my goals in the near future is establishing Chicago's first LGBTQ+ Community Policy Plan, founded on six priorities: addressing LGBTQ youth homelessness and housing stability, workforce development for individuals with trans experience, aging LGBTQ adults, mental health, substance abuse and cultural sensitivity training for all Chicago city departments."
BQAC draws its lineage from decades of organizing, inspired by Chicago Bi Ways in the 1970s; Action Bi Women and the Bi Political Action Coalition (BiPAC) in the 1980s; Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductee Queer Nation in the 1990s; and the Bi Social Network and I Am Visible Campaign in 2008.
Co-founded on Oct. 16, 2010, during LGBTQ History Month by Michael Oboza and the late veteran, photojournalist and Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductee Ed Negron, BQAC began as a grassroots group and later incorporated as a nonprofit organization.
BQAC continues its original vision: to carry on bisexual and queer visibility, work collaboratively, provide outreach programming, and preserve history in the face of persistent bisexual erasure and queerphobia within and outside intersectional communities.
Bisexual Queer Alliance Chicago (BQAC), Chicago's largest and the Midwest's longest-running bisexual and queer organization, made history with its milestone sweet 16 fundraiser.
"Welcome. We turned 16 last month on October 16," BQAC President Auggie Rodriguez said. "Tonight, we are hosting our sweet sixteenth fundraiser to help continue our work and our collaborations with interns from Columbia College."
BQAC Vice President Hugo Escobar reflected on the transition back to in-person gatherings.
"We have had gala after gala, but tonight, we are having a fundraiser," Escobar said. "We learned during the COVID pandemic that when we moved to Zoom, we lost funding for our education, bi discussions, movie night programs and Pride events which are much-needed resources."
Escobar introduced BQAC interns from Columbia College Chicago, who sold their original artwork in person during the event.
The evening featured a performance by Ebonii Michaels, followed by a silent auction and the presentation of the Ed Negron Legacy Award. The award honors the late veteran, photojournalist, Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductee and BQAC co-founder who died in 2021.
The recipient of the Ed Negron Legacy Award was Robert Castillo, an inductee into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame and an Illinois LGBTQ History Month Award recipient.
"During my nearly 40 years of advocacy, I knew Ed Negron," Castillo said, "and I'm very honored to be receiving this award."
"I went through four boxes of pictures and I happened to find a picture of Ed. The picture is from the year 2000."
"It was 26 years ago. It's a picture of me and Ed at Humboldt Park. Ed was proud to be Puerto Rican and queer."
"One of the things I liked about Ed, like me, was that he was unapologetic, unashamed and he put himself out there."
"I'd like to thank BQAC for this tremendous honor, like I said, I knew Ed Negron and respected the work he did."
"While I'm pleased and humbled to have this award, I'd rather have Ed here."
"But he is here."
"The seeds he and others planted have borne fruit, and today, we are celebrating 16 years of making sure the B isn't silent. That is quite an achievement in the queer community. If you know, you know."
Also in attendance was Antonio King, the city of Chicago's first director of LGBTQ affairs appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
"Thank you BQAC Director of Governance Jill Dispenza for inviting me," King said.
"In my position, I'm determined to bring the visibility and voices of marginalized communities to the front. And the B in the LGBTQIA community is one of those voices."
"One of my goals in the near future is establishing Chicago's first LGBTQ+ Community Policy Plan, founded on six priorities: addressing LGBTQ youth homelessness and housing stability, workforce development for individuals with trans experience, aging LGBTQ adults, mental health, substance abuse and cultural sensitivity training for all Chicago city departments."
BQAC draws its lineage from decades of organizing, inspired by Chicago Bi Ways in the 1970s; Action Bi Women and the Bi Political Action Coalition (BiPAC) in the 1980s; Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductee Queer Nation in the 1990s; and the Bi Social Network and I Am Visible Campaign in 2008.
Co-founded on Oct. 16, 2010, during LGBTQ History Month by Michael Oboza and the late veteran, photojournalist and Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductee Ed Negron, BQAC began as a grassroots group and later incorporated as a nonprofit organization.
BQAC continues its original vision: to carry on bisexual and queer visibility, work collaboratively, provide outreach programming, and preserve history in the face of persistent bisexual erasure and queerphobia within and outside intersectional communities.
