LGBTQ rights, safety and “full humanity” will be the focus Sunday of The Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington, D.C., an event that is being echoed with similar marches and rallies around the world, including in Illinois.
A rally is scheduled for Chicago, while in Frankfort, Ill., a village roughly 60 miles southwest of the city in Will County, a rally and march are planned.
“Mobilizing LGBTQ+ communities, our loved ones and our allies — with particular focus on those who have been actively silenced and neglected — in the fight to affirm and protect our rights, our safety and our full humanity,” is the goal of the Washington march, according to the event website. (Use of the + sign is one way individuals and groups are signaling awareness that there are a number of communities included under the LGBTQ umbrella besides lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.)
The marches and rallies also will feature observances of the first-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, attack on Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, where a gunman killed 49 people, the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The Chicago Equality Rally will take place at 11 a.m. Sunday during the popular Andersonville Midsommarfest at the intersection of North Clark Street and West Balmoral Avenue. It is being billed as “a gathering of celebration, solidarity and mobilization to affirm and protect all members of the LGBTQ community’s rights, safety, and full humanity.”
“Speakers and performers will promote visibility, unity and pride,” according to a news release from the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, which is co-hosting the event.
Fawzia Mirza, an actor, writer and producer, is slated to be emcee at the rally, which will feature remarks from leaders of organizations active in the LGBTQ community, performances and appearances by elected officials.
Andersonville Midsommarfest will also donate $1 from each gate donation Sunday to three organizations, Equality Illinois, Center on Halsted and Ava’s Change4Youth, according to the news release.
Meanwhile, in Frankfort, a group called Southwest Suburban Activists is sponsoring a rally, march and performance, beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday at Breidert Green Park.
The group began with the inauguration of Donald Trump as president, according to a news release, and members have “worked together to bring tolerance, empathy and solidarity to the Frankfort area.” The group held a Women’s March on International Women’s Day, a vigil for Syrian refugees and a Nasty Woman Art Exhibit in Kankakee, Ill. The group predicts Sunday’s Equality March will be the biggest event yet, with a turnout of 250 people expected.
“The Federal Government is turning their back on the LGBTQ+ community and the Southwest Suburban Activists will not stand for it,” the group said in the news release. “This event is an opportunity to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and also to reach out to the youth in the area who may be feeling uncertain about where they stand in our current political climate. We demand equality for all.”
“We are thrilled to be a part of this global movement,” said organizer Emily Biegel. “Frankfurt was chosen because I live here, and it is my most fervent goal to make our community more inclusive.”
Biegel said the rally and march are ways to “show pride in our community, show pride in the LGBT community.”
After the rally, there will be a march in downtown Frankfort. Details are available on the group’s Facebook page.
The marches and rallies occur on the eve of the one-year mark since the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub, and “aim to honor the victims and uplift the resilience of the Orlando LGBTQ+ community,” according to the Washington march’s website.
Chicago’s rally will include a moment of silence for the Pulse anniversary, said Joelle Scillia, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce marketing director.
A separate event Monday marking the Pulse shooting is being planned by Center on Halsted, Chicago’s LGBTQ center. This community vigil service is called “Pulse: One Year Later” and will take place 6-7 p.m. outside the center at 3656 N. Halsted St. A candlelight vigil will include speeches, performance and the tolling of a bell for each of the 49 victims, according to the center’s news release.
The Frankfort rally, Biegel said, also will include a “remembrance or acknowledgment” of the first anniversary of the Pulse attack.
Other Equality March-themed events are taking place Sunday in nearby Midwestern cities, including Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Madison, Wis. For a full list of participating cities and towns, go to the Equality March’s website.
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