National Equality March Leader Appears in Chicago Saturday

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 26, 2009 8:45PM

DOMA, DADT, ENDA... Thirty years have passed since the first time LGBT Americans got their cookies together to march on Washington and though the acronyms might be different, the fight remains unchanged. The National Equality March, set for October 10-11, aims to update the queer rights debate and send a message to the nation's lawmakers. The march is being spearheaded by long-time LGBT rights activist Cleve Jones, who will appear in Chicago this Saturday, August 29, at the Victory Gardens Theater.

Jones, a close advisor of Harvey Milk and creator of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, has faced some criticism for the march's timing and costs but has fired back. In a guest blog on the Bilerico Project, Jones said: “[The march offers] our community a powerful opportunity to protest the lack of action from President Obama and the Congress. It's an important way to express our anger while building the foundation for a nationwide grassroots movement to change votes in Congress.”

"An Evening with Cleve Jones: The History and Struggle for LGBT Civil Rights" will be hosted by Join The Impact-Chicago, a grassroots organization leading local planning for the march, and Haymarket Books. The event, which will also feature performance pieces from Young Chicago Authors, serves as a fundraiser to provide buses to transport queer and ally Chicagoans to the march.

Tickets to listen to Jones speak and get yourself all revved up for revolution run from a minimum suggested donation of $5 through to $50 in give-what-you-can style. Get these bad boys while you can - the site advises that space is limited.

Cleve Jones, Saturday, August 29, 6 p.m., Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln, $5 - $50

Post by Joseph Erbentraut