Get Edu-gay-ted This Week
By Joseph Erbentraut in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 27, 2010 9:40PM
Ever regret not signing up for that mysterious LGBT Studies course while in school? Hit the books before such things existed? Or are you just curious to learn more about the gay community beyond what Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert tell Barbara Walters? Luckily, Chicago plays host this week to two lectures exploring issues facing the community.
Nationally-renowned television host, author and speaker Keith Boykin is slated to headline an important community forum titled "Justice For All?" Thursday, Jan. 28, beginning at 6 p.m. at the University Center, 525 S. State (2nd Floor). The forum will discuss historical roots, present conditions and future strategies related to the issue of justice for gay Black men. Theirs is a community that often finds itself at an intersection of identities difficult to conflate.
“It's not only important for Black gay men to be cognizant of how we are impacted by our lack of justice, but also, how we too, impact this innate right for others,” said Boykin in an event press release. “Events like these continue to challenge and illuminate this fact."
Boykin will be joined on the discussion panel with author and Northwestern professor E. Patrick Johnson and Antonio D. Jimenez from the University of Illinois Chicago's School of Public Health. The forum will be hosted and moderated by Dr. Keith Magee, of the National Public Housing Museum, and Jim Pickett, of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. Admission is free.
Thursday evening also marks the debut lecture of this year's incarnation of the fantastic LGBT-geared Out at CHM series at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. "Queer Spaces: Past and Present" will ask the question: "What is 'queer space' and where do we find it?" Leading the visual journey through Chicago's past and present are two University of Illinois Chicago associate professors - Sharon Haar, architecture, and Doug Ischar, photography.
Admission to the lecture, which begins with cocktails at 5:30 p.m., costs $12, or $10 for CHM members or students.