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‘Structural Change Still Needs To Happen’ “But now a lot of us would like to see businesses implement systemic changes inside their own establishments to be more inclusive.” Thousands of protesters marched through the North Side on June 28 to demand justice for Black and transgender people. “Dropping the name was a great first step toward inclusivity,” said nonbinary activist Devlyn Camp, who worked with Freitag on the recent campaign to change the neighborhood name.
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Neighborhood leaders must commit to the longer-term work of diversifying their business community and completing inclusion training programs that will help them learn how to create a space that meaningfully embraces all LGBTQ people, activists said. Whether it’s who owns the local businesses or which performers take center stage at clubs, queer activists said the neighborhood still draws clear lines between who is welcome and who is shunned. That reckoning culminated in the firing of a top drag queen accused of racism and business leaders dropping the Boystown moniker from the neighborhood’s marketing. Amid national social justice demonstrations this summer, a series of protests swept Chicago’s famed LGBTQ neighborhood as queer activists called out local leaders for discriminating against people of color, women and trans or gender-nonconforming people. You shouldn’t be here,” gay men have told her.įreitag is hardly alone in her experience.
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On other nights, they’re met with dirty looks and resentment, she said. On a great night, Freitag and her friends can dance, socialize and unwind in an environment that feels affirming for queer women. LAKEVIEW - Men have sneered at Jen Freitag when she and other queer women go to Chicago’s strip of gay bars, known for decades as Boystown.