Black Alphabet Inducted Into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame

On Tuesday, October 3, Black Alphabet was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. We were honored in the Organization category at a ceremony held at the Chicago History Museum, with Mayor Brandon Johnson presiding. The event was free and open to the public, which felt right. Everything we do starts with the public showing up.

Ten years ago, Black Alphabet began as a conversation among friends about the films no one was screening. Stories about Black LGBTQ+ life existed, but Chicago had no home for them. So we built one. That first festival became the Black Alphabet Film Festival, and the festival became an organization that now spans film, free art therapy, and community programming year round.

This honor belongs to the community

An organization does not get into a hall of fame on its own. Our filmmakers trusted us with their work. Our therapists held space for people who had never been asked how they were doing. Our volunteers gave up weekends. Our audiences walked in as strangers and left as family. This induction is theirs.

The Hall of Fame has honored Chicago’s LGBTQ+ leaders since 1991. To stand in that lineage as the world’s oldest and largest arts organization built for Black LGBTQ+ people is not lost on us. It took a decade of work by people who mostly never asked for credit.

Celebrate with us

If you want to be part of the next ten years, read our story, come to a festival screening, or support the work with a gift. We are just getting started.