Collections by Michelle Brown

The 2019 Esteem Awards will take place on Sunday, July 7th.  It’s the 12th year individuals and organizations from Chicago and across the country will be recognized for their accomplishments.

Philip Esteem is the founder and organizer of the annual awards ceremony. He started working in the community with Black Pride in Chicago back in 2005. Philip founded the Esteem Awards to give recognition to outstanding LGBTQ organizations and individual not only in Chicago but nationally each year. Besides the Esteem Awards, he also manages PrideIndex.com, an online entertainment guide to events, bars and parties for the African-American and LGBT communities. 

This year’s 12th annual Esteem Awards ceremony will take place in collaboration with the Lighthouse Church of Chicago. The awards will take place at the Church. The Lighthouse Church of Chicago is an inclusive predominately African American LGBT church. Esteem Awards honorees will receive their awards at the Church's Fifth Annual Black Gay Pride Worship Service Brunch.

Local Chicago, as well as national activists and organizations, will be honored. The nationally recognized comedian Sampson McCormick will not only receive an award but will also perform.

Lighthouse Church is located at 2335 N Orchard Street in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. The event is free and ample parking is available.

Owen Keehnen 

has had his fiction, essays, erotica, reviews, columns, and interviews appear in dozens of magazines and anthologies worldwide.His books include Dugan's Bistro and the Legend of the Bearded Lady, Tell Me About It with St Sukie de la Croix, The LGBTQ Book of Days and A Place for Us: LGBTQ Life at the Belmont Rocks.

With the Windy City Times co-founder Tracy Baim, Owen co-authored, the Chicago LGBT historical biographies including Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow, Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria, and Vernita Gray: From Woodstock to The White House.

He’s a co-founder of the Legacy Project. The Legacy Project was inspired the first time the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was shown at the National March on Washington for LGBT Civil Rights in 1987. Chicago's Legacy Project celebrated the LGBTQ community by installing the first of its kind “Rainbow Pylon” streetscape, This Legacy Walk is a dynamic outdoor LGBTQ history exhibit. Every year on National Coming Out Day new plaques are added. The pylons are to be named the first multi-block LGBTQ landmark in the world.

Owen is a frequent speaker on LGBTQ history and has chaired several panels for the Out at CHM, the Chicago History Museum series.

Rev. Dr. Selma Massey was reared on the west side of Detroit as a Christian Scientist. It taught her a great deal including a mindset to think of God first.

When her mother discovered Massey was gay, she rebuked and rejected her. That rejection ripped her to her core.

After graduating from High School, she attended the University of Detroit Mercy receiving her bachelor’s in sociology and master’s degrees in Student Personnel Work. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in two and a half years because she didn’t know it couldn’t be done.

Massey went on to earn a doctorate degree in education from Western Michigan University. She then began to work in the mental health and corrections fields. While the work had its rewards, it eventually lost its appeal. In 1966 she left that profession to learn more about God..

While serving as assistant pastor of Full Truth Fellowship of Christ Church, she began to envision having her own ministry,

Whosoever Ministry has had several homes - at the YWCA building in Detroit until the it closed, in the Detroit suburb of in Birmingham , and at the Detroit Ecumenical Theological Seminary near downtown Detroit. After becoming a part of the United Church of Christ, Whosever Ministry found its home on Chalfonte Avenue in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan

The congregation expressed a desire to develop a virtual museum containing pictures, images and keepsake items that highlight LGBTQ lives. The project will be known as the American Museum of LGBTQ History. Phase one of this project is in the works. A preview of what is to come will be available on the Whosoever Ministry website this fall.

Phase two of the museum project is scheduled to preview in the summer of 2021. Eventually there will be a physical location in Detroit, a Welcome Center, for visitors and travelers

Walter Naegle was the partner of the American Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin and is executive director of the Bayard Rustin Fund,]which commemorates Rustin's life, values, and legacy.

Naegle’s commitment to civil rights began long before he met Rustin.  During high school in the 1960s, he became interested in the African American struggle for civil rights and social justice, particularly with its commitment to nonviolence as the means to bring about democratic change.

He met Bayard Rustin in April 1977.  They were on the same corner waiting for the light to change. After a few months, the two became steady partners. He moved in with Rustin who resided in the Mutual Redevelopment Houses (Penn South).

Because same sex marriage was illegal at the time, Rustin legally adopted Naegle in 1982. The two were together for 10 years until Rustin's death in 1987.

On November 20, 2013, Naegle accepted the Medal of Freedom from President Obama in honor of Rustin's work of 1963 March on Washington He and Sally Ride's partner were the first LGBT partners to accept the award for their late partners.

Naegle has spoken truth to power his entire life- modeling non-violence as a way of life, advocating for prisoners & GI rights and co-authoring many important books about the Civil Rights struggle.

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. Taissa Morimoto is a member of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community. She has experienced instances of microaggressions, harassment and being bullied as an East Asian woman and a queer woman.

She received her bachelor’s degrees and J.D. from the University of Florida, where she represented survivors of intimate partner violence and led workshops on civil rights restoration. She moved to Washington, DC to work in public policy. During her first year in DC, she worked simultaneously at the Task Force and at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) as a policy research fellow.

Taissa currently works on criminal and economic justice, democracy, and census advocacy as policy counsel at the National LGBTQ Task Force( NGLTF).

She has explored the dangers of the for-profit prison industry and the impact of a recent Supreme Court decision which may help reverse this trend. She has also done work related to reproductive justice including around sex ed policy and how it impacts LGBTQ youth. Taissa works with the Task Force’s ongoing efforts to Queer the Census. The Task Force has been advocating for nearly 30 years to make sure LGBTQ people are added to the Census and other federal surveys

When Taissa attended the day-long racial institute for LGBTQI AAPI at Creating Change in 2017 she recognized how similar her experiences were to others.

The Rev. Dr. Julie Nemecek is originally from Chicago but Michigan has been home for many years. She and her wife have been married for 47 years with three married sons and seven grandchildren.

In 2007 she made national news when she was fired from Spring Arbor University when she came out as a transgender professor. While at Spring Arbor University Julie led the university into online education, developed three graduate programs, and was recognized internationally as an expert in adult education. She left the University after a mediated settlement of her EEOC complaint.

In 2008 Julie was appointed co-executive director for the LGBT civil rights organization Michigan Equality. She was the first transgender person to serve as executive director for a statewide civil rights organization

She has spoken at numerous colleges and universities as well as dozens of churches. Julie has served on three national boards working for LGBTQ equality including National PFLAG board of directors 

Julie is currently serving on the board of Outwords, the first-ever national project to document the remarkable evolution of the LGBTQ community over the past several decades, through on-camera interviews with the people who led, participated in, or simply witnessed it. She and her wife are featured in the soon to be released collection of the stories of 75 leaders and activists on the front lines of the LGBTQ movement, from the 1960’s to the present in “The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed The World” a stunning collection of interviews and compelling black and white photographs.

Todd Ross currently lives in Toronto. He served in the Canadian Navy from 1987 till 1990 when he was released for being gay. As a young sailor, he was investigated by the military police. The investigation lasted 18-months and when he finally admitted that he was gay, he was released with an honorable discharge.

In 2016, he joined two other former soldiers to launch a lawsuit against the Canadian government and on November 28, 2017, the government of Canada settled the class action lawsuit. The settlement was on the same day Prime Minister Trudeau made the historic apology to LGBTQ2 people in Canada. As part of the settlement, a $25 million reconciliation and memorialization fund was established. Todd serves as the Vice-Chair of this fund.

He is Métis and is the President of the Toronto and York Region Métis Council (The Métis are a distinct Indigenous people in Canada).

We’ve all heard the old adage that “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” For many in the LGBTQ community in the United States, the other side of the fence has been Canada. LGBTQ2 rights in Canada are some of the most advanced in the Americas and in the world. But is the grass really greener north of the border.

Todd talks about life in Canada as a member of the LGBTQ community – the good, the bad, the real and lessons we can all learn from our neighbors to the north.

Kevin Terrell Heard is President of the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce. 

In 2013, Heard founded the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce. 

As President, he secured a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundations of Southeast Michigan, Hope Fund and an additional $2,500 from the Wells Fargo Rainbow Supplier Program. That increased membership and engagement with over 50 companies. Currently, the chamber has grown to have nine corporate partners and over 70 members.

In May 2017, Kevin was honored as one of Crain’s Detroit Twenty in their 20’s for his work with the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce and lead of Pride Forward USA Today Network LGBTQ Employee Resource Group.

The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce is hosting Ford Globe's 25th Anniversary Dinner on Thursday, June 6th, 2019 at the Dearborn Inn. Ford GLOBE is an Employee Resource Group within Ford Motor Company for it's LGBTQ and ally employees. The night will feature keynote speaker Wade Davis. The VIP reception for this event was sold out shortly after tickets went on saleHElives by the quote “You are greatest when everything before you is obsolete and everything after bares your mark.” His strong work ethic and spirituality keep him moving because he says, “success is not standing still.”

Shortly after graduating from FAMU, Sharon Harris was diagnosed with Lupus. She not only lives with Lupus but thrives and provides support and encouragement for others living with this chronic autoimmune disease. Sharon says she didn’t wake up one morning after graduating from college and say she wanted to start a non-profit organization about this disease. She wanted to be Oprah! But apparently, God had a different plan.”

Rosetta  “Rosie” Shaw is from Detroit. In 2005 she had to travel to San Diego, California for surgery related to complications from LUPUS. There wasn’t any organization to help this young mother and her young son. Back in Detroit a few years later she was introduced to Sharon Harris and Lupus Detroit and she found a village of survivors there to support her emotionally and spiritually.

Lupus Detroit believes that no Lupus Warrior should have to decide between purchasing their medication and buying food or providing for their families. Everyone needs assistance from time to time. Lupus Detroit offers emergency financial assistance grants in addition to awareness and advocacy events.

The 7th Annual Lupus Detroit Brunch takes place Saturday, May 18th. This fundraiser is one of the activities that allow Lupus Detroit to continue serving the community. With no paid staff or offices, to date Lupus Detroit has been able to give over $60,000 to assist Lupus Warriors with expenses incurred due to complications from the disease.

Mary Anne Adams is Founder and Executive Director of ZAMI NOBLA the National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging a service, advocacy and community-based research organization for Black lesbians 40 years old and older.

She founded and developed the Audre Lorde Scholarship Fund, an international fund that awarded over $250,000 in scholarship monies and expenses to out LGBT scholars of color of all ages from 1997-2008. In 2015, the Scholarship fund redirected its focus to award funds only to Black lesbians and lesbians of color over 40 years of age attending accredited academic institutions in the United States.

Adams received her B.A. in Sociology and Social Work from the University of Mississippi and a master’s in social work from Georgia State University.

A twelve-year breast cancer survivor, Mary Anne served as an inaugural member of the LGBT National Advisory Council for Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. In 2018, she was awarded an achievement award by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association for promoting equality in healthcare for LGBTQ people.

Adams has served on the boards of several organizations and was an inaugural member of the LGBT Advisory Council to the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta as well as one of the founding members of the Atlanta Black LGBT Coalition.

Although her focus has been on the African American lesbian community, she uses her seat at the table to also advocate for other marginalized groups. Adams has served as Director of the Community Engagement Core within the Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research in GSU’s School of Public Health. She has directed multiple research projects at both Emory and GSU since the 1990’s.

In all her activities Mary Anne Adams promotes social justice, human rights and social/health equity access through education, advocacy, public policy and research, resource development and multi-generational building.