Happy Pride Month! Members are invited to learn more about Chicago’s rich LGBTQ+ history with Dr. John D’Emilio, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago and a pioneer in the field of gay and lesbian studies. Dr. D’Emilio will facilitate a presentation examining themes across these histories and a question-and-answer session to connect these stories to Chicago’s broader history.

Free; RSVP required.

A pioneer in the field of LGBTQ+ history and the history of sexuality, John D’Emilio is an emeritus professor of Gender & Women’s Studies and History at the University of Illinois Chicago, where he taught for 15 years. He is the author or editor of nearly a dozen books, including Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940—1970, 2nd edition (University of Chicago Press, 1998), Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin (University of Chicago Press, 2003), and Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America, 3rd edition (University of Chicago Press, 2012), coauthored with Estelle B. Freedman. His biography of Bayard Rustin was a finalist for the National Book Award. He was the founding director of the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and he recently served as president of the Gerber/Hart Library and Archives in Chicago. His book, Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Archives (University of Chicago Press, 2020), draws on its collections. His most recent book is Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood: Coming of Age in the Sixties (Duke University Press, 2022).