Explore the triumphs of the nation’s first officially recognized gay village and examine the neighborhood’s underlying social tensions at the Chicago History Museum’s Out at CHM program, “From New Town to Boystown to Lakeview.”

The final program in the Out at CHM 2017 series takes place Thursday, May 18 at the Center on Halsted. The panel discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes a reception at 5:30 p.m.

Hear from experts on Boystown who will examine the neighborhood’s underlying social tensions—historic and current—between the different groups of people who live, work and play in Boystown, asking the question “Whose neighborhood is it, anyway?”

Jason Orne, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Drexel University and author of “Boystown: Sex and Community in Chicago,” moderates the panel to include:

• Andie Meadows, queer femme photographer, historian and activist and producer of the photo documentary series Girls In Boystown. Meadows partners with Chicago for Chicagoans to provide a series of pay-what-you-can walking tours of Boystown’s queer and non-masculine histories.
• Julio Rodriguez, Chicago activist and 2004 Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductee recognized for his work in the Latino gay community.
• Lucy Stoole, self-proclaimed as “Chicago’s Black, Bearded, Beauty,” is a Chicago-based performer working to build a better and more connected LGBTQ community in Chicago and Worldwide.

Center on Halsted, the Midwest’s most comprehensive community center dedicated to building and strengthening the LGBTQ community, is delighted to host the final program onsite at its Hoover-Leppen Theatre.

Admission to each program is $20 for the general public and $15 for Museum members and students. To purchase tickets and for program and panelists updates visit https://www.chicagohistory.org/outatchm.

Major support for Out at CHM comes from the Exelon Corporation with additional support from Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett and the Richard L. Ohlhausen Education Fund.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM

The Chicago History Museum is situated on ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi people, who cared for the land until forced out by non-Native settlers. Established in 1856, the Museum is now at 1601 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park, its third location. As a major museum and research center for Chicago and U.S. history, the Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, publications, special events and programming, the Museum connects people to Chicago’s history and to each other. To share Chicago stories, the Museum collects and preserves millions of artifacts, documents, images and other items that are relevant to the city’s history. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chicago Park District on behalf of the people of Chicago.