CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — As Pride Month kicks off, one LGBTQ-led nonprofit in Chicago has shared how they’ll be celebrating and elevating queer voices this month and year round.
“My experience should not be rare,” said Channyn Parker, CEO of Chicago’s Brave Space Alliance (BSA). “My experience should be commonplace.”
Parker said she’s been fortunate, as a trans woman in Chicago, to have access to things like employment, a support system and stability.
She’s celebrating one year as the CEO of the BSA, located on the South Side, where Parker said she uses her experience and voice to help others who might not be as fortunate.
“Our goal is to eliminate those barriers as much as possible for individuals to be able to access what they need to get to where they're going,” said Parker.
During Pride Month, especially, Parker said one of BSA’s primary goals is improving access to pride in Chicago.
“I don't mean your ability to get on the Red Line and go on Belmont and you know, celebrate in the Pride Parade,” she said. “When I say access to Pride, I mean access to be able to be out and proud is something that not everyone can do or be — and until we create a safe terrain for everyone, in our community, across our city, county, state and country, there's still work to do.”
That work includes providing general access to what Parker described as “dignity services,” such as barber shop and beauty shop services.
“The things that we all take for granted, that people just generally have access to, you know, access to feeling good about the person looking back at you in the mirror is more important than we think it is,” she said.
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