Photo Credit (c) Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive Director of Affinity Community Services.
Chicago, April 17, 2019 – PrideIndex.com™ announces the three organizations and eight individuals that have been selected to be honored at the 12th Annual Esteem Awards. The honorees were selected by a committee of past honorees who reviewed an array of nominations. The Esteem Awards has proudly partnered with the Lighthouse Church of Chicago, a predominately African American LGBT- inclusive church, for this year’s extraordinary event. The final list of honorees will receive their awards at the Fifth Annual Black Gay Pride Worship Service Brunch which takes place in Chicago on Sunday July 7 from 1:00 PM – 03:00 PM at Lighthouse Church of Chicago, 2335 N Orchard St, Chicago, IL 60614. The event is free and open to the public.
Following is a list of the 2019 Esteem Awards honorees:
Chicago
- Outstanding Service, Male: Antonio V. King, Public Health Administrator/LGBTQ Health & Outreach Liaison for the Chicago Department of Public Health.
- Outstanding Service, Female: Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive Director of Affinity Community Services.
- Outstanding Service, Transgender: Channyn Lynne Parker, Manager of External Communications at Howard Brown Health Center.
- Future Leaders / Outstanding Millennial Award: Ka’riel Gaiter, Community Engagement Coordinator for Youth Empowerment Performance Project.
- Outstanding Social Services/CBO: Brave Space Alliance, the first Black-led, Trans-led LGBTQ Center on Chicago’s South Side.
- Special Recognition Award: The Gene Siskel Film Center for its inclusion of films to promote understanding and awareness by/and for filmmakers of color, the LGBTQ communities and people of color everywhere.
- Outstanding Spoken Word: OUTspoken!, Chicago’s monthly spoken word phenomena at Sidetrack celebrating the uniquely personal stories from across the LGBTQ community.
National
- Outstanding Service, Male: Steven G. Fullwood, Documentarian, Public Archivist, Writer and Photographer.
- Outstanding Service, Female: Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Feminist, Educator, and Essayist.
- Future Leaders/Outstanding Millennial Award: Perre L. Shelton, Spoken Word Performance Artist, Educator, Mentor and Founder of THE LAMAR METHOD (TLM).
- Special Recognition Award: Sampson McCormick, Stand-up Comedian, Writer, Actor and Producer
About the Esteem Awards
Since 2007, PrideIndex.com’s Esteem Awards has honored local and national organizations and individuals for their continued efforts in supporting the African-American and LGBT communities in the areas of entertainment, media, civil rights, business and art.
PrideIndex.com is an online entertainment guide to events, bars and parties for the African-American and LGBT communities. It features profiles of activist, authors, club promoters, filmmakers, performance artists, conferences, support groups, and health & wellness resources.
The Chicago Lighthouse Church is an inclusive church that welcomes all people regardless of sexual orientations, gender identities, races, ethnicities and class. To learn more visit www.lighthousechicago.org
