Since the beginning of the gay rights movement, The Stonewall Riots, black drag queens have paved the way for change in the community. This way of change still happens, and Chicago drag queens, especially black queens, have been making waves throughout the city. Specifically, within recent years it seems like the biggest changes and calls to actions in Chicago have been spearheaded and executed by the drag queens.
Most recently Chicago’s most well-known gay neighborhood came to see a long overdue name change, from Boystown to Northalsted. This change was due to the call outs of racism and transphobia within the name change. Even though the petition was not started by a drag queen, it came in because of calls made by black and people of color Chicago-based drag queens. During the protests following the murder of George Floyd, a Chicago Drag queen, Jo Mama lead a protest on June 14th 2020, called the “Drag March For Change”. This protest sparked a revolution within Chicago’s LGBTW community and gave a much needed kick in the behind to get the name changed started, and other movements Chicago so desperately needs to fix.
power to black queer people. They called out the issues with the boystown name, going beyond just the name, from discriminatory dress codes, bans on rap music, and other oppressive things swarming in the neighborhood, both racially and in regard to queer issues. The protesters also made a call for the city to redistribute the police budget into social service organizations, and while that hasn’t happened yet, Chicago drag queens, among other groups have not given up that call for action. This was a conversation that was a long time coming, but these conversations would not be happening if it weren’t for Chicago’s own drag queens.
Still speaking on the protests that happened in 2020, many Chicago drag queens took to the streets in Drag to protest the racial injustices. These decisions, mainly made by Chicago’s black drag queens specifically put them in even more danger, basically painting an ever-bigger target on their backs during the protests. Many Black Chicago drag queens chose to do this even with the added risk. Jo Mama even stated “You’re going to see me” showing the bravery needed to create change, and Chicago drag queens are a huge reason for it. Many black drag queens during this time also started to speak out about the injustices they face against members of their own community. The biggest example of this happening in Chicago is the downhill that was convened against T-Rex, a 32-year-old white drag queen who hosted, booked, and managed many shows at clubs like Berlin and Roscoe’s Tavern. Over 50 drag performers signed an open letter and stopped working unless there was visible change. This open letter talked of countless micro aggressions, double standards, and referred to T-Rex as a dictator in regard to her selections. These Chicago queens broke their silence and demanded changes for the betterment and change within their community, just as they have always done.
There is still tons of need for change in Chicago, not just in the eyes of Queer rights, but in so many different ways and Chicago’s Drag queens are constantly calling attention to the issues happening all around us, without them we would be still so far backwards in the rights that we have now. In many ways Chicago drag queens has given Chicago tons of progress and shone a bright light on all the progress that still needs to be seen in our own city’s streets.
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