Hi! I'm a Political Scientist who studies how politics shapes the ways queer people use the city. After a decade-long career in queer political advocacy in Texas I moved to Chicago to pursue my PhD. In addition to teaching college courses and research, I engage in "public scholarship" intended to help the public understand that queer people have "always been here."
Weather permitting, on Saturdays in the summer I give walking tours of Chicago Queer History. Each tour explores a different theme. The tours are free because I believe this information needs to be freely available to all, but I gratefully accept tips through Zelle and Venmo. I make every effort to ensure step-free routes to allow wheelchair users to participate, but sometimes conditions change between when I check the route and the tour takes place. I can also plan private walking tours for groups or events by appointment, with a fee.
August 16 - Police, Gangsters, and Gay Bars
When: Saturday, August 16, 1 pm
Start: Chicago Water Tower (801 N Michigan Ave)
End: 2nd Story Bar (157 E Ohio)
Distance: apx 2 mile
The University of Chicago sociologist Ernest Burgess observed that the city contains "zones of transition" that sat between areas of the city with clearly defined purposes and which people often used for activities which society frown upon. These areas were often the places that fomented queer culture in the industrial city - but that required an interaction between queerness and other criminal behavior. Learn about the delicate interaction between queerness, the state's monopoly on legitimate violence, and organized crime as we investigate the delicate negotiations and compromises required to keep queer institutions open in the city in the 20th century.
August 23 Sex and Rebellion
When: Saturday, August 23, 1 pm
Start: Bank of America Building Plaza (110 N Wacker Dr on the North Side)
End: 2nd Story Bar (157 E Ohio St #2)
Distance: apx 2 miles
This week is all about the ways Queer people use sex to rebel. Learn about Cruising in the 1870s, Lesbian hangouts from prohibition that revolutionized Jazz, and the first major protest against Anita Bryant.
August 30 Public and Private Queerness (LAST TOUR of the Summer!)
When: Saturday, August 30, 1 pm
Start: Chicago Water Tower (801 N Michigan Ave)
End: Chicago Water Tower (801 N Michigan Ave)
Distance: apx 2 miles
The Historian John D'Emilio observed that the rise of the industrial city in the 19th century created the conditions that allowed queer community to form. For the first time in modernity, queer people could separate their public and private lives and begin to gather together to form queer culture. We'll explore a gay gangster, the mysterious disappearance of a federal judge, a pre-prohibition drag bar and much more.