In our latest video project Boystown youth speak out against violence in Lakeview and being scapegoated for the recent increase in reported crimes. They express the need for more safe spaces for youth in the neighborhood and the impact programs at Center on Halsted and Broadway Youth Center have had on their lives.
In recent weeks, Boystown youth have been blamed for the purported increase in crime in Boystown, during the midst of summer months when crime is typically increased. At a CAPS forum to discuss violence, youth were shouted down and heckled by some Boystown residents, yelling “get a job” and “go back to the southside.” Video Action League wanted to give youth a space to express themselves without the threat of being silenced.
We are planning an exciting action in July! We can’t tell you the details on our website, because it’s secret, but keep an eye on our Facebook page for vague event invitations and requests for volunteers.
Rape and sexual assault affect everyone. Slutwalk Chicago is part of a worldwide movement to bring awareness to this serious problem, and Video Action League is proud to cosponsor it.
We are partnering with our friends at Chances Dances this Monday for a Video Action League fundraiser.
Monday, February 21
Subterranean***
2011 W. North Ave, First Floor
10:00 pm- 2:00 am
DJs Nina Ramone and Erik Roldan
We will have bracelets and comics for sale. Chances is also busting out the request-o-meter so the more you donate, the more of your favorite jams they will play!
Activists from Join the Impact Chicago and Video Action League Respond to a Call to Action By GetEQUAL and Marriage Equality USA
February 14, 2011, 4:00 PM – For immediate release.
Press Contact: Andrea Crain, jointheimpactchicago@gmail.com
Chicago, IL- Earlier today, six activists were arrested at the marriage bureau office in Daley Plaza when they refused to leave without a marriage license for a queer couple. The activists, from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights groups Join The Impact Chicago and Video Action League, were responding to a call by Marriage Equality USA and GetEQUAL for coordinated actions across the country to raise awareness about the need for federal marriage equality.
Cassandra Avenatti, Lindsey Dietzler, Corrine Mina, and Noa Francis Shayden approached the marriage counter and asked for a license for the couple, Judy Heithmar and Danelle Wylder, who was adorned as Lady Justice. “This is about equality,” said Wylder, a member of Join the Impact Chicago. “It’s about how we as queer couples deserve the same governmental rights and protections afforded to our heterosexual counterparts to legally protect our families.” The others took turns reading from the list of 1,138 rights denied to LGBTQ couples by the federal government.
Lindsey Dietzler, GetEQUAL IL State Lead and Co-Founder of Video Action League, said, “The message behind this action is that we must strive for justice and have a deeper commitment to it if we ever hope to be more than second-class citizens in this country. The state-by-state route to marriage equality is long, expensive and ultimately, without the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, falls short of making us truly equal.”
With the recent signing of the Illinois civil unions act just weeks ago by Governor Pat Quinn, the activists wanted to make a strong statement to local, state and federal governments that this measure simply is not enough. While the new unions, which will take effect June 1, 2011, offer some state level protections, they offer no federal rights and responsibilities to LGBTQ couples, such as joint tax returns, Social Security survivor benefits, and the ability to travel anywhere in the country and be treated as a family. Civil unions also carry the sting of second class citizenship, as they are an institution that was invented specifically to grant some legal protection while denying the full recognition and respect that comes with the word “marriage.”
Visit Join The Impact Chicago’s website at www.jointheimpactchicago.com for more information on the rights Illinois’s civil unions law cannot grant.
A video of today’s action will be available on Video Action League’s YouTube Channel — http://www.youtube.com/user/videoactionleague — within a few hours.
GetEQUAL is a national, direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. Emphasizing direct action and people power, the mission of GetEQUAL is to empower the LGBT community and its allies to take action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way. For more information on GetEQUAL, please visit: http://www.getequal.org. You can follow GetEQUAL on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/getequal, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GetEQUAL, or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/getequal.
Join the Impact Chicago is a politically independent organization of Chicago-based grassroots activists fighting for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Through education, community organizing, and direct action, JTIC is working to eliminate federal, state, and local laws that codify discrimination on the basis of gender expression and sexuality. We will not settle for compromises or half-measures, and will not rest until we are recognized as fully equal. For more information please visit our website at http://www.jointheimpactchicago.com or find us on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/JTIChicago.
Founded in 2000, Marriage Equality USA is a national grassroots organization whose mission is to secure legally-recognized civil marriage equality for all, at the federal and state level, without regard to gender identity or sexual orientation. For more information go to www.marriageequality.org.
Formed in November of 2010, Video Action League’s goal is to create a fresh approach to the queer rights movement. VAL’s mission is to settle for nothing less than full worldwide equality regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression and aims to transform, inspire, and educate through the use of new media. For more information please visit: http://www.videoactionleague.com. You can find Video Action League on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/videoactionleague on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/VideoActionLeague and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/vidactionleague.
UPDATE: All six activists were released around midnight. Their court date will be in March.
Six activists from Join The Impact Chicago and Video Action League are sitting in at the Cook County vital records bureau today, Valentine’s Day, as part of a coordinated nationwide call to action by GetEQUAL and Marriage Equality USA.
The activists requested a marriage license for a queer couple, Judy Heithmar and Danelle Wylder, who was dressed as Lady Justice, but Justice was denied. The activists, including supporters Noa Shayden, Corrine Mina, Cassandra Avenatti, and Lindsey Dietzler, have refused to leave and have moved about the office, blocking lines, chanting, reading the 1138 rights denied to same sex couples (even married or civilly united ones) by the Defense of Marriage Act, and raising awareness that injustice continues.
Many passersby and security have been confused that the LGBTQ equality activists are still unsatisfied, despite the recent passage of civil unions. For more on why civil unions aren’t enough, see Why Aren’t Civil Unions Enough? on the Join The Impact Chicago website. For real time updates follow @JTIChicago on Twitter.
At this time, the protest is being allowed to continue.
We are partnering with Stardust this Thursday to bring you an exciting VALentine’s Day event sponsored by the Pleasure Chest. Details below!
Thursday, February 10
10:00 pm- 4:00 am
Berlin Night Club***
954 W. Belmont
DJs- Dolo, Baby Bamboo, Freddie Fiers
How you can support us:
- Buy our handmade VALentine’s cards (special delivery available for an additional fee)
- Buy $3 mini long island teas (we get a dollar from each sale)
- Buy raffle tickets for some Pleasure Chest giveaways
- Visit our kissing booth
Visit the Facebook Event to find out how to RSVP for free admission before 11:00 pm.
Free beer and champagne between 10:00 pm and 12:00 am!
***This event is 21+. Sorry to all of our friends who are unable to attend. We will always try to do as many all ages events as we can!
Video Action League, settling for nothing less than full worldwide equality regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, aims to transform, inspire and educate through the use of new media.
