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This Pride season, Gerber/Hart Library & Archives and the LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project are partnering to bring the younger and older generations together in dialogue about queerness over time.

Join us for a panel discussion with Betty Akins, Jay Myers, Jocye Fernandes, and Norma Seledon, four incredible LGBTQ+ elders, moderated by Dialogue Project co-founder Karen Morris and hosted by Gerber/Hart volunteer Kaitlyn Griffith.

The panel will be accompanied by a pop-up display of materials from Gerber/Hart's LGBTQ+ library & archives and followed by Q&A & mingling. Celebrate Pride in community with our elders at Dorothy!

Doors at 6pm and our panel kicks off at 7pm. Dorothy remains open after the event until 11pm.

Tickets are priced on a sliding scale of $15, $20 and $25 and proceeds are shared with our panelists, Gerber/Hart and our lounge. If tickets are available, they will be $25 at the door.

Dorothy is 21+ and requires physical ID for all to enter. Dorothy is also ADA accessible with elevator access on Campbell Ave. If you are a guest who requires elevator access, please wait by the black door with our logo in the window and call our staff to assist: 773-770-3799

Please note: refund requests are only honored until 24h before the event (6/10, 7pm). No other refund requests will be honored.

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ABOUT THE HOSTS AND ORGS

Kaitlyn Griffith, 34, is an archivist whose work centers people’s history. As a volunteer at Gerber/Hart, Kaitlyn is working on a living collection with Dorothy to preserve video recordings of live performances. Collections like this defend queer history and identity in the face of drag bans, censorship, and revisionist history. Storytelling and intergenerational connection hold a special place in her heart, and she is honored to be a part of this extraordinary event.

The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project is a Chicago-based project that brings together racially, socioeconomically, and gender diverse cohorts of LGBTQ+ younger and older adults (60+) for storytelling, themed dialogues, collaborative art-making, and shared meals. The project is a hybrid community/education/research partnership between LGBTQ+ faculty members at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago, and University of Chicago, the Pride in Aging Program at Center on Halsted (the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ+ Community Center), and Gerber/Hart Library & Archives.
Learn more at generationliberation.com & stay up-to-date on upcoming events by following @lgbtdialogues on Instagram and The lgbtq+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project on Facebook.

Gerber/Hart is a LGBTQ+ library and archives located in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. Founded in 1981, Gerber/Hart is one of the largest repositories of LGBTQ+ content in the world. Gerber/Hart is a 501(c)3 non-profit and focuses on collecting, preserving, and making accessible the LGBTQ history and culture of Chicago and the Midwest. Open to everyone, Gerber/Hart is dedicated to promoting research, learning, exploration, and discovery in an atmosphere that reflects the diversity of the communities that it serves. Learn more at gerberhart.org or by following @gerberhart on Instagram and Facebook. And for a deep dive into some of the amazing collections at Gerber/Hart, listen in to their podcast Unboxing Queer History!

Moderator:

Karen Morris, 52, is a lesbian mother, cultural anthropologist, and co-founder of The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project. She is a Professor in the Department of Visual & Critical Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Karen is interested in experimental, community-based collaborative research, pedagogy, and social justice work. She also loves playing pranks on people she cares about.

Panelists:

Joyce Fernandes,72, is an artist and writer. She also calls herself a cultural worker as a way to encompass the many directions her career has taken while subtly acknowledging the forces that have driven it. Joyce grew up in a rustbelt city-in-decline located on a Great Lake, (Erie, Pennsylvania) that she was eager to leave. In 1978, she moved to another Great Lake City (Chicago, Illinois) and has been here since, with a brief recent interlude in Santa Barbara, California. Joyce is currently working as a painter in the new studio that she built after leaving full time employment as the Executive Director of Architreasures, a nonprofit organization that activates community through the power of art and design.

Jay Myers, 70, was born (Trans!) and raised in Downstate Illinois, but Chicago has always been an inspiring lighthouse throughout his life. His most notable work for LGTBQ rights was first as a 22 year old staff member of NGTF in New York City in the 1970’s, and later his captaining of the “War on Cruising,” a protest waged against an anti-gay film made in Greenwich Village in 1978-79. Jay has been married for 5 years to a high school sweetheart, Anita, who always knew he was really a boy. He lives proudly Trans in rural Chenoa, Il (pop. 1,800) –along with three other transmen! Jay is a 2025 graduate of the LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project and does Storytelling in Chicago.

Dr. Norma Seledon, 63, is a Mexican immigrant and longtime Chicago resident with more than 40 years of leadership in social justice, community empowerment, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. She serves as Director of Leadership Development & Capacity Building at , where she advances culturally responsive leadership and civic representation initiatives statewide. Dr. Seledon is also a consultant specializing in DEI, strategic planning, and executive coaching. A former leader with Chicago Public Schools and , she is recognized for her work in decolonized leadership, asset-based organizational wellness, and community development.

Betty A. Akins, 62, is a native Southeast Side Chicagoan devoted to creating a stronger and more resilient community on the South Side. She has served as the Community Engagement Manager of the Center on Cottage Grove in the historic Woodlawn community since its inception in 2022. The Center is a hub for LGBTQ+organizations serving primarily Black and Brown communities to collaborate on community initiatives, programs, and events. Betty has volunteered in numerous nonprofits including the LGBTQ Aging Taskforce, AIDS/ HIV Prevention, Illinois Search and Rescue, and CPD K9 Bomb Squad Unit training. Her involvement with alternative transportation advocacy led her to become co-founder and co-owner of South Shore Bicycle Works, a bicycle coop for teaching, training and advocacy.