Many community organizers would be dismayed if their candlelight vigil were incessantly disrupted by nearby trains, passing firetrucks and ongoing celebrations, but for Rada Yovovich, who helped plan a memorial service for members of the queer community Sunday night, the interruptions were an “invitation” to quiet her mind.
As a crowd of about 20 people traversed the Main-Dempster Mile to Pride Park for Evanston Pride’s Fifth Annual Candlelight Vigil & Remembrance Ceremony, organizers noted the event was one of somber remembrance as attendees gathered to mourn family, friends and strangers.
“Pride month is by-and-large celebratory,” Yovovich said. “We get to be in the streets. We get to wear what we want to wear. We get to be visible.”
But she quickly turned her attention to the members of her community who she said she feels are too often left behind — caveating that she believes white, gay men living in progressive urban centers have the unique privilege of unabashedly participating in Pride Month events in a way others don’t.
During the 45 minutes of scheduled programming on Sunday, four speakers, including Mayor Daniel Biss and LGBTQ+ activists, briefly told their stories in front of a table decorated with flowers and candles as a musician, Skip Sams, filled the interludes with songs he wrote on a ukulele.
Shortly after Biss arrived, Sams, wearing a shirt that read “Más Amor Por Favor” — More Love Please — shuffled over to garner his attention, telling him that he had always hoped to meet him in person.
Sams then thanked Biss for promptly helping him procure a vaccine for mpox when Chicago’s requirement of residency restricted him from doing so a few years back.
Sams, who is gay and living with HIV — conditions that make a person predisposed to contracting the mpox virus — said that when he emailed Biss at 10:45 p.m. one night about his difficulty getting vaccinated, he never expected the mayor to respond.
To his surprise, Biss wrote back within a half hour and helped him connect with a Lake County medical facility where he could receive the care he needed.
Sams said attending events like Sunday’s vigil and being able to play his music in front of the crowd helped him feel more affirmed in his identity.
As the son of a minister, a former drug addict and an HIV-positive gay man, Sams said the conflicting aspects of his identity often made him feel “untouchable,” “unlovable” and “unforgivable.”
“It’s about being able to mirror the love in one another and celebrating the fact that we’re all spiritual beings,” Sams said.
Attendees tied colorful ribbons adorned with the names of queer people who died of violent crimes to a nearby fence as Sams played what he called “the hardest song he’s ever written,” reminding the participants that they were both “wholly and holy” loved.
Biss was the first to stand up and tie a ribbon to the fence, wiping tears from his face as he returned to chat with other members of the small crowd.
During his brief remarks at the top of the event, Biss called for the group to remember those who died not only with their hearts and minds, but also with their actions, amid what he sees as a “political fight” against transgender children.
Yovovich echoed his message in her goal to make Evanston Pride events more inclusive of all members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“If I’m not making events that a Black trans kid with a disability could come to and feel safe at … I’m not doing my job right,” Yovovich said.
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