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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CONGRATULATING MR. EMMANUEL GARCIA ON HIS INDUCTION INTO THE CHICAGO LGBT HALL OF FAME FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHICAGO’S LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY
WHEREAS, Emmanuel García was born on January 31, 1982 to Irma García and Joel García; and
WHEREAS, Mr. García, originally from Cicero is a Latino LGBTQ journalist, youth mentor, respected community leader, and has spent the last fifteen years as an activist; and
WHEREAS, Mr. García, is a board member of the ElevArte Community Studio in Pilsen, the Crossroads Fund; and
WHEREAS, in 2003, Mr. García co-founded the Alvarado/García Scholarship for the Association of Latinos/as Motivating Action (ALMA), which for 10 years awarded two college scholarships to Latino gay, bisexual, queer youth; and
WHEREAS, in the same year, Mr. García became a contributing writer for Windy City Times and began writing a column for En La Vida, a sister publication, where he focused on Latino community events and news and interviewed celebrities such as Paulina Rubio, Maria Conchita Alonso, La India, and Wilson Cruz, as well as three-time U.S. national figure skating champion Johnny Weir; and
WHEREAS, in 2009, Mr. García became the producer and voice behind Homofrecuencia, Chicago’s first Spanish language LGBTQ public radio program at Radio Arte WRTE 90.5 FM, where he used advocacy journalism to highlight inequalities in immigration, healthcare, and employment through a Latino queer lens; and
WHEREAS, while at Radio Arte he became the lead organizer of Chicago’s largest queer youth prom at the National Museum of Mexican Art, an event that he has led for the past five years; and
WHEREAS, in 2010 Mr. García began to shift the focus of his activism, using his experience in print, radio, and social media to mobilize the LGBTQ Latino community, co-organizing two buses with over 100 LGBTQ Latinos to travel to Washington, DC to demand immigration reform under the name “Rainbow Riders”; and
WHEREAS, in 2012 Mr. García developed and led an innovative model campaign designed to address homophobia, transphobia, and HIV/AIDS stigma within the Latino communities of Little Village and Cicero, in which focus groups were conducted among Latino parents of LGBTQ youth and transgender Latina women; and
WHEREAS, Mr. García’s efforts have resulted in a report on the needs of Trans Latina women in Chicago that was published while various public forums were organized to create new community efforts aimed at better serving Trans Latina women; and
WHEREAS, in 2012 Mr. García also served as a co-chair of the March on Springfield, where he brought his leadership role to the forefront in organizing a bus of more than seventy-five LGBTQ youth who traveled from Chicago to Springfield to lobby for marriage equality; and
WHEREAS, Mr. García through public programing, in 2013 created “Vives Q,” an innovative series of LGBTQ events aimed at encouraging intergenerational dialogue between LGBTQ youth and adults, while highlighting the contributions of LGBTQ trailblazers of color, and showcasing the artistic resilience of youth.
WHEREAS, on November 10th Mr. García was inducted to the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame by the City of Chicago.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby congratulate Mr. Emmanuel García on his induction into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame, and for committing his life’s work to the LGBTQ community.
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