LGBTQ Youth Group Will March In South Side Irish Parade

CHICAGO (BEVERLY) — Rainbow Youth Connections, the LGBTQ group for young artists and writers, will be an entry in the March 15 South Side Irish Parade. Steve English, owner of The Blossom Boys flower shop and co-founder of the Beverly neighborhood-based group said he got confirmation this week that they will officially be marching in the parade.

English said the group, which now includes about 20 teens who meet in the neighborhood two or three times a month, decided a couple months back they'd like to be included in the parade that brings thousands of people to the Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods on the final Sunday before St. Patrick's Day.

And once it was found out that there is a $500 fee to have a listing to march in the parade, it only took the Beverly community about 48 hours to raise the entire amount.

"Most of the money was raised by heterosexual mothers in Beverly who do not have LGBTQ kids," English said. "I think that says a whole lot, but knowing the mothers in Beverly the way that I have I'm not surprised."

English said he didn't want to make it public that the group, which formed last August, was going to apply to be in the parade before the money was raised because they "weren't ready for the backlash at that point," and still knows "some people will be upset" about the entry.

"But this will be great publicity for Beverly," he said. "If this spreads to the North Side and other areas, the word will get out that Beverly is an accepting place."

"I've had straight people come up to me and say they haven't been to the parade in years, but that they'll come out and march with us."

Still, English says he's heard from young LGBTQ in the neighborhood that teens are "terrified" to come out in Beverly.

"They are athletes... they are everybody," English said. "A big reason is the Catholic church, and the 'macho' attitude that comes with the association with police officers and firefighters. We have the group because we kept thinking about how many children are committing suicide because they are being accused of being LGBTQ."

A group of 30, allies included and more than welcome, are planning to march with the group on Parade Day, English said. The Beverly Unitarian Church has also offered their float to anyone in the group who may need a break from walking the one-and-a-half-mile parade route along Western Avenue from 103rd Street to 115th Street.

The parade entry is the latest sign of success for the Rainbow Youth Connections group, which English formed with Patti Ahern, a local licensed professional counselor. In the future they are planning to seek 501(c)3 non-profit status and expand to include as many young artists and writers as possible.

"Our dream is to have this become a much larger program in Beverly with more of an educational component as well," he said.

Already the group hosts a different artist at each meeting to speak on their expertise and guide the teens on various projects.

"We've had the most incredible artists come in," English said. "We want to expose them to as many different mediums, as many different artworks, as we can."

Teens from as far as Evanston have come to the meetings to be in the group that's unique in "that it's not a therapy group but a social support group based on the arts," English said.