June · Pride Month

Celebrating Pride in Chicago

This month, we honor the LGBTQIA+ community: their history, their resilience, and the generations who fought so that everyone could live and love freely. At LSP, we are proud to celebrate and share this space with you.

Celebrate this weekend Meet our teachers

Why we march

Pride is more than a celebration

It's a reminder of how far our community came to make sure that we, queer people today, have the guidance and strength to keep fighting for the right to exist.

Before Pride
The 1950s & '60s

Raids, then resistance

Police raids on bars and the safe havens of queer life were common across the United States.
Through the 1950s and '60s, early LGBTQ+ activists began to unite and advocate for the simple right to exist, laying the foundation for everything that followed.
Queer Liberation
June 28, 1969

The Stonewall Uprising

Demonstrations had begun as early as the 1950s, when activists gathered at Independence Hall to remind the country that queer citizens were denied basic civil rights.
Then, on June 28, 1969, queer folks resisted a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The uprising sparked days of protest and became one of the most documented turning points in the movement.
On its first anniversary, activists organized the Christopher Street Liberation Day March in New York, with sister marches in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Chicago Pride History
June 27, 1970

Chicago marches

Chicago held its first Pride march, one of the first U.S. cities to commemorate the anniversary of Stonewall.
It began at Washington Square Park and traveled to the Water Tower, the start of a tradition our city still carries today.

Honoring our elders

The activists who lit the way

Again and again, the movement was led by trans women of color. Two of them lit the way for everyone who came after.

Marsha P. Johnson

1945 to 1992

Stonewall vanguard · Co-founder of STAR

“Pay it no mind.”

her answer when asked what the “P” stood for

A Black trans woman, performer, and self-described drag queen, Marsha was a central figure in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and, with Sylvia Rivera, co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to shelter homeless queer and trans youth. Known as the “Saint of Christopher Street,” she later poured herself into AIDS activism, helping lay the foundation for the modern trans and queer liberation movements.

Sylvia Rivera

1951 to 2002

Gay Liberation Front · Co-founder of STAR

“If it wasn't for the drag queen, there would be no gay liberation movement. We're the front-liners.”

Christopher Street Liberation Day rally, 1973

Of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan heritage, Sylvia was a Latina trans activist and a key figure at Stonewall who co-founded both the Gay Liberation Front and STAR. She fought fiercely so that trans people and queer people of color would never be left out of the movement. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project carries her name, and she became the first trans activist honored in the National Portrait Gallery.

Histories drawn from Wikipedia, the National Women's History Museum, and Biography.

Latina Sweat's Pride mission

Haus of LSP

At the Latina Sweat Project, we honor the powerful queer leaders who came before us and uplift the queer leaders standing with us today. We believe it is imperative to acknowledge the social and political moment we are in, to question what gets normalized, and to remember that it is our right as humans to unite and resist what is harmful and unjust.

Haus of LSP has become our symbol of a safe haven for the queer community across the Southwest Side of Chicago. Here, we are devoted to amplifying queer presence, representation, and liberation.

The liberation of our community, our people, ourselves.

Together, with intention and joy

Let's close out Pride the right way: together, in our communities, with intention and joy.

Here are some of the events happening across Chicago this weekend to celebrate Pride.

Pride in Chicago

Amazing ways to show up

Four ways to celebrate with Pride this weekend, from the lakefront to Northalsted. Move, march, and dance in community.

Sat · Jun 27 8:00 AM Run / Walk

Proud to Run 5K & 10K

Montrose Harbor · 400 W Montrose Harbor Dr · Uptown

Run or walk a 5K or 10K along the lakefront. Proud to Run gives 100% of its net proceeds to LGBTQ nonprofits across Chicago, and it is staffed entirely by volunteers.

Registration required Register to run

Sat · Jun 27 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Pilates · 21+

Pride Pilates Party

Center on Halsted · 3656 N Halsted St · Northalsted

A Pilates class led by our own lizlates, then a rooftop party to dance and socialize. Our kind of Pride morning: move first, celebrate after.

Tickets · 21+ Get tickets

Sun · Jun 28 11:00 AM Parade

Chicago Pride Parade

Northalsted · Starts at Sheridan & Broadway · viewing from Grace & Broadway

The city's iconic Pride Parade returns to Northalsted under the theme “Free to Be Proud.” Come celebrate love, unity, and how far we have come, together.

Free admission Parade details

Sat & Sun · Jun 27 & 28 4:00 to 10:30 PM Music Festival

Back Lot Bash

Cheetah Gym · 5248 N Clark St · Uptown

A block-party music festival centering women and non-binary artists, 20+ years strong. Live music and DJ sets all weekend long.

Tickets Get tickets

Details are subject to change, so confirm date, time, and tickets with each organizer before you go. LSP is not the host of these community events; we are simply sharing the love.

Pride at LSP · Teacher Spotlight

The teachers holding space

This Pride, meet two of the queer teachers who make LSP a place where everyone belongs. Swipe through each spotlight.

Teacher Spotlight

Luz Rodriguez

she/her/ella

Yoga · Movement · Cycle healing

A healer and leader in our community. Through yoga, movement, and cycle healing, Luz holds space for women and queer folks to reconnect with their inner wisdom, honor their cycles, and find liberation within their own bodies.

“Womb work is liberation work.”

Luz Rodriguez

Flow with Luz · Thursdays at 7:00 AM Book a class

Luz on what Pride means to her: celebrating the progress our queer ancestors fought for with their lives, and demanding better for all of us, especially our trans friends.

Luz on keeping LGBTQ+ folks safe in her practice: she uses inclusive language like “friends” and offers modifications throughout class so students feel safe to try new things in their bodies.

Luz on showing up for community: she creates spaces for women and queer folks to connect with themselves, each other, and the cycles of nature through her business, Grounded Goddess.

Luz on how movement serves the queer community: yoga is liberation from systems that try to place us in one box, helping queer people regulate their nervous systems and fully express themselves through movement and breath.

Swipe to read the full spotlight

Teacher Spotlight

lizlates

she/her

Pilates · Community

A community builder whose energy makes every room feel like a safe space. From her cues to her language, Liz makes it known that whoever you are and however you identify, you belong here, on the mat at LSP and at her inclusive classes across the city.

“Pilates is so much more than pulses and breathing. The mindfulness and connection to your body lets everyone, especially queer folks, be in a safe space just for themselves.”

lizlates

Flow with Liz · Mondays & Wednesdays at 12:00 PM Book a class