Lori Lightfoot, Chigo's first openly gay, black female mayor

Contents:

• FORMER PROSECUTOR LORI LIGHTFOOT BE FIRST BLACK FEMALE, OPENLY GAY CHIGO MAYOR
• LORI LIGHTFOOT PARTNER, DGHTER ADOPTED, GAY
• LORI LIGHTFOOT, CHIGO'S FIRST OPENLY GAY, BLACK FEMALE MAYOR
• THE POWERFUL LGBT MSAGE OF PETE BUTTIGIEG AND LORI LIGHTFOOT KISSG THEIR PARTNERS ON STAGETOGETHERTHIS MONTH, THERE HAVE BEEN TWO MEMORABLE PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTN BY LGBT POLICIANS LORI LIGHTFOOT AND PETE BUTTIGIEG—BOTH LOVG AND ALSO BRAVE AND REVOLUTNARY.SAMANTHA ALLENUPDATED APR. 15, 2019 2:43PM EDT / PUBLISHED APR. 15, 2019 2:33PM EDT OPNPHOTO ILLTRATN BY THE DAILY BEAST/GETTYTHE IMAGE OF PETE BUTTIGIEG HUGGG HIS HBAND CHASTEN IS A POWERFUL ONE.WHETHER YOU ALIGN WH HIS MORE MORATE POLICS OR NOT, WHETHER YOU HAVE UGHT THE BUTTIGIEG FEVER OR YOU’RE LEFT WONRG WHAT ALL THE FS IS ABOUT, THERE N AT LEAST BE ONE POT OF AGREEMENT: IF YOU RE ABOUT LGBT PEOPLE, YOU SHOULD BE HEARTENED TO SEE A GAY PRINTIAL NTENR EMBRACG ANOTHER MAN ON A NATNAL STAGE. DISPLAYS OF AFFECTN BETWEEN PEOPLE OF THE SAME SEX ARE STILL ACTS OF URAGE 2019. THE BUTTI-HUG—AS I AM DUBBG —MARKS THE SEND TIME THIS MONTH THAT I HAVE BEEN MOVED BY AN LGBT POLICIAN DISPLAYG PUBLIC AFFECTN FOR A SAME-SEX PARTNER. THE FIRST WAS WHEN LORI LIGHTFOOT, WHO WILL BEE CHIGO’S FIRST BLACK FEMALE—AND FIRST LBIAN—MAYOR, KISSED HER WIFE AMY ESHLEMAN ON THE MOUTH AT HER VICTORY PARTY. AS CNN’S JOHN BLAKE NOTED, THAT ACT OF PDA “ONCE WOULD HAVE BEEN NSIRED OBSCENE”—AND SOME QUARTERS STILL WOULD BE. IN 2018, ADVOCY GROUP GLAAD FOUND THAT OVER A THIRD OF RPONNTS TO A LARGE SURVEY OF NON-LGBT AMERINS SAID THEY WOULD BE “VERY” OR “SOMEWHAT”UNFORTABLE SEEG A SAME-SEX UPLE HOLDG HANDS. SO IMAGE HOW THAT THIRD FEELS WHEN THEY SEE A SAME-SEX UPLE LOCKG LIPS LIKE LIGHTFOOT AND ESHLEMAN—OR TENRLY HUGGG EACH OTHER, LIKE PETE AND CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG DID ON SUNDAY. AT BT, PUBLICY DISPLAYG AFFECTN FOR A SAME-SEX PARTNER MAK YOU STICK OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB—AT WORST, YOU RISK ABE.THAT’S WHY I STILL SN MY SURROUNDGS TO SEE IF ANYONE IS WATCHG WHENEVER MY WIFE KISS ME PUBLIC—AND WHY I SOMETIM DON’T GRAB HER HAND WHEN SHE REACH OUT FOR ME ACROSS THE TABLE AT A RTRANT. OFTEN, THE ROMANCE ISN’T WORTH THE ANXIETY.IN POLICS, WHERE OPTICS ARE NOW KG, ONE MIGHT THK THAT LGBT NDIDAT WOULD BE RETICENT TO KISS AND HUG THEIR PARTNERS. AFTER ALL, THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY SUPPORT LGBT PEOPLE ON PAPER BUT STILL GET SQUICKED OUT BY SAME-SEX AFFECTN WHEN THEY SEE HAPPEN ONT OF THEM. THE TEMPTATN NDIDAT WH SAME-SEX PARTNERS TO KEEP RDIAL ONT OF STRAIGHT PEOPLE MT STILL BE STRONG.BUT JT AS MANY PEOPLE WERE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT ALMOST 70 PERCENT OF AMERINS WOULD BE OL WH A GAY PRINT, I HAVE BEEN SURPRISED TO SEE HOW SUALLY THE LGBT POLICIANS OF 2019 SHOW THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. MAYBE PEOPLE ARE STARTG TO REACT MORE POSIVELY TO SUCH DISPLAYS—OR MAYBE LGBT POLICIANS ARE JT SICK OF HIDG.EHER WAY, THERE IS SOMETHG QUIETLY MONUMENTAL ABOUT WNSG A SIMPLE BUT BETIFUL HUG BETWEEN TWO MEN, ONE OF WHOM HAS A LONG-SHOT CHANCE AT BEG THE PRINT OF A UNTRY THAT HAS LONG NIED EQUAL RIGHTS TO S LGBT CIZENS.AND FOR A MAN WHO DISCLOSED A RECENT VICTORY FUND SPEECH THAT, AT AGE 25, “IF YOU HAD SHOWN ME EXACTLY WHAT WAS SI ME THAT MA ME GAY, I WOULD HAVE CUT OUT WH A KNIFE,” BUTTIGIEG BEG SO PUBLICLY AND VISIBLY AFFECTNATE TOWARD HIS HBAND BARELY A LATER—AND WH SO MANY EY WATCHG—MT BE A LANDMARK HIS PERSONAL JOURNEY AS WELL.MANY THE LGBT MUNY TOOK SIAR STOCK OF THE BRIEF MOMENT, LIKE THOR GARTH GREENWELL WHO WROTE ON TWTER, “IT FEELS LIKE A VERY BIG DAY FOR AMERI TO HAVE A MAN EMBRACE HIS HBAND AS HE CLAR HIS NDIDACY.” OTHERS, LIKE REPORTER BENJAM BUTTERWORTH, NOTICED A PICTURE OF PETE AND CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG HOLDG HANDS ON THE FORMER’S MPAIGN WEBSE, LLG A “MSAGE TO EVERY GAY KID AMERI THAT THEY N BE ANYTHG THEY WANT TO BE.” THAT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A LOT TO EXTRAPOLATE OM A SGLE MPAIGN IMAGE OF TWO CLASPED HANDS—BUT NSIR THAT LGBT PEOPLE HAVE LONG EDED OUR LIV PUBLIC TO AVOID HARASSMENT AND VLENCE—AND THAT WE OFTEN STILL HAVE TO. MEANWHILE, PEOPLE WH PARTNERS OF THE OPPOSE SEX DON’T HAVE TO THK TWICE ABOUT THAT PECK ON THE CHEEK THE BACK OF A B OR ABOUT HOLDG HANDS THE MOVI.THOSE DISPLAYS OF AFFECTN, FOR MOST PEOPLE, N FEEL UNNTROLLABLE: SOMETHG SIMPLY WELLS UP SI OF YOU AND YOU HAVE TO SHOW YOUR SIGNIFINT OTHER HOW MUCH YOU RE.BUT LGBT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN NDNED A HOMOPHOBIC SOCIETY TO NTROL THEM, TO MAKE AN UNNSC PROCS NSC ORR TO AVOID THREATENG THE HETEROSEXUAL PEOPLE AROUND . AND WHEN WE PH BACK DOWN FEELGS THAT WELL UP NATURALLY SI OF , WE END UP TERNALIZG THE IA THAT THERE IS SOMETHG WRONG OR SHAMEFUL ABOUT SAME-SEX LOVE. WE KNOW WE ARE GAY, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT WE DON’T WANT TO LOOK GAY. “IT’S EASY TO IMAGE A TIME WHEN CERTA RIGHT-WG MEDIA OUTLETS WOULD HAVE GONE TO HYPERDRIVE IF A SER GAY NTENR FOR PRINT HAD EMBRACED HIS PARTNER SO FIRMLY ON STAGE—BUT NOW SEEMS TO BARELY REGISTER” SO TO SEE HIGH-PROFILE LGBT PUBLIC FIGUR DOG THGS PUBLIC THAT I AM AAID OF DOG—AND PECIALLY TO SEE THEM DOG WH SO LTLE BACKLASH—GIV ME HOPE FOR OUR CULTURE, SETTG MERE POLICS ASI.AS BLAKE NOTED FOR CNN, “NOBODY RAISED AN EYEBROW” WHEN LIGHTFOOT AND ESHLEMAN KISSED EACH OTHER. AND ’S EASY TO IMAGE A TIME WHEN CERTA RIGHT-WG MEDIA OUTLETS WOULD HAVE GONE TO HYPERDRIVE IF A SER GAY NTENR FOR PRINT HAD EMBRACED HIS PARTNER SO FIRMLY ON STAGE—BUT NOW SEEMS TO BARELY REGISTER.AND YET SURELY POLICIANS LIKE BUTTIGIEG AND LIGHTFOOT MT BE AWARE THAT THEY ARE PART OF THE FIRST “RABOW WAVE” OF LGBT NDIDAT TO N SUCH AN IMAGE-SATURATED SOCIAL MEDIA ENVIRONMENT, AND THAT THEY WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST THE MUNY WHOSE PUBLIC TERACTNS WH THEIR SPO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPREAD WILY.I WOULD BET MONEY THAT PETE AND CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG HAD A HUDDLE BEFORE THE SPEECH ON SUNDAY TO CI WHAT THEY WOULD DO ON STAGE—HUG? KISS? LIFT UP EACH OTHER’S HANDS LIKE A BOXER AND A REFEREE?— A MUCH HIGHER-STAK VERSN OF THE SAME NVERSATN THAT MANY SAME-SEX UPL HAVE BEFORE VISG FAY MEMBERS OR GOG OUT PUBLIC SOMEWHERE UNFAIAR. (“CAN WE HOLD HANDS ONT OF YOUR PARENTS?” IS NOT AN UNMON QUTN FOR A GROWN WOMAN TO ASK HER WIFE.)IT IS SIGNIFINT, THEN, THAT NDIDAT LIKE BUTTIGIEG AND LIGHTFOOT ARE MAKG THE PUBLIC CHOIC THAT THEY ARE WHEN TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGG THEIR PARTNERS. WHATEVER RULTS OF THEIR NDIDACI OR THEIR TENUR OFFICE, THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF SEEMGLY LTLE THGS LIKE HUGS AND KISS WILL BE LARGE ED. SAMANTHA ALLEN

FORMER PROSECUTOR LORI LIGHTFOOT BE FIRST BLACK FEMALE, OPENLY GAY CHIGO MAYOR

The imag of that moment looked like a sneak preview of a New Ameri breakg through – a black, gay woman kissg her whe wife before a mi-rabow aln of onlookers.

LORI LIGHTFOOT PARTNER, DGHTER ADOPTED, GAY

Many of the same black voters who asked her to lead their cy wouldn’t dare ask her to lead their own church bee she is a gay woman. And while largely whe nomatns like the Uned Church of Christ, the Epispal Church and the Prbyterian Church (USA) affirm gays and lbians, most black church Ameri still have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that forc s LGBTQ members to live the closet or be nsumed by self-loathg.

LORI LIGHTFOOT, CHIGO'S FIRST OPENLY GAY, BLACK FEMALE MAYOR

She won the key endorsement of a black Gospel rerdg mogul reared a church that nsirs homosexualy a s. ” Both church groups ce a battery of scriptur to fend their treatment of women and their stance that homosexualy is a s.

I once attend a black Baptist church where the senr pastor wouldn’t allow women to preach and tght that homosexualy was a s.

THE POWERFUL LGBT MSAGE OF PETE BUTTIGIEG AND LORI LIGHTFOOT KISSG THEIR PARTNERS ON STAGETOGETHERTHIS MONTH, THERE HAVE BEEN TWO MEMORABLE PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTN BY LGBT POLICIANS LORI LIGHTFOOT AND PETE BUTTIGIEG—BOTH LOVG AND ALSO BRAVE AND REVOLUTNARY.SAMANTHA ALLENUPDATED APR. 15, 2019 2:43PM EDT / PUBLISHED APR. 15, 2019 2:33PM EDT OPNPHOTO ILLTRATN BY THE DAILY BEAST/GETTYTHE IMAGE OF PETE BUTTIGIEG HUGGG HIS HBAND CHASTEN IS A POWERFUL ONE.WHETHER YOU ALIGN WH HIS MORE MORATE POLICS OR NOT, WHETHER YOU HAVE UGHT THE BUTTIGIEG FEVER OR YOU’RE LEFT WONRG WHAT ALL THE FS IS ABOUT, THERE N AT LEAST BE ONE POT OF AGREEMENT: IF YOU RE ABOUT LGBT PEOPLE, YOU SHOULD BE HEARTENED TO SEE A GAY PRINTIAL NTENR EMBRACG ANOTHER MAN ON A NATNAL STAGE. DISPLAYS OF AFFECTN BETWEEN PEOPLE OF THE SAME SEX ARE STILL ACTS OF URAGE 2019. THE BUTTI-HUG—AS I AM DUBBG —MARKS THE SEND TIME THIS MONTH THAT I HAVE BEEN MOVED BY AN LGBT POLICIAN DISPLAYG PUBLIC AFFECTN FOR A SAME-SEX PARTNER. THE FIRST WAS WHEN LORI LIGHTFOOT, WHO WILL BEE CHIGO’S FIRST BLACK FEMALE—AND FIRST LBIAN—MAYOR, KISSED HER WIFE AMY ESHLEMAN ON THE MOUTH AT HER VICTORY PARTY. AS CNN’S JOHN BLAKE NOTED, THAT ACT OF PDA “ONCE WOULD HAVE BEEN NSIRED OBSCENE”—AND SOME QUARTERS STILL WOULD BE. IN 2018, ADVOCY GROUP GLAAD FOUND THAT OVER A THIRD OF RPONNTS TO A LARGE SURVEY OF NON-LGBT AMERINS SAID THEY WOULD BE “VERY” OR “SOMEWHAT”UNFORTABLE SEEG A SAME-SEX UPLE HOLDG HANDS. SO IMAGE HOW THAT THIRD FEELS WHEN THEY SEE A SAME-SEX UPLE LOCKG LIPS LIKE LIGHTFOOT AND ESHLEMAN—OR TENRLY HUGGG EACH OTHER, LIKE PETE AND CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG DID ON SUNDAY. AT BT, PUBLICY DISPLAYG AFFECTN FOR A SAME-SEX PARTNER MAK YOU STICK OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB—AT WORST, YOU RISK ABE.THAT’S WHY I STILL SN MY SURROUNDGS TO SEE IF ANYONE IS WATCHG WHENEVER MY WIFE KISS ME PUBLIC—AND WHY I SOMETIM DON’T GRAB HER HAND WHEN SHE REACH OUT FOR ME ACROSS THE TABLE AT A RTRANT. OFTEN, THE ROMANCE ISN’T WORTH THE ANXIETY.IN POLICS, WHERE OPTICS ARE NOW KG, ONE MIGHT THK THAT LGBT NDIDAT WOULD BE RETICENT TO KISS AND HUG THEIR PARTNERS. AFTER ALL, THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY SUPPORT LGBT PEOPLE ON PAPER BUT STILL GET SQUICKED OUT BY SAME-SEX AFFECTN WHEN THEY SEE HAPPEN ONT OF THEM. THE TEMPTATN NDIDAT WH SAME-SEX PARTNERS TO KEEP RDIAL ONT OF STRAIGHT PEOPLE MT STILL BE STRONG.BUT JT AS MANY PEOPLE WERE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT ALMOST 70 PERCENT OF AMERINS WOULD BE OL WH A GAY PRINT, I HAVE BEEN SURPRISED TO SEE HOW SUALLY THE LGBT POLICIANS OF 2019 SHOW THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. MAYBE PEOPLE ARE STARTG TO REACT MORE POSIVELY TO SUCH DISPLAYS—OR MAYBE LGBT POLICIANS ARE JT SICK OF HIDG.EHER WAY, THERE IS SOMETHG QUIETLY MONUMENTAL ABOUT WNSG A SIMPLE BUT BETIFUL HUG BETWEEN TWO MEN, ONE OF WHOM HAS A LONG-SHOT CHANCE AT BEG THE PRINT OF A UNTRY THAT HAS LONG NIED EQUAL RIGHTS TO S LGBT CIZENS.AND FOR A MAN WHO DISCLOSED A RECENT VICTORY FUND SPEECH THAT, AT AGE 25, “IF YOU HAD SHOWN ME EXACTLY WHAT WAS SI ME THAT MA ME GAY, I WOULD HAVE CUT OUT WH A KNIFE,” BUTTIGIEG BEG SO PUBLICLY AND VISIBLY AFFECTNATE TOWARD HIS HBAND BARELY A LATER—AND WH SO MANY EY WATCHG—MT BE A LANDMARK HIS PERSONAL JOURNEY AS WELL.MANY THE LGBT MUNY TOOK SIAR STOCK OF THE BRIEF MOMENT, LIKE THOR GARTH GREENWELL WHO WROTE ON TWTER, “IT FEELS LIKE A VERY BIG DAY FOR AMERI TO HAVE A MAN EMBRACE HIS HBAND AS HE CLAR HIS NDIDACY.” OTHERS, LIKE REPORTER BENJAM BUTTERWORTH, NOTICED A PICTURE OF PETE AND CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG HOLDG HANDS ON THE FORMER’S MPAIGN WEBSE, LLG A “MSAGE TO EVERY GAY KID AMERI THAT THEY N BE ANYTHG THEY WANT TO BE.” THAT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A LOT TO EXTRAPOLATE OM A SGLE MPAIGN IMAGE OF TWO CLASPED HANDS—BUT NSIR THAT LGBT PEOPLE HAVE LONG EDED OUR LIV PUBLIC TO AVOID HARASSMENT AND VLENCE—AND THAT WE OFTEN STILL HAVE TO. MEANWHILE, PEOPLE WH PARTNERS OF THE OPPOSE SEX DON’T HAVE TO THK TWICE ABOUT THAT PECK ON THE CHEEK THE BACK OF A B OR ABOUT HOLDG HANDS THE MOVI.THOSE DISPLAYS OF AFFECTN, FOR MOST PEOPLE, N FEEL UNNTROLLABLE: SOMETHG SIMPLY WELLS UP SI OF YOU AND YOU HAVE TO SHOW YOUR SIGNIFINT OTHER HOW MUCH YOU RE.BUT LGBT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN NDNED A HOMOPHOBIC SOCIETY TO NTROL THEM, TO MAKE AN UNNSC PROCS NSC ORR TO AVOID THREATENG THE HETEROSEXUAL PEOPLE AROUND . AND WHEN WE PH BACK DOWN FEELGS THAT WELL UP NATURALLY SI OF , WE END UP TERNALIZG THE IA THAT THERE IS SOMETHG WRONG OR SHAMEFUL ABOUT SAME-SEX LOVE. WE KNOW WE ARE GAY, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT WE DON’T WANT TO LOOK GAY. “IT’S EASY TO IMAGE A TIME WHEN CERTA RIGHT-WG MEDIA OUTLETS WOULD HAVE GONE TO HYPERDRIVE IF A SER GAY NTENR FOR PRINT HAD EMBRACED HIS PARTNER SO FIRMLY ON STAGE—BUT NOW SEEMS TO BARELY REGISTER” SO TO SEE HIGH-PROFILE LGBT PUBLIC FIGUR DOG THGS PUBLIC THAT I AM AAID OF DOG—AND PECIALLY TO SEE THEM DOG WH SO LTLE BACKLASH—GIV ME HOPE FOR OUR CULTURE, SETTG MERE POLICS ASI.AS BLAKE NOTED FOR CNN, “NOBODY RAISED AN EYEBROW” WHEN LIGHTFOOT AND ESHLEMAN KISSED EACH OTHER. AND ’S EASY TO IMAGE A TIME WHEN CERTA RIGHT-WG MEDIA OUTLETS WOULD HAVE GONE TO HYPERDRIVE IF A SER GAY NTENR FOR PRINT HAD EMBRACED HIS PARTNER SO FIRMLY ON STAGE—BUT NOW SEEMS TO BARELY REGISTER.AND YET SURELY POLICIANS LIKE BUTTIGIEG AND LIGHTFOOT MT BE AWARE THAT THEY ARE PART OF THE FIRST “RABOW WAVE” OF LGBT NDIDAT TO N SUCH AN IMAGE-SATURATED SOCIAL MEDIA ENVIRONMENT, AND THAT THEY WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST THE MUNY WHOSE PUBLIC TERACTNS WH THEIR SPO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPREAD WILY.I WOULD BET MONEY THAT PETE AND CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG HAD A HUDDLE BEFORE THE SPEECH ON SUNDAY TO CI WHAT THEY WOULD DO ON STAGE—HUG? KISS? LIFT UP EACH OTHER’S HANDS LIKE A BOXER AND A REFEREE?— A MUCH HIGHER-STAK VERSN OF THE SAME NVERSATN THAT MANY SAME-SEX UPL HAVE BEFORE VISG FAY MEMBERS OR GOG OUT PUBLIC SOMEWHERE UNFAIAR. (“CAN WE HOLD HANDS ONT OF YOUR PARENTS?” IS NOT AN UNMON QUTN FOR A GROWN WOMAN TO ASK HER WIFE.)IT IS SIGNIFINT, THEN, THAT NDIDAT LIKE BUTTIGIEG AND LIGHTFOOT ARE MAKG THE PUBLIC CHOIC THAT THEY ARE WHEN TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGG THEIR PARTNERS. WHATEVER RULTS OF THEIR NDIDACI OR THEIR TENUR OFFICE, THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF SEEMGLY LTLE THGS LIKE HUGS AND KISS WILL BE LARGE ED. SAMANTHA ALLEN

There was one tch – his right-hand man was gay, and virtually everybody the church seemed to know .