Lighthouse Foundation of Chicagoland is bringing hundreds of Black LGBTQ+ Chicagoans to 63rd Street Beach this weekend for Black LGBTQ+ Beach Day, an afternoon of music, games, HIV testing and community resources.
Now in its third year, the annual gathering has grown into one of the city’s largest Black LGBTQ+-centered Pride events while reflecting Lighthouse Foundation‘s broader efforts to connect community members with health services, workforce development opportunities and year-round support.
The event takes place June 27 from 2-7 p.m. at 63rd Street Beach and is expected to draw hundreds of attendees following last year’s turnout of nearly 400 people. The event is free, but RSVPs are recommended.
Founder and Executive Director Jamie Frazier said this year’s event will offer Black LGBTQ+ Chicagoans an opportunity to celebrate, build relationships and access resources in a welcoming environment.
“Our hope with the beach day this year is number one for Black queer bodies to take up space on the South Side at the 63rd Street Beach,” Frazier said. “It’s a pivotal moment in this zeitgeist in which Black queer communities are under attack to be in spaces where we live, work and play in the fullness of who we are.”
The event’s expanded Wellness and Resource Village will feature more than a dozen organizations, including Brave Space Alliance, Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, TaskForce Prevention and Community Services, Human Rights Campaign Chicago and the University of Chicago’s Community Center for HIV Elimination. Attendees will also find HIV testing, care navigation, mental health resources and other support services.
Lighthouse intentionally scheduled Beach Day on National HIV Testing Day and plans to offer testing on-site.
“We see this as an opportunity to provide direct services,” Frazier said. “Lighthouse Foundation is now providing HIV testing ourselves, as well as partnering with other agencies to provide HIV testing.”
Alongside the health resources, organizers are emphasizing activities designed to foster connection. The event will feature DJs, line dancing, games and the return of “speed friending,” which helps attendees meet new people and build relationships.
Frazier said those connections are among the event’s most important outcomes.
“There’s nothing more radical than building community, embodying joy, pursuing health and wellness, and also building relationships that will hopefully last beyond the day,” he said.
For Frazier, Beach Day is about more than a single afternoon at the lakefront. He sees it as part of a broader tradition of Black LGBTQ+ Chicagoans claiming public space during Pride Month.
“When I see so many beautiful Black folks on the 63rd Street Beach each year, it fills me with pride,” Frazier said. “This event is heir to a legacy of Black queer people during Pride being at the beach. It is an homage to Belmont Rocks and other moments in Black queer Chicago history where Black folks took up public space.”
The growth of Beach Day mirrors the evolution of Lighthouse Foundation itself.
Founded as a Black LGBTQ+-led social justice organization focused primarily on advocacy and accountability efforts, Lighthouse has expanded its work in recent years to include direct services, workforce development, research and youth programming.
The organization recently adopted a new vision statement centered on helping Black LGBTQ+ communities and their allies thrive, according to Frazier. Today, its work spans five core areas: advocacy, direct services, research, workforce development and youth and young adult development.
Among its newer initiatives is Launch Collective, a workforce development program for Black LGBTQ+ young adults ages 18-24 that combines career preparation with social activities and community-building. Lighthouse has also expanded its direct-service offerings by providing HIV testing, linkage to care, mpox vaccinations and workforce development support, including resume reviews and interview preparation.
Frazier said those programs were informed in part by the organization’s ongoing community needs assessment, which surveyed more than 500 Black LGBTQ+ people across Cook County.
The survey identified healthcare access and economic opportunity as two of the community’s most pressing concerns. One finding stood out in particular: 64% of respondents reported earning less than $45,000 annually.
For Frazier, those findings reinforced the need for organizations to address economic stability and healthcare access alongside community-building and advocacy efforts.
Lighthouse is expected to continue that work this fall through its Heal the Healers Summit, where the organization plans to release additional findings from its community needs assessment and convene nonprofit leaders, service providers and community members to discuss the state of Black queer Chicago.
Still, Frazier said events like Beach Day remain central to the organization’s mission because they create opportunities for connection at a time when many people feel overwhelmed, isolated or discouraged.
“If we allow white supremacy, Republicans, Trump and his minions to strip us of our joy, they have already won,” Frazier said. “As long as we are able to hold on to our joy, that gives us the ability to fight back, to maintain our institutions and live for the next day.”
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