(September 18, 2009)— Jane M. Saks, executive director of the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, has been selected as an inductee to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. This is the only known government-sponsored hall of fame to honor members of the LGBT community. The Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame was established in 1991 to recognize the achievements of LGBT Chicagoans, their contributions to the development of the city, and the help they have received from others.
"I am quite humbled by the selection, knowing there are many many people engaged in fierce work and deserving of this recognition," said Saks. "To join publicly so many I respect and admire is in itself a powerful experience. For me this recognition serves to reinforce my personal obligation, deep sense of responsibility and commitment to the work I will do in the future.” Saks is among 13 individuals and 1 organization whose induction will be marked by a free and public ceremony Thursday, November 12, at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Selections are made by a panel of prior inductees from nominations submitted by members of the public. Saks was nominated by Evette Cardona and Mona Noriega and received letters of support from Dorothy Allison, Sunny Fischer, Amina Dickerson, Mae Hong, Red Tremmel, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. She is being honored for her work as a “social and political activist, cultural advocate, and leader for challenging and championing issues of gender, sexuality, race, and power within the worlds of arts and culture, politics and civil rights, academia and philanthropy.”