Northalsted Business Alliance
Northalsted Business Alliance (NBA) is the chamber of commerce in Chicago’s Boystown community since 1980. In recent years, NBA has used the identifier Boystown in marketing to promote the district & its LGBTQ+ history.
Background
The Boystown name has been in popular use by the LGBTQ+ community since the early days of the Pride movement, identifying the Halsted corridor as a place of acceptance during times when it was much less safe to be out as LGBTQ+.
In 1997 “Boystown” was recognized by Mayor Richard M. Daley & the City of Chicago as an LGBTQ+ community, a first of its kind proclamation. The rainbow pylons / Legacy Project memorial now have Chicago landmark recognition and a place of significance in the city’s cultural and LGBTQ+ history.
Read more about the the LGBTQ+ heritage of Boystown here.
Survey
LGBTQ+ communities have come a long way — with more progress yet to go, especially for LGBTQ+ people of color, transgender, non-binary, and queer communities.
As culture and language change over time, questions have been raised whether in today’s landscape, the name Boystown supports a message of diversity and inclusivity, or if it reinforces bias and discrimination.
We invite you to participate in the survey below to help us move forward with respect to 1) marketing and 2) city designation of our community widely known as Boystown.