Danny Sotomayor was an AIDS activist and the first openly gay nationally syndicated
political cartoonist. Image: Lisa Howe-Ebright
At the age of 29, a Chicago man with piercing green eyes, a talent for drawing, and a pet bird occasionally perched
on his shoulder was diagnosed with HIV. Danny Sotomayor, an openly gay man, was one of the tens of thousands of
people diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s and ’90s in the United States. During that time, HIV/AIDS was erroneously
seen as a “gay disease,” but it did not differentiate its victims. Sotomayor would become one of the loudest voices
in Chicago as he fought for his life and the lives of others suffering from a disease that, at the time, was almost
a guaranteed death sentence. With his pointed political cartoons, no patience for some of the city’s politicians,
and a passionate personality, Sotomayor helped lead major protests that spilled out into Chicago’s streets – and
sometimes the balconies of government buildings. Though Sotomayor would not survive his fight with AIDS, his friends
and fellow activists remember … Read
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Performers with the Youth Empowerment Performance Project tell their stories on stage. Image: Courtesy of the Youth Empowerment Performance Project
Danny Sotomayor’s acerbic political cartoons were a key tool in his activism during the AIDS crisis in Chicago in
the 1980s and ’90s. Drawing had long been a way for Sotomayor to express himself. David Sotomayor, Danny’s brother,
told Chicago Stories it was also a source of comfort for Danny while growing up in a volatile household.
“Some of the characters or the creations…I think that was reflective of what was going on inside [Danny],” David
said. “I don’t mean that in a bad way, but I mean in an expressive way.”
That kind of expression through art continues to be a form of healing and activism for LGBTQ individuals. One
Chicago organization called the Youth Empowerment Performance
Project (YEPP) is using various forms of expressive performance arts for LGBTQ youth experiencing
homelessness, particularly gender-nonconforming people of color. Through community art programs, performance
projects, and leadership programs, YEPP extends itself as … Read
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