Now, I would say it’s still the same thing.” Credit: Maia McDonald/Block Club Chicago Jeffery Pub. So, back then, this was their place to come, where they felt safe in the neighborhood.
“This area here was filled with, like, doctors and lawyers and a lot of other professionals,” Junior said. Jeffery Blvd, are especially notable as Black-owned LGBTQ bars vanish across the country.īy filling a much-needed cultural void, the bar cemented its place in Chicago history, owner Jamal Junior said. It quickly became a safe haven for Black and Brown queer people, particularly on the South Side, and it’s maintained its notoriety in large part because there are no other establishments like it. Sitting across from a former bank, Jeffery Pub has been a neighborhood stalwart since the 1960s. SOUTH SHORE - For Black and Brown LGBTQ Chicagoans, finding belonging on the North Halsted strip formerly known as Boystown long has been a struggle.īut they’ve long found a home and fellowship inside an unassuming bar in South Shore - one of the only Black-owned LGBTQ bars in Chicago.
