On June 23, the Chicago Dyke March, a woman-focused alternative to the main Pride celebrations in the city, is set to happen. Lesbians, bisexual women, and other women who love women would expect such an event to be a comforting safe space for them; however, last year proved in a very definite way that it is not a safe space for Jewish women.

As a black Jewish trans woman, I am often asked to participate and show up for events for marginalized women, and I was asked by an acquaintance to attend this one. But my aversion to the Chicago Dyke March should be quite understandable.

In 2017, organizers of the Chicago Dyke March ejected several Jewish lesbians from the event. Their crime? Why, they were expelled for waving rainbowabsence necessitated by a third back surgery, after asking him whether he was still on medication, and after Plaintiff informed Defendant that he was. When viewed in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff, the temporal proximity between Defendant's question and Plaintiffs termination, coupled with the evidence regarding Defendant's concern regarding Plaintiffs abilities while on the medication, creates an inference that Defendant fired Plaintiff because he was still on medication and Defendant perceived him to be disabled while he was on medication.
Moreover, a genuine issue exists regarding whether the reasons Defendant gave for Plaintiffs termination were pretextual. Plaintiff points to evidence suggesting that Plaintiff was not working at one of the times the alleged problems occurred, and that Plaintiff was never warned or disciplined regarding the alleged problems,