Jose "Pepe" Pena and Art Johnston, co-owners of the popular gay bar Sidetrack Chicago, have been together for almost 50 years.
“To be honest with you, of all the things we’ve done, I think that’s the easiest,” Pena sad, referring to staying together so long.
They met at a bar, and in 1982 opened Sidetrack in Northhalsted, the neighborhood formerly known as Boystown -- one that has always been at the forefront of the Gay rights movement.
Johnston and Pena’s story was captured in a documentary called "Art and Pep," which is now streaming on Peacock.
“Of course everybody in Chicago knows about Sidetrack, but I had no idea the history the activism and especially the love story behind it," said film director Mercedes Kane.
Their love for each other helped fuel their activism, Johnston said.
"Nobody would have ever picked us as either bar owners or being activists," Johnston said. "And then, you know, things come along, you raise your hand and the next thing you know you are in the middle of things.”
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But the couple insists their story is only a small part of a much bigger story of activism in Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community.
"There were so many people in Chicago who were involved in this movement, there are so many names I can think of that were really, really important," Pena said.
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Over the years, bars have played an important role in the gay rights movement.
“It’s been said often in the gay community, everything important began in a bar," Johnston said. "Stonewall where the modern day gay rights movement began was a bar.”
While much progress has been made, activists are still fighting for equality to this day.
“The work is not over and there’s still a lot of work to do, and how inspiring it can be for the younger generation to learn through from the people who have gone through it already," Kane said.
