The Art of Activism: A Profile of Sidetrack Owner Art Johnston
“THE ART OF ACTIVISM: Co-owner of the legendary gay bar Sidetrack, Art Johnston is a civil rights champion.”
An exceprt from the NORTHWESTERN MAGAZINE Spring 2024 Edition:
Sitting down with Johnston — even for the first time — feels like reconnecting with an old friend. He is disarming, warm and kind.
“I have to warn you,” he says with a grin. “I tend to ramble … so you may have to stop me.”
It’s difficult, however, to interrupt someone with so many stories to tell about the origins of the queer liberation movement in Chicago. At 80, Arthur “Art” Johnston ’75 MFA has spent more than four decades working as a civil rights champion. He co-founded Equality Illinois, the state’s oldest and largest LGBTQIA+ rights organization. As part of the “Gang of Four,” he lobbied for the groundbreaking passage of Chicago’s 1988 Human Rights Ordinance, which banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. And he helped raise awareness and support when the AIDS crisis gripped Chicago in the 1980s.
But Johnston and his husband, José “Pep” Peña, are perhaps most widely known as co-owners of the largest gay bar in the Midwest: SIDETRACK
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