Nigerian Immigrant and Fellow CGMC Member Featured in RedEye

This wonderful article was featured today in the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye paper about my friend and fellow Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus member John Ademola, and his journey from Nigeria to the United States to live life as an out and free gay man.

John was a Catholic priest in Nigeria and applied for and was granted asylum in 2009 based on his homosexuality.  He joined CGMC after moving to the US.  His story is powerful and inspirational, and I’m so honored to know him and call him friend.

I love what he said in the article about his relationship with the chorus and how it relates to his plight:

“For the fortunate such as Ademola, life in the U.S. can be life-saving. He’s become an out-and-proud member of the LGBT community in Chicago, even performing in the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus.

He proudly carries a combination U.S. and gay pride flag in the annual Chicago parade.

“If God gives you freedom,” Ademola says, one should sing about it. Since receiving asylum, he’s “been singing my freedom since.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Images, Politics & Activism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.