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9 Years Ago, The Chicago Tribune Wrote About ‘Mama Gloria’s’ Charm School. Now 75, Her Story is on Stage, Screen, A New Book

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Nine years ago, the profiled Mama Gloria, when she was 66 and running a charm school at the (LGBTQ) Center on Halstead, “wherein she taught teens etiquette — from dining to how to dress and comport themselves”. That story led to a stage play, a film, a documentary on her life that premieres next week. Rest assured she shaved some of the really good stuff for the autobiography she looks to finish this year. “Mama Gloria” will premiere Monday on the World Channel series “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange.” –MG
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— It’s been almost nine years since former Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner introduced us to Gloria Allen, a woman aka “Mama Gloria.” At the time, the then 66-year-old was leading a charm school at the Center on Halsted, wherein she taught teens etiquette — from dining to how to dress and comport themselves. The profile led to Allen’s story being taken to the stage in Philip Dawkins’s play “Charm.” And that led to a film that features Allen’s trans journey, a documentary by Luchina Fisher entitled “Mama Gloria: The Story of Legendary Trans Activist Gloria Allen.” “It’s… Read More

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