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History of the Community
Center Movement
When the first lesbian and gay community centers
in the country opened their doors in 1971 in Los
Angeles, CA and Albany, NY, their premise was revolutionary:
that lesbian and gay people deserve to live open,
fulfilling and honest lives free of discrimination
and bigotry, with access to culturally appropriate
social services, as equal partners in the cultural
and civic life of the community. During the early
and mid 1970s, gays and lesbians in a dozen other
cities staked similar claims and launched community
centers. Offering everything from "coming out"
support groups, to health clinics and meeting space
for community organizing, centers became the hub
of community activity and the catalysts for progressive
social change.
As
AIDS ravaged the gay men's community in the mid
1980s, the 30-odd centers were at the forefront
of HIV care giving, education, prevention, and
advocacy. Even as the demographics of the epidemic
shifted to non-gay inner-city populations and
other at-risk groups, LGBT centers continued providing
HIV services to all. Today, many of these earliest
centers are still the major urban provider of
AIDS-related services and prevention efforts.
Throughout the 1990s, the
community center movement spread to increasingly
smaller cities and towns. By 2000, nearly half
the 100 community centers were their area's only
staffed non-profit LGBT presence - the first point
of contact for people seeking information, coming
out, accessing services or organizing for political
change. The diversity of programs and services
offered by centers (and their financial stability)
reflected the unique needs and interests of the
communities they served.
History
of the National Association of LGBT Community
Centers
Begun in 1987 as an informal gathering of leaders
from LGBT community centers during the annual
conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Health
Association, the Association provided an annual
forum for peer support and the exchange of ideas.
In 1994, as part of the celebrations marking the
25th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, representatives
of more than thirty centers gathered for an all-day
meeting at the Lesbian & Gay Community Services
Center of New York.
Led by the centers in New
York, Minneapolis, Denver and Los Angeles, the
National Association was more formally created
as a dues-paying membership organization offering
regularly scheduled national and regional meetings
designed to provide peer-based technical assistance
and networking opportunities. Without paid national
staff or offices, the National Association relied
for many years on the leadership and coordination
efforts of an annually elected Executive Committee
comprised of seven executive directors of member
centers.
In 2000, in recognition
of the larger number of new centers and the expansion
of the Association's role into areas of program
development (Promote the Vote, and nationally-managed
tobacco cessation efforts) the Association took
several steps to better serve our member centers.
The Association incorporated, received its IRS
tax-exempt status, created by-laws, and developed
job descriptions and work plans in anticipation
of the hiring of a national staff.
The GLCCB is proud to be a member of the NALGBTCC.
For more information about the NALGBTCC, visit
www.lgbtcenters.org.
History of our
Center – by Timothy Nelson
In 1977 – less than ten years after the
Stonewall riots in New York – the Center
was founded. At the time, Baltimore was by no
means a stranger to GLBT activism.
During the late ‘60s and early ‘70s
a number of lesbian journals began publication
in Baltimore. In 1972, the Baltimore
Chapter of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC)
was established. There we also groups for African-American
lesbians and, in 1973, gay and lesbian Catholics.
Gay student groups at local universities and the
Baltimore Pride rally both appeared in 1975. That
spring, the Baltimore Gay Alliance (BGA) had its
first meeting.
The BGA began its work galvanizing the community
into one entity, celebrating diversity and offering
sanctuary. By 1977 it was clear that the BGA needed
to form a unified community center, and the articles
of incorporation were signed on March 28th, 1977
establishing the Gay Community Center of Baltimore
(GCCB).
At first the GCCB survived only through the hard
work and self-sacrifice of committed volunteers
who provided the Center’s meeting space,
operated a switchboard, and distributed a newsletter
out of homes and basements. The newly established
GCCB Health Clinic – later to become Chase
Brexton Health Services – shared space
with MCC
. In 1980 however, the GCCB finally found a home
at 241 West Chase Street, the building it still
owns today.
Through the next several years the GCCB struggled
against bigotry, adversity, and the horrors of
AIDS to grow and adapt to meet the ever-changing
needs of its community. The GCCB newsletter evolved
into the Baltimore Gay Paper (BGP) – now
known as Gay
Life – and moved from a volunteer’s
basement into the Chase Street building. The annual
Pride celebration involved much of the downtown
area through the years, from Charles Plaza, to
the 200 block of Chase Street, to Park Avenue,
the Wyman Park Dell, to the current locations
of Charles and Eager Streets, and Druid Hill Park.
In 1985 “Lesbian” was added to the
organization’s name to create the most commonly
know acronym for the Center: GLCCB. In the next
decade the Center continued to change with its
surroundings – offering new programs and
services – while remaining a beacon and
refuge for the community at large.
In 2002 – in an effort to remain inclusive
– the Center incorporated the entire community
it serves into its name to become the Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Baltimore
and Central Maryland (GLBTCCBCM) while retaining
the familiar (and more manageable) nickname of
“the Center.”
Things have changed markedly from the days when
the Center operated out of basements, or fought
for its right to hold the Pride Celebration, or
watched gay rights bill after gay rights bill
get voted down by the Baltimore City Council.
With ever-increasing acceptance, things may appear
to be less challenging now, but there is still
much work to be done. There will always be challenges,
both personal and societal. Through individual
gifts, generous bequests, fundraisers, and grants,
the Center has been able to expand its services
to include more support groups, increased educational
opportunities, and more community outreach services.
The new millennium is an exciting and important
time in the Center’s evolution. The Center
hopes for more paid staff, new facilities, drop-in
centers, and a whole host of fresh and innovative
ways to serve the community. Plans are already
in place to revitalize the switchboard, to expand
youth programming and coming-out groups, and to
strengthen partnerships with organizations like
Equality
Maryland so that we may speak with one voice
in Annapolis about the concerns of our community.
If you would like to get involved, click
here
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