Center Blog

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center’s mission is simple and focuses on the needs of the LGBT community: it provides a home for the birth, nurture and celebration of our organizations, institutions and culture; cares for our individuals and groups in need; educates the public and our community; and empowers our individuals and groups to achieve their fullest potential.

It’s a mission statement worth standing up for.

After all, 6,000 individuals actively use the Center each week. Some come because they need help: young people cast out by their schools or families; couples looking to navigate the maze of legal and emotional issues surrounding adoption or surrogacy; and people of all ages fighting addiction through recovery programs. Others come for community: the LGBT seniors who meet for coffee each afternoon; the LGBT immigrants who cheer each other over the hurdles this city offers up; and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who are coping with a cancer diagnosis and get bi-weekly support in their time of need.

But over the last few months, a single issue – peripheral to our mission – has dominated much of the public discourse about the Center: the Israeli/Palestinian divide. And, increasingly, this has generated concern in the Center community.

The issue emerged in February. At that time, we informed a non-LGBT group, organizing around the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, that it could not hold meetings or a fundraiser at the Center. A couple of months later, we told a similar, but LGBT- focused group, that it could. Looking back, both of these decisions were consistent with our space use practices and both were made after consultation with a range of stakeholders. Not surprisingly, controversy followed each decision. People have very strong feelings about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, one of the most difficult and persistent geopolitical challenges in the world. So, too, do they care deeply about the Center and its place in the world.

What’s become clear is that the Center community is not experiencing this as a theoretical or academic issue. The heated rhetoric and passion surrounding this issue is echoing loudly through our corridors – and drowning out other voices within the community. An increasing number of Center users, staff members, community partners, and supporters have expressed deep concern about the tone and volume of the debate. They’ve also questioned the Center’s perceived role or position in these issues. The fact that the Center does not endorse the views of groups meeting in the building has been ignored or flatly dismissed.

A number of our staff members have been told by clients and others who come here for respite or support that they instead feel alienated. These developments are deeply alarming to me; after all, we take seriously our role of being a welcoming place, a safe and calm haven, to all members of our community. Meanwhile, I cannot ignore the extraordinary amount of Center resources that have been consumed in navigating these issues, taking significant time and attention away from Center services, community needs, and our primary responsibility to help people in our community.

And so yesterday, June 2, we announced a time out period – a moratorium, so to speak, on groups using the Center as a meeting space to organize around the specific issue of the Israeli/Palestinian divide. This allows us all to take a deep breath, refocus on our core work of meeting the needs of the LGBT community, and reinforce the message that everyone who comes to the Center for support, community, and a better life will be welcomed.

While many in our community greet this decision with relief, some will also disagree – and passionately. We hope they can understand that individual groups’ missions cannot overwhelm our own mission. In 28 years, we have built an incredible center, but we still have so much to accomplish for questioning youth, for struggling families and for others in the LGBT community who simply need help. That’s our core work – and that’s why it’s time for a time out on Middle East organizing at the Center.

We invite all in our community to send further thoughts to timeout@gaycenter.org.

You can also view our press release here.

Glennda Testone