Black Resources
The Center is committed to standing up against the atrocities perpetrated on Black people, to fight white supremacy and the system that protects white lives while devaluing Black lives, and with our collective voice, say Black Lives Matter.
The Center is in the process of reexamining our organizational practices and expanding dialogue with our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and broader community to center Black lives and engage more deeply in anti-racist work. Last year, The Center held its first Town Hall for the Black LGBTQ community and informed by that, we started the first Black LGBTQ Community Advisory Committee which guides The Center’s strategies and steps to better serve and support our Black community. This group identified and outlined a set of Center priorities to better serve the Black community; this has guided our work for the last 10 months, including creating Brave Space, a Black peer-led discussion group for LGBTQ folks of the Black and African diaspora to bond, connect, and share in community. While these are steps forward, we acknowledge that there is much more work to do. We recommit to doing more, including fighting for a San Diego criminal justice system that values Black lives.
We call on all San Diego organizations to join us in reexamining structures, hiring, policies, partnerships, vendors, and implicit and explicit bias that prevent us from creating a world where Black lives truly do matter. See below for resources for the Black community to connect with The Center and other ways to engage, learn, and give to support Black Lives.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of The Center’s services are virtual. Please reach out to hweldeghiorgis@thecentersd.org for specific information during this time, or see calendar below.
GET INVOLVED AT THE CENTER
If you’re interested in joining Brave Space, The Black LGBTQ Community Advisory Committee, and/or Let’s Talk Tuesdays, please contact their Center Staff Liaison:
Helen Weldeghiorgis
Director of Community Engagement & Equity
She, Her, Hers
619.692.2077 x106
hweldeghiorgis@thecentersd.org
If you’re interested in joining Heal Thy Soul, please contact their Center Staff Liaison:
Carolina Ramos
Client Crisis Responder & Community Advocate
She, Her, Hers
619.459.8257
cramos@thecentersd.org
GET INVOLVED OUTSIDE THE CENTER
ENGAGE
LEARN
- NAACP Coronavirus Resources
- Black Lives Matter San Diego
- March for Black Womxn SD
- Know Your Rights to Protestfrom The ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties
GIVE
- Black Womxn Deserve Mutual Aid Fund by March for Black Womxn San Diego
- Donate to Bail Funds: The Bail Project, Minnesota Freedom Fund, and San Diego/La Mesa Bail Fund- DeDe McClure Bail Fund
- San Diego Black LGBT Coalition
- Black Lives Matter
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- List of organizations:
- Gender Phluid Collective
GET INVOLVED OUTSIDE THE CENTER
LEARN
- NAACP Coronavirus Resources
- March for Black Womxn SD
- Know Your Rights to Protest from The ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties
GIVE
- Black Womxn Deserve Mutual Aid Fund by March for Black Womxn San Diego
- Donate to Bail Funds: The Bail Project, Minnesota Freedom Fund, and San Diego/La Mesa Bail Fund- DeDe McClure Bail Fund
- San Diego Black LGBTQ Coalition
- Black Lives Matter
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- Gender Phluid Collective
- List of organizations
The Center's Communications On Black Lives Matter
The Center has signed on with other LGBTQ Organizations to Combat Racial Violence, voted on a new policy to no longer allow armed, uniformed law enforcement at Center facilities and events, and sent powerful messages in our E-news.
- San Diego Union-Tribune Op-Ed: LGBTQ San Diegans Continue to Suffer from Racial Profiling and Overpolicing
- Combating Anti-Black Racism at The Center
- A Message from CEO Cara Dessert and Board Co-Chairs Kafele Khalfani and Lisa Sanders
- A Message from The Center’s CEO on New Policy of No Armed Uniformed Law Enforcement at Center Facilities and Events
- The Center has signed on to LGBTQ Organizations Unite to Combat Racial Violence
Center's E-News
The Center Programming and Events
To view more events from The Center or other events going on in the community, click here.