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.