Statement regarding Black Lives Matter
The William Way LGBT Community Center expresses our outrage at the silence and complicity that allow our Black and Brown community members to be murdered with impunity by American institutions that have grown numb to these horrific acts of violence and, through their silence and inaction, encourage them.
A community center at its best stands for those among us who are most targeted by powerful institutions who either do not care about our lives or are unwilling to make the changes necessary to ensure that we are protected.
Our LGBTQ movement is rooted in energetic protest and battle against business, police, government, and individuals who have not stood up for us and in fact have stood silent while we were harassed or murdered. Powerful examples in our history include:
The 1965 Dewey's lunch counter sit-in, to protest discrimination against trans and gay customers at a Center City diner.
The 1969 riots and destruction of property at the Stonewall Inn.
The 1979 San Francisco White Night Riots following the trial of former policeman Dan White, who assassinated Supervisor Harvey Milk, which involved protests against police, burning of police cars, and significant damage to San Francisco's City Hall.
The 1991 ACT UP Philadelphia demonstrations at the Bellevue Stratford, that led to a police riot that seriously injured LGBT protesters, and led to the formation of the city's Police Advisory Council.
These have been critical stages in our ongoing path towards liberation.
A riot is indeed the language of the unheard. We must view this response as the price of not doing the hard work to address the structural inequities that lead to inferior housing, inferior education, inferior employment opportunities, inferior healthcare, and inferior services for Black and Brown people. This is nothing compared to the steady stream of killings of Black and Brown people whose killers never face justice in our courts. Black lives matter.
We stand in solidarity with those in Minneapolis, here in Philadelphia, and around the country who are demanding immediate change.
We will be issuing a second statement this week with ways that the Center is working to support our communities at this time.
In solidarity.
Chris Bartlett, Executive Director
Sue Gildea & Chad Bundrock, Board Co-Chairs