Monday, June 10, 2020
Dear Community,
A message from the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District:
The Castro LGBTQ Cultural District was created to preserve, sustain, and promote the rich cultural legacy of the Castro and its significance to San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community and beyond. Our goals are to highlight Castro’s historical significance; foster racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity; and create a safe and inclusive space for LGBTQ+ and allied communities, to visit from around the world and call the Castro home.
The unfortunate reality for most people of color particularly Black & Brown communities, Transgender and non-binary individuals, and queer women, has been the Castro’s failure to reflect the diversity and represent all constituencies of the LGBTQ+ community. The murder of George Floyd and the fatal officer-involved shooting of Tony McDade (a black trans man who died at the hands of the police on May 27th in Tallahassee, Florida), followed by the strong response from protesters, community groups, and organizations around the world have highlighted and underscored that now is the time for a change.
As the leadership of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, we stand in solidarity with Black and Brown people, protesters, and civil rights groups who are peacefully rising up and demanding justice, and all communities who are taking action to condemn racism, racial violence, and police brutality. We recognize that LGBTQ+ liberation is inextricably tied to the liberation of all oppressed communities.
We join our voices with yours to demand and co-create the world we deserve. We will use our collective power to build a world where safety, dignity, and opportunity are available to all. Until such time that we create this world, we ask that we come together to do the work necessary to uplift everyone. The freedoms that those of us who are privileged take for granted must become accessible to all oppressed peoples. #BlackLivesMatter
Community members have encouraged contributions to some of the organizations listed below. Although the Cultural District has not reviewed these suggestions, and cannot specifically endorse them, we do urge our community to support the hard work of achieving safety, freedom, and fairness for all oppressed communities.
● Trans Cultural District
● Anti-Terror Police Project
● TGIJP
● Taja’s Coalition
● Bay Area Anti- Repression Committee Bail Fund
● San Francisco’s Transgender Cultural District Fund
● Anti Police-Terror Project
● Protest & COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Community Bail & Bond Funds
● Reclaim The Block
● Black Visions Collective
Co-Chairs:
Mahsa Hakimi and A. Sparks
Advisory Board:
Elizabeth Lanyon | Stephen Torres | Ms. Billie Cooper | Jesse Oliver Sanford
Shannon Amitin | Christopher R. Vasquez | Shaun Haines | Steven Bracco
Castro LGBTQ Cultural District 