With Pride Month in the rearview mirror, the LGBTQ+ community is facing major challenges.
Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills having been proposed just six months into 2022, and the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade has set a precedent for sending other landmark decisions back to the states that could affect the community.
With mounting threats to LGBTQ+ rights, even those in progressive cities such as San Francisco are feeling the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, says Rebecca Rolfe, executive director at the San Francisco LGBT Center.
“This is, without argument, one of the best places for LGBTQ folks to live in the world,” said Rolfe. “But we still see significant homophobia and transphobia here … and I think a myth is that those things have somehow magically been conquered here. And we know that that’s just simply not true.”
What the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade mean for LGBTQ+ rights and protections is a challenge the center will be tackling.
“We strongly condemn the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade as it violates the bodily autonomy of women and birthing people,” said Rolfe. “We also recognize that this decision and its aftereffects will profoundly impact the lives of Black, poor, disabled, trans people and youth even further. As a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ folks seeking refuge in The City, we’re doubling down on our commitment to connect our most vulnerable communities to credible local resources where they can get the support they need.”
Since opening its doors 20 years ago, the iconic bright purple building on Market Street has become a hub that provides essential services and resources to underserved and marginalized communities.
While most other organizations serving LGBTQ+ people in The City focus on specific communities, Rolfe said, “We work with folks from every neighborhood, every race, culture, ethnicity, gender identity, economic background. We really address the full spectrum of the LGBTQ community.”
Offering services in financial literacy and capacity-building, the center helps members with budgeting and saving skills, managing credit and debt, and accessing affordable housing.
Also operating as a citywide youth access point, the center has become instrumental in providing drop-in services for homeless or marginally housed youth. Those services include food and clothing, community-building activities and on-site therapy.
“We really look at every person who walks through our doors as being somebody who’s got a set of needs and also a great set of assets and things to contribute to the community,” said Rolfe.
Having a space to feel celebrated is especially important for Black folks, who historically have been marginalized within the LGBTQ+ community, said community programs manager Timothy Hampton.
“We have to have the lens of knowing that there is a marginalized community within our community,” he said. “The most marginalized within my community is Black folks, and Indigenous and people of color, separating all three of those because those are three different experiences.”
Having grown up in Nashville and moved to the Bay area just four years ago, Hampton said he has long felt passionate about uplifting the Black LGBTQ+ community. Now, he finally has a platform to enact that change. At the center, he created the Queer Vibes program, which features a virtual performance by a new artist each month.
“It makes me feel good to see my Black queer people getting the voice that they deserve,” he said.
Hampton has made a difference for performers such as Tory Teasley, a Bay Area musician who participated in the center’s first Queer Vibes show in October. Since then, Teasley was invited to sing the national anthem at the Giants game and also performed at the 27th annual Pride Breakfast.
“Most of my career has been centered around creating safe space in spaces that aren’t necessarily intended for people like me being queer, being LGBT, being trans, being Black,” Teasley said. “And bringing music into those spaces has opened up many doors of awareness and sensitivity and has had a greater impact on how communities respond to people who are on the margin.”
