Open Letter to The LGBT Center

UPDATE: 3/22 2:45pm Thank you all so much to everyone who signed this letter. The Center has cancelled the event. https://gaycenter.org/cancellation-statement/ March 21st, 2019 To the Executive Director and Board of The Center: LGBTQI+ New Yorkers and our allies were rightfully upset this week to learn that The Center is renting space to a far right campaign called "#WalkAway" for a town hall on March 28th. We are writing to demand that The Center cancel this event immediately, as it poses a clear and present danger to the safety of our queer communities in New York City. We write to you as volunteers, artists, writers, and organizers who have worked with The Center over many years. The speakers booked for March 28th’s Town Hall, Brandon Straka, Blaire White, Rob Smith, and Mike Harlow, espouse openly white supremacist, transphobic, xenophobic, and otherwise bigoted views that are dangerous to our communities. Straka, the organizer of the #WalkAway Campaign, has been on the programs of Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Alex Jones, all of whom give credence to violently anti-immigrant, racist, sexist, and queerphobic ideologies. Straka and Harlow even appeared on Gavin McInnes’s CRTV show to talk about #WalkAway two weeks after McInnes’s violent Proud Boys gang attacked counter-protesters on the Upper East Side, kicking and punching young queers while yelling ‘Faggot!’ (http://gothamist.com/2018/10/13/proud_boys_beating_video.php) The stated goal of “WalkAway” is to draw LGBTQI+ people to the right. However, as a cursory search of the speakers’ public statements shows, they are far-right provocateurs who share responsible for incitement to violence against trans people, black people, women, immigrants, Jews, and Muslims, and who publicly associate themselves with prominent, violent members of the “Alt Right” white nationalist movement. What’s more, their "WalkAway" platform is the arm of a partisan propaganda machine, which accuses their political opponents of supporting "special rights" for gender and sexual minorities. The Center is seen a community space that claims to represent queer New Yorkers of all backgrounds and identities, and provide health and wellness services to vulnerable populations. To that end, The Center requires those renting space to abide by a non-discrimination policy that states: “We reject hatred and will not engage in acts or expressions of hatred directed to any person(s) or group(s).” Further more, it says that The Center “reserves the right to revoke any use of its facilities by a user group in the event that such group fails to affirm or abide by these principles.” (https://gaycenter.org/terms-conditions#pledge) As shown above, these principles are clearly in violation and The Center is within their rights to shut this event down, and yet is choosing not to. This event, its speakers, and the views they represent are in direct opposition to this policy and directly target transgender, transsexual, and gender non-conforming individuals in particular, some of the most vulnerable members of our communities. We, as New Yorkers, do not agree with The Center’s statement on Twitter (http://bit.ly/statementbyTheCenter) in response to the outcry to shut this event down. This is not an issue of censorship of free speech. This is about protecting the space of the people The Center claims to serve. Additionally, we are disturbed that this group chose the date of Thursday, March 28 for their event. We do not believe that this is a coincidence. The Gay City News Impact Awards will be held in Queens that evening, honoring many of our community's most treasured activists -- members of ILGO (Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization), Treatment Action Group, ACT-UP, Revolting Lesbians, Rise and Resist, and Gays Against Guns, just to name a few -- and our community's most reliable defenders will be engaged. “#WalkAway” hopes to go unopposed. We cannot allow this to happen. Our demands: • Security: We demand The Center cancel this event immediately. • Transparency: We demand The Center disclose what, if any, due diligence or vetting process was undertaken when the “#WalkAway Campaign” contacted The Center to request a space rental. • Accountability: We demand that The Center release a public statement with input from the community outlining a re-commitment to its Non-Discrimination Policy, and how it will prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable among us. The Center must not cede an inch of space to those who question the validity of trans and non-binary identities, peddle Islamophobic conspiracy theories, or stoke the fires of anti-Blackness. At a time when right-wing attacks on all our communities are on the rise both in the halls of power and in the streets, facilitating this event endangers the very people The Center claims to serve, and disrespects the lives and legacies of LGBTQI+ people throughout history that struggled and died for our right to live with dignity. The Center should not allow its legitimacy as an institution be cynically co-opted by a group that shares none of its principles or goals. Please see the link below for detailed documentation of their transphobic, Islamophobic, anti-feminist, and racist incitement. Recent history from Christchurch to Charlottesville shows that giving a platform to such peddlers of hate empowers empowers self-described white supremacists, sexists, transphobes, and homophobes, and encourages them to escalate their activity from hateful speech to physical violence against our communities. Giving a platform to these speakers is deeply irresponsible at this moment. We understand that The Center will face backlash from the right by de-platforming this event. We also recognize that our lives are already "politicized" and the institutions we are served by will be as well. However, should you make the right decision, you can expect our full support. Many of us have a long-term, deep connection to The Center and the resources and community it has provided. We have attended events, built activist movements, held workshops, and received care within its walls. We would like to be able to continue to do so. Documentation of Panelists: http://bit.ly/2CwS1oi Sincerely, Gordon Beeferman United Against Racism and Fascism - NYC Sharona Chava Outlive Them NYC, Jewish Solidarity Caucus, DC 37 Democratic Socialists of America NYC Queer Caucus Ken Kidd Community activist with ACT UP, Queer Nation, Gays Agsinst Guns, Rise And Resist Moishe Ben Marx Outlive Them NYC, Jewish Solidarity Caucus, UAW Local 2110 Mark Milano Rise and Resist, Reclaim Pride Coalition Andy Ratto Organizer, Reclaim Pride Coalition, United Against Racism and Fascism, Rise and Resist Rise and Resist Emergency Response Team Jason Rosenberg ACT UP Member Derek Smith Community Member Jay W. Walker Organizer, Reclaim Pride Coalition, Gays Against Guns, Rise and Resist Ruth Yehezkel Outlive Them NYC and Jewish Solidarity Caucus To view more names who have currently endorsed: https://airtable.com/shrWGSZLkRGIhFOSA