Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Workshop for Bay Area high school students, a two-week intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
In four decades, life for the LGBTQ+ community has changed a lot. The Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center, nearing its 40th anniversary, has seen firsthand an evolution in how LGBTQ+ people are treated and perceived.
The Billy DeFrank center works to serve as a safe place for the queer community and activist groups at large. In 1981, several LGBTQ+ groups scattered throughout the Bay Area were searching for one central location, and so the center was born. Named for Billy DeFrank, a drag queen who died a year earlier, the center strives to live by his example, by loving and accepting everyone.
Gabrielle Antolovich, board president of the San Jose center, says the LGBTQ+ community has expanded a lot in 40 years, with the recognition of many more sexualities and identities.
“Because of the young people that come here, now we have all these different pronouns and descriptions of different gender identities that I actually have been able to name my identity as gender queer,” they said.
Antolovich says that younger generations have changed the community and what it means to be queer. “Government agencies now have alternate genders that you can fill out, including your driver’s license and medical records.” That has had a giant impact.
Another change is that the Billy DeFrank center has hosted pro bono days to assist people needing a legal name change, reaching out to transgender and non-binary citizens, two groups that in the past were looked down upon, Antolovich said. The center has also partnered with other organizations, such as the Women’s March and March for Our Lives against gun violence.
The center hosts discussion groups for different identities or sexualities and invites people to get to know people within their own groups. But they also encourage intermingling between the different niche groups as well, with whole-center activities.
They also motivate members to support everyone in the community.
“You know, we’re Asian, we’re Latino, we’re African American, we’re indigenous people, we’re immigrants, we’re undocumented. We speak every language. We are of every gender orientation. And so we need to work with other people in our own community,” Antolovich said.
They added that at the center they support the idea of everyone being family, often referring to each other as their siblings. That’s something that would have been looked down upon in the past, due to racial tensions between groups, Antolovich said.
The center is celebrating its 40th year in October with a black-tie Halloween gala to honor the work they do. “What I want people to feel is that their whole self becomes more integrated, and when you have a center like ours that can happen because we are not bombarded by the outside expectations,” Antolovich said.
Another organization working in parallel with the Billy DeFrank center’s goals is Silicon Valley Pride, which runs the pride parade and festival, the largest festival of its kind in the South Bay. Established in 1975 as a gay rights rally, the group evolved into the San Jose Pride Festival and Parade in 1977. After a hiatus in 2014 and a change of leadership, it was rechristened Silicon Valley Pride, with the mission to embrace diversity and inclusion in the LGBTQ+ community.
Nicole Altamirano, CEO of Silicon Valley Pride, said their organization has changed with the times as well. The focus has expanded beyond just cisgender white gay men, and the group added a “Hey Girl” subcommittee to promote inclusivity for the queer community across the spectrum.
Silicon Valley Pride, which will hold this year’s pride festival on Aug. 27-28 in downtown San Jose, also brought on a chief diversity officer to promote inclusivity in the community and to support LGBTQ+ groups of various races and ethnicities.
“We are only as free as our most marginalized community members. We aren’t just gay, we are a part of all minority groups,” Altamirano said. “Everyone that is an ‘ally’ and likes to wear rainbow colors during June should stand up and fight for rights all throughout the year.”
Abby Cordobes is a rising senior at Silver Creek High School in San Jose.
Source: www.mercurynews.com