Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast with Speakers Alan Grayson and Stuart Milk

April 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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The Center is Hosting our 1st Biannual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast with Guest Speakers Congressman Alan Grayson and Stuart Milk on Monday May 20th, 2013 from 8:30AM – 10:00AM at Dubsdread Country Club.

Tickets are available for sale online:

“My name is Harvey Milk and I am here to recruit you.”

All of us remember that famous quote, whether from books, documentaries, or the movie Milk.  While there were gay men and women who were trailblazers for gay equality, Harvey was the one who had the knowledge, the organization and the perseverance to lead an effective and lasting campaign to improve the lives of the gay community.  Harvey gave us many things, but mostly he gave us hope.
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Filed Under: Events

Separate But Not Equal For Gay Boy Scouts of America

May 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Randy Stephens Executive Director The Center Orlando GLBT Community Center of Central FloridaJohn Stemberger recognizes the efforts to prevent marriage equality is eroding before his very eyes.   In order to assure self-preservation, and keep his hate group, Florida Family Policy Council, as relevant as possible to keep funds coming in, it was time to dream up a new bogeyman to keep people scared and fearful.

What is his new creation? The Openly Gay Advocate Boy Scout.

Complete with rainbow sash and a twinkle in his eye, this new figment of John’s imagination, this Gay Advocate Boy Scout will be the seducer of your children and husbands.

His new group is ironically called On My Honor and he is waging another hate campaign filled with lies, biasness and distortions; such behavior is anything but honorable. Stemberger pretends that he is ok with gays in the scouts, but just as long as they are quiet about it…..an adolescent version of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  Now he is claiming that if the Boy Scouts adopt a policy that allows gays to be open about who they are, it will “create a wave of boy-on-boy sexual abuse” and that the gay scouts will prey on the straight scouts.

Give me a break.

In Stemberger’s warped mind, every gay person craves after every straight person.  He fails to recognize that gays have been in scouts since its inception, and the fact that they will be able to be upfront about their sexuality, (if they chose to do so) does not mean that they will put aside their morals and exert a behavior reflective of a hedonistic lifestyle.   These are still the same young men who aspire to follow the Scout Law – A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.   Nowhere does is exemplifies the removal of sexual morals nor encourage decadent behavior as communicated by Stembergers bags of lies and distortions.

Now Stemberger has issued the most absurd statement of all.

According to Channel 13 News  he stated: “The very things that gays want is to be equal, but this policy will cause them to be unequal because we’re going to have to figure out how to put them in separate tents, treat them differently because we don’t want there to be inappropriate conduct if they’re open and avowed,”

Separate tents!

Stemberger’s exclamations are very reminiscent of the 1950’s with the “separate but equal” defense of racial immigration.   It is amazing that in 2013 such bigoted mentality is still operating within our community.   Such archaic attitudes have no place in teaching leadership to young adults, regardless of their sex, race, religion, or sexual orientation.  In the latest Washington Post/ABC Poll 63 % favor allowing gays to join the boy Scouts and the majority are also against a ban not allowing gay leaders 56% to 39 %.  Apparently the general public is evolving toward tolerance and acceptance, while the opponents are still in the antiquated mindset of ignorance and bigotry reflected in the 1950’s.

Separate tents …. What’s next?  Pink triangles? Arm bands? Separate camps? I feel the LGBT community has seen this line of thinking before haven’t we?

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The City of Orlando and The Center Present Self Defense 101

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

City of Orlando The Center Central Florida GLBT Community Self Defense Class

Upcoming Self Defense Class for both Men & Women at The Center!

The Center (946 N. Mills Ave.) will be hosting a Self Defense Class (for both Men & Women!) on Wednesday, May 22nd from 6 PM to 8 PM. The event is open to anyone (over the age of 18 years old) & everyone who attends. It will be lead by an OPD Officer, so this will be good information for everyone to know. It is suggested that participants wear loose fitting workout type clothing (sweatpants, loose fitting shirt & tennis shoes) for easy movement. OPD recommends that participants NOT wear shorts, skirts, sandals or anything that might restrict movement or could easily be torn.

Filed Under: Events

Gays in the Church Series at Rollins College

May 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Orlando Black PrideORLANDO — When NBA star Jason Collins became the first openly gay professional athlete in a major American sport earlier this month, one of the things he talked about in an extensive interview with Oprah Winfrey was a clash between the black church and the gay community.

“You obviously know that within the African-American culture, which I didn’t know until like a decade ago, that the stigma of being gay is even worse than it is in the general population,” Winfrey said in the interview.
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“I think that it has to deal with a lot of just how hand-in-hand the church is with the African-American community, and trust me I grew up in a very religious family,” Collins responded. “I knew as an African-American, it adds another dimension to the discussion.”

Orlando Black Pride has been trying to bridge the divide between the church and gays with its Gays in the Church Series for the last four years. In partnership with the Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention and Rollins College it will present ”Love Conquers All” a forum about HIV/AIDS awareness and the role of the church, 6 p.m. May 28 at Mills Memorial Hall at Rollins College in Winter Park.

The forum, a panel discussion between local officials, educators and religious leaders, will explore how the church can be a resource for providing HIV/AIDS awareness to help fight the stigma, fear, discrimination and homophobia about the disease and negative perceptions about HIV testing. The forum will be held in the Galloway Room of Mills Memorial Hall, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park. The event is free and open to the public.

Moderated by radio personality Monica May, the panel will include Bishop Robert H. Gordon of Faith United Outreach; Rev. Frank Massey of St. Paul AME in Winter Garden; Pastor Sharon Y. Riley of Agape Perfecting Praise WC; Paster Ricc Rollins of Breath of Life Fellowship Community Church; community volunteer Richard Standifer; clinical psychologist Dr. John Robertson; and community activist and author Devin ”Egypt” Robinson.

The forum will be held as part of Orlando Black Pride week, May 28 through June 2, at various venues throughout Orlando. To register to attend the forum, contact Katherine Chatman at the Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention, 407-884-9070; or email her at kchatman@cmwp.org

Filed Under: Events

Orlando Black Pride Starts May 28th!

May 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Survivors’ Guilt

May 10, 2013 by 2 Comments
Randy Stephens Executive Director The Center Orlando GLBT Community Center of Central Floridaby Randy Stephens

For the past few months the LGBT community has been celebrating the “evolvement” of the public’s attitudes toward marriage equality. First, the President, followed by numerous Senators and Representatives, followed by the public at large. We are on the cusp of historic moment in LGBT history, one that will be remembered by many generations to follow. And in the midst of such celebration, I have been reflecting on those who will not be here share the joy of a momentous occasion.

Michelangelo Signorile, noted writer and radio show host, recently wrote an article entitled “The First AIDS Generation: Grappling With Why We’re Alive and What It Means. For those of us in our forties and fifties, we are survivors. Trust me, we have the emotional and mental scars to prove it. For many of us AIDS arrived just as we had come out of the closet, or were preparing to enter the free love era of bars, bath houses, and sexual indiscretion. As for myself, I had been trapped in gay depraved zone known as rural Alabama, dreaming of my escape to the big cities where I could finally become an active sexual member of the community. And it was at that moment the bottom fell out (no pun intended). The mysterious “gay cancer” was rampaging throughout the nation, first concentrating on the major gay havens of New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles…later attacking destinations such as Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta, Chicago, and P-Town. I never visited any of those locations until I was in my thirties and AIDS had already reached epidemic status.

Limited involvement did not protect me from the horror that was brought forth by AIDS. Living in Birmingham and Montgomery Alabama I developed a wonderful group of friends and associates. Even in the midst of the nightmare that was surrounding us, we would spend out weekends drinking and partying at gay clubs that stayed open 24 hours. In the back of our minds we always were conscious of the bogeyman called AIDS, but we felt we had escaped its mighty wrath. How wrong we were. Slowly, friends started to become less involved in the social dalliances of pool parties and all night dancing. And then rapidly they began to disappear. We would hear whispers of medical diagnosis for my friends. Ken has lesions on his arm and face….. Michael had gay pneumonia ….. for most of us, we buried our head in the sand, waiting for the fear to pass.

As for me, it started me on a strange trip of both denial and guilt. Like Signorile, I immersed myself into a support role – Providing volunteer legal assistance in wills and estate planning, doing my best to keep an emotional detachment from those making life-ending preparations. Such detachment continued when I moved to Birmingham, acknowledging the community was becoming devastated and disappearing yet trying to deal with the guilt of being a survivor. Eventually, for a quandary of reasons, I left Alabama and relocated in Central Florida. In a way it gave me the luxury of not having to keep up with who was sick or who had died…..Out of sight, out of mind. I withdrew from talking to friends back home because the discussions eventually led to who had passed away since my last phone call.

Guilt. Webster defines it as feeling of culpability for offenses. I define it as running away from reality, later returning with feelings of remorse and culpability. I will never know how many of my friends died alone…..how many had made a request for me to visit but I conveniently did not make such a time-consuming trip back home. One friend in the Florida panhandle was quickly slipping away and I received a phone call that Gerald would like to see me….. I planned to visit but was too late. However, I did make it to the memorial, where his surviving partner Tom gave me a video that Gerald had made for me a year earlier when he was much more lucid. It took me two years to have the balls to watch that video, crying over every second if it. It now remains one of my most valued possessions. It was at this time I became friends with a wonderful person who, like myself, found himself as a survivor in a sea of lost spirits. My friend has a photo of 16 hot, sexy and fun-loving friends, including himself, taken on the beach in South Florida…. They ran the gantlet from Key West to Daytona Beach, leaving a trail of broken hearts throughout the state. Within 3 years from when the photo was taken 11 of the 16 had died and 4 others were in the final stages. My friend remained the only survivor. We have shared our remorse…. Our guilt….. Asking why. We are both grateful to be alive, but what made us special?
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Filed Under: GLBT News, Press Release

Orlando Black Pride Celebrates Equality

May 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Six-day Event Features Spectacular Parties, Entertainers and Educational Events



ORLANDO (May 10, 2013) — Serving the LGBT community for more than a decade, Orlando Black Pride will take place May 28 through June 2 at the Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel, Pirates Dinner Adventure and other venues throughout Orlando with a full schedule that includes parties, contests, karaoke competition, a bowling night, educational events and church services for the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual community.

The six-day event, traditionally held the first week of June, kicks off at 6 p.m. May 28 with “Love Conquers All,” an open panel discussion between church leaders, members of the LGBT community and a HIV agency at Rollins College. The educational forum will be followed at 10 p.m. by OBP’s Birthday Party, a private VIP event with free admission, food, drink with special guest DJ LB playing the latest in hip-hop and R&B at Falafel Hookah Lounge, 13605 S. Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando. For an invitation, contact the event organizers at info@orlandoblackpride.com. [Read more...]

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Help Gina, A Member of Our Community, Who Lost Her Leg And Has A Newborn

May 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Donate Now: 

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/give-gina-a-leg-up-new-mom-suffers-from-rsd-imminent-amputation/51233

Artist, Philanthropist, Activist and New Mother. She also has RSD (Type 2 CRPS), a rare disease that is literally burning her alive and now faces the amputation of her leg on May 9, 2013.

Gina Orlando Central Florida Amputee Newborn Baby Assistance Donate Care Help Fundraiser Meet Gina

In her 30+ years of life, Gina has considered herself blessed. She is a dedicated friend, known for her kindness and selfless acts of charity toward strangers. She is an activist and leader with several nonprofit organizations. Prior to her diagnosis, she was also a very successful artist. Right now her greatest role is that of a new mother, having just given birth to her beautiful baby girl in January 2013.

Here’s the deal: after being involved in a terrible accident in 2002, Gina suffered major injuries and soon after was diagnosed with the most severe form of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), stage four in both legs. This condition is also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS-Type 2) but let’s just call it RSD. That’s easier to say, isn’t it? Each year Gina has undergone dozens of surgeries and treatments all over the country.

For the past 10 years, Gina has bravely lived with a debilitating condition. All this time, she has managed to maintain an incredibly positive outlook, sense of humor and continued to dedicate her life to helping others — all the while privately facing tremendous adversity of her own. Now she needs you to sponsor her.

But here’s the sad truth. Over time RSD has caused irrevocable damage in her right leg. She’s undergone 20+ surgeries just on her foot and has 19 pieces of hardware fusing every joint just to keep her foot attached to her leg.

After undergoing 7 months of surgeries and treatment at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio in 2011, her RSD was well managed. Unfortunately it recently exacerbated and now Gina now will need to have her right foot and lower leg amputated (May 9, 2013) while caring for her 10 week old baby.
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Filed Under: Orlando Charity Donation

Marriage Equality Rally at Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida

May 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Marriage Equality Rally Gay LGBT Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Civil Rights Orlando Central Florida Rally Politics Celebrity NFL Player Speaking Out Coming Out Downtown Orlando Events Lake Eola Bandshell Supreme Court Hearing DOMA Prop8 Prop 8 party celebration Celebrate and Rally with The Center, Come Out With Pride, HRC, ACLU, MBA Orlando, Watermark, Hot Spots, and Equality Florida!

Add This Event to Your Calendar

The program for the Marriage Equality Rally is starting to take shape! We are proud to announce that we have tentative speakers we are finalizing confirmations with who will speak from Federal, State, and Local Government, local clergy, activists, entertainers, a celebrity or two, and community members! More information coming as we receive confirmations!

In addition, after the rally we plan on having activities available to celebrate this moment! More to follow.

We will provide a lot more information including the program for this event as our plans finalize throughout May – however this is one you DONT WANT TO MISS!!!

This will be our pep rally / celebration of the SCOTUS decisions, along with more information of upcoming challenges our community still faces for full equality alongside our straight allies!

And most of all, this is going to be FUN!

Cost To Attend

This event is FREE to attend! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate these cases making it to the Supreme Court, and we want everyone to participate in this historic moment with us!

Sponsor a Luminaire

The Center Orlando’s volunteer staff will be assembling and placing red luminaries around Lake Eola to symbolically “Paint The Town” red. This will be a visually stunning moment to celebrate Marriage Equality, the work that has taken place to get us to the Supreme Court, and to reflect on all of the struggles thus far, and work to be done still. If you would like to sponsor a luminaire, we are providing name tags for each bag that we will use to show your sponsorship! Please check our website for the rally to sponsor your own luminaire http://www.paintorlandored.com/

Volunteer

We are looking for volunteers who would like to join us at the Lake Eola Bandshell to help setup the area for the festivity, create the luminaires and distribute them around the lake, and to help afterwards with general cleanup and breakdown. If you would like to volunteer, please visit http://www.paintorlandored.com/ -> click on “contact us” and let us know!

Get ready to have a blast!

Filed Under: Events

OneDaytona Scholarships for LGBT Students Available

April 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Center LogoOneDaytona Scholarships, available to GLBT students attending colleges or vocational schools in Daytona Beach, Orlando, Gainesville and adjacent areas. Deadline to apply for the grants ($250 to $500) is May 15. Go to www.gaydaytona.com and click on the scholarship announcement in order to get details and copy and paste an application. The Ralph D. Smith Memorial Scholarships are based on academic performance, financial need and contributions to the GLBT community.

Filed Under: Orlando LGBT News

The Center Orlando Thanks Jason Collins, #98 on His Historic Announcement

April 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

sports-illustrated-jason-collins-coverToday, there is a gay Jackie Robinson walking among us.  If you saw the recent movie 42, it revolves around Jackie Robinson being the first black professional baseball player.  While baseball is in the background, the central theme of the story was of bravery, perseverance, and acceptance.  But it mainly concentrated on courage, of both Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers Executive Branch Rickey, who signed Robinson to his contract, and the players on the Dodger’s team, who displayed unity by supporting Robinson in many difficult situations.

Jason Collins may not be the most talented player in the NBA, but he now displays the most courage.  As being the first professional athlete to come out while an active player of the big four (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL), Jason has secured a place in LGBT and sports history.   At 7’2”, Jason is not a timid player….in fact, last year he led the NBA in number of fouls.  (He always aggravated Shaq by “flopping” in falling to the floor when Shaq charged the goal, often resulting in a foul against the former Orlando player).  A 12 year veteran, Jason has played on six different teams, resulting in a large contingent of teammates who are hearing the news along with us and, like our community are putting their thoughts together at this time.

While this is a momentous occasion for the LGBT Community, what will be interesting is to see how five different groups will react to Jason’s decision to be himself.

  1. OWNERS:  Jason took a risk and made this announcement just as he became a free agent.  This means he no longer has a contract with his former team, the Washington Wizards, and as a result, he is free to negotiate a contract with any of the NBA Teams.  At age 32, Jason is over the average age of NBA player, but he still offers  tenacity and size to any team who needs a big man, who also possesses hard working attitude.  I am sure the NBA home office will be working behind the scenes to make sure Jason is signed by a team because it would be a PR nightmare if he goes unsigned after announcing he is gay.  (Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Maverick always has said he would never shy away from having the first openly gay NBE player….well, now is the time to prove it)
  2. 2.     NBA PLAYERS:  In the movie 42, not only did Robinson’s teammates offer their support  and acceptance (but alas,  not everyone) but players from opposing teams would make an effort to reach out and shake Robinson’s hand or place an arm around his shoulder before hostile crowds.  Such minor exhibition of acceptance greatly changed the attitude of opposing home crowds.  Kudos to NBA superstar Kobe Bryant who tweeted : Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others. I am hoping that all professional athletes’ support will be reminiscent of when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive in 1989.  As a player in the All-Star Game that was held in Orlando after his brave announcement, Magic was greeted at mid court by every player on both teams, all with hugs, and some with kiss to cheek.  I will always recall how the NBA stepped up and honored Magic.  I hope they do the same there here with Jason.
  3. HOME CROWD:  Whichever team that signs Jason to a contract will need to work closely with their PR Department and the local LGBT community.   We all recognize that not everyone will be estatic and accepting of the first openly gay player but the home crowd’s reaction will have a major effect – not so much on Jason, but on the next gay athlete to come out of the closet.   If Jason averages 11 points and 10 rebounds a game, he will be a fan favorite.  If he averages 1.6 points and 2 rebounds a game, he will be criticized and some of the blame will be because of being gay.  It is a double edge sword.  And Robinson won over the Brooklyn crowd with his speed, his defense and his ability to get on base no matter what.  Jason will need to be productive.
  4. HOSTILE CROWD:  Outside of ice hockey (which as a glass barrier), no other sport brings the crowd so close to the action on the court as basketball.  As a result, part of the enjoyment of home crowd is heckling opposing players.  This includes young high school fans along with wealthy generic fans who are wealthy enough to sit directly behind the opposing bench and yell obscenities all night at the player (notice the elderly gentlemen at every Magic game  who is three rows behind the opposing team and spends 80% of the game heckling the players or the referees….I love him).  Jason said he expects an increase of harsh and vile language to be aimed at him next season.  I respect his attitude, but people can be very cruel, especially when you combine fanaticism with homophobia.  I hope he has a very thick skin.
  5. ADVERTISERS:  Some LGBT friendly businesses such as NIKE and APPLE have promised to be supportive of any professional athlete who comes out of the closet.  Here is their chance to prove it….. They need to treat Jason with same respect and reward as they do any skilled athlete.  Such attitude by major corporations will carry much weight with consumers.  We will be watching to see who will step up to the plate. (Yes, it was a mixed metaphor on purpose).

Thank you Jason.  As the man who wore the number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepherd (the year he was brutally murdered) , you are already making a difference in lives and will save many LGBT youth from suicide by having an athletic hero to follow.  Your courage is an inspiration to everyone.

Who is next? PRIDE.

 

Filed Under: GLBT News
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