Orlandos GLBT Community Organization
The Center Orlando Cordially Invites you to Join
The Domestic Partner Registry
Throughout Gay Days 2013
For an appointment please visit the Center Booth at the Doubletree Expo
or call 407.228.8272
Doubletree Seaworld is located at 10100 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32821
It is at the Intersection of Hwy 528 and International Drive.
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.
ORLANDO — 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
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...]
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!
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Food Trucks, Wine/Beer Trucks – So Arrive Early!
7:00PM – 8:30 PM
Julie Ohrberg Singing National Anthem with Orlando Gay Veterans Presentation of the Colors
Speakers:
Joy MCC Terri Steed, Susanna and Scott Randolph, Vivian Rodriguez / U.S. Congressman Alan Grayson, Rob Domenico, State Representative Joe Saunders, Nadine Smith
8:30 PM – 10:00 PM
DJ Ants Spinning From Lake Eola Bandshell!
Food Trucks, Wine/Beer Trucks
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://
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://
Get ready to have a blast!
Wanzie Presents Confessions of a Prairie Bitch starring Alison Arngrim at Parliament House! Two shows will be available: May 11th, and May 12th 2013. Tickets are on sale now at http://www.wanzie.com
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.
[Read more...]
The Center Orlando Board of Directors, Executive Director, Staff, Volunteers, and Members have been leading a charge across the entire social media spectrum of services within the past 24 hours! We are so proud of the work that has been done, and we want to highlight some of the major accomplishments, along with some of our upcoming work! If you are not following us on Facebook or Twitter, you should really get on there as soon as possible to follow along – we post real time updates over on these outlets on the changing equality landslide.
Let’s Paint the Town Red Campaign
Drew Sizemore is a figurehead in the graphic design business within Orlando. Drew chose to put together a campaign entitled “Paint the Town Red” for social media. Within hours, Drew’s cover artwork has spread across hundreds of thousands of Facebook pages, Fan Pages, Tumblr posts, and Tweets! Drew Sizemore’s campaign has gone global, and we could not be more proud of his work in converting the internet into a place of beautiful red skylines! You can download your own city skyline here for your page!
RED Equal Rights Profile Photo Campaign
Our social media experts in the Orlando Community have been hard at work equalizing people’s profiles into RED equality overlays on profile images in support of the Supreme Court Hearings of our two major cases before the court. These profile photos demonstrate a support for equality and love. We have to give a huge thank you to community members Matt Cameron, Zachary Murray, Todd Smoyer, Joseph Tyler, and Michael Vacirca. With their tireless efforts they have equalized over 3,000 profile photos and counting!
Supreme Court Town Hall Meeting
This Wendnesday, March 27th 2013, the Center will be hosting a town hall meeting at 7pm at The Center (946 North Mills Ave) open for EVERYONE to come by and meet our local OADO, HRC, ACLU, and Center staff who will speak about the two Supreme Court Hearings, what the impact may be to our local community, and how we plan on moving forward no matter what decision we receive in June to continue our march towards full equal status within the United States of America.
Supreme Court Town Hall Meeting
March 27th, 2013 (Wednesday Night)
Starting at 7:00 PM
at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Central Florida
946 North Mills Ave
The Center, ACLU, Equality Florida, HRC and OADO will be participating in Town Hall meeting discussing the DOMA and Prop 8 hearings before The Supreme Court followed by C-SPAN live broadcast addressing the hearings.
Wednesday night, beginning at 7 PM at The Center.
