Philadelphia Pride showcased the best of the best of our community — from the nonprofit groups to the political leaders to the businesses to the bars to the allies, Philadelphia’s LGBT pride was brighter than ever last weekend. While Philly continues to be a bastion for equality in the Keystone State, residents can’t forget that Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania’s LGBT community, encompasses far more than what exists within our city limits.
In the majority of the state, you can still get fired for your LGBT identity. Just last month, out Republican state Rep. Mike Fleck lost his primary (but won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate), in what many suspect was backlash for his coming out. Last week, a clerk averse to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Schuylkill County sought to appeal the state’s marriage-equality ruling, while legislators introduced resolutions urging the governor to do so. Pennsylvania may have marriage equality, but in large portions of the state, equality is just a goal, not yet a reality.
LGBT history has shown that the strength and potential of the community lies in the word itself; by organizing around our common ideals and ideas, we can move our issues forward, as well as foster individual empowerment. Those are among the goals of a project announced this week: the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center.
The center, to be located in downtown Allentown, will be the first LGBT community center in the Lehigh Valley; only five others exist across the state. Organizers note that, without a physical space to offer programming, services and resources, LGBT activities in the area have been fragmented, and needs have gone unmet. But, with a homebase of sorts, LGBT individuals will be able to access the resources they need more readily and efficiently, and the community, an already-flourishing and quickly growing entity, will have a building block to move it forward.
The campaign to bring the building to fruition needs the support of LGBTs and allies beyond the Lehigh Valley. Its opening will not just be a boon for residents of that area, but the entire state. The more we can strength and organize LGBT communities in all corners of the state, the more successful our entire fight for full LGBT equality in Pennsylvania will be; having equality in Philadelphia should not preclude local LGBTs from being invested in the fight for equality of our neighbors.
We need to look beyond the borders of Philadelphia to support efforts ongoing in towns large and small in our state. Pennsylvania recently won a monumental victory for LGBT equality, but having a law on the books doesn’t necessarily eradicate the homophobia and discrimination LGBT Pennsylvanians face daily. Those ills, instead, are combated by LGBT community groups like those whose work will be strengthened by the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center.