Herland Sister Resources

New efforts are underway to organize an OKC Gay and Lesbian Community Center. An initial meeting was held January 6, 2005 at the Center, 2135 NW 39th.

Core LGBT organizations were invited to send representatives to form an ad hoc committee that will advise the Board of Directors and work on special projects. The core organizations invited to participate include: The Center, Cimarron Alliance Foundation, Herland Sister Resources, Red Rock Behavioral Services, Young Gay/Lesbian Alliance, Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, NAACP, Brother To Brother, Inc., Two Spirit Society, College LBGT student organizations, ACLU, Oklahoma Gayly, DBAMetro, Central Oklahoma Human Rights Alliance, Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma, Church of the Open Arms, and Womyn of Color.

The incoming Board of Directors includes: Brad Beatty, Vice President of Nursing at Bone and Joint Hospital, who will serve as President; Keli Gillette, Mark Knight, Shonda Lewis, and Gary Hooker.

Some initial programming for the upcoming year is listed below:

• Information and Referral - serving as a clearinghouse for information on the gay community and services on the local, state, national and even international levels.
• Discussion groups/activities - weekly presentations by knowledgeable people on issues for the gay community. (e.g. Marriage Amendment, GLBT health issues, Adoption, Workplace discrimination).
• Diversity Ball - a gay-themed prom for lgbt youth and their allies.
• National Coming Out Day activities - education and support for those coming out; recognizing businesses that are gay-friendly.
• Pride - our annual celebration of pride in being LGBT. The Center will support the plans and efforts of OKC Pride.
• Emergency housing projects for youth (Diversity House) and for adults (Lambda Living).
• Bayard Rustin Living Learning Project - an alternative education project for glbt youth who are unable or unwilling to attend traditional public school.
• Dining With Dignitaries - a political dinner where lgbt youth and policy makers discuss policies that affect the gay community.
• Organizational Meeting Space - serve as venue for lgbt organizational meetings.
• Community Barbecue Series - a get together of the gay community each summer month on a Saturday afternoon with live entertainment and, of course, barbecue.
• Phone/Email Tree - a call to action/ rapid notification service using a network of phone numbers and email addresses.
• Archives/History project - finding an appropriate facility to archive the local gay/lesbian community information including an oral history.
• Job board - a message board at the Center space and in cyberspace that list jobs available or people looking for employment.

Contact Toshav Storrs at 524-1311 or via email at BTBOKCmetro@aol.com with comments, suggestions or questions.

February marks the beginning of Black History Month - an annual celebration that has existed since 1926. But what are the origins of Black History Month?

Much of the credit can go to Harvard Scholar Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who was determined to bring Black History into the mainstream public arena. Woodson devoted his life to making “the world see the Negro as a participant rather than as a lay figure in history.”

In 1926 Woodson organized the first annual Negro History Week, which took place during the second week of February. Woodson chose this date to co-incide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln - two men who had greatly impacted the black population.

Over time, Negro History Week evolved into the Black History Month that we know today - a four-week-long celebration of African American History.

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than
sincere ignorance & conscientious stupidity.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.