Pacific Center for Human Growth
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Center for Human Growth, or simply the Pacific Center, is a community center focusing on LGBT
people. The center operates from a Victorian
house on Telegraph Avenue
south of the University of California in Berkeley, California
.
, a major city that neighbors Berkeley. Often referred to as the Berkeley LGBT or gay Center, it is the oldest LGBT community center in the Bay Area and the third oldest in the country. Will Roscoe
campaigned successfully in 1976 for United Way membership for the Pacific Center, the first LGBT agency to achieve this.
The Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus
was founded under the auspices of the Pacific Centre in 1999 before becoming an independent organization.
In 2001 the Pacific Center was involved in trying to help the city curb cruising for sex
by men in Berkeley Aquatic Park
by getting the city to set up a support network for men who have sex with men
that do not identify as gay
or bisexual. However, funding was never acquired.
In 2002 the center was vandalised with anti-gay
and neo-nazi
-themed tagging considered a "hate crime
" by the center. Flyers on the bulletin board at the entrance to the center were vandalized with the anti-gay slur "fag" and a swastika
.
When California
legalized same-sex marriage, the youth group at the center marched around the neighborhood with the rainbow flag
to celebrate the victory as the center was actively involved in campaigning for equal gay rights.
and the larger surrounding region
is known for their eclecticism and liberalism and the Pacific Center is not different.
In the past it has offered drag-quit smoking classes
, transsexual film screenings, and young queer
women's groups among other unique initiatves.
Today the center offers peer support groups alongside mental health counseling for LGBT people from the community. There is also a drop-in after school program for LGBT, Questioning, and Intersex
youth.
The center is located along the AC Transit
1R BRT
line and is within walking distance of Ashby
BART
station.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people. The center operates from a Victorian
Painted Lady
The Cynthia group of colourful butterflies, commonly called painted ladies, comprises a subgenus of the genus Vanessa in the Family Nymphalidae...
house on Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, USA, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California campus in Berkeley, California...
south of the University of California in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
History
The center was founded in 1973 as a response to a brutal gaybashing in downtown OaklandOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, a major city that neighbors Berkeley. Often referred to as the Berkeley LGBT or gay Center, it is the oldest LGBT community center in the Bay Area and the third oldest in the country. Will Roscoe
Will Roscoe
Will Roscoe is an American scholar, activist, and author based in San Francisco, California. He grew up in Missoula, Montana and helped found the Lambda Alliance at the University of Montana, that state's first LGBT organization in 1975, although he is heterosexual - Roscoe was inspired to...
campaigned successfully in 1976 for United Way membership for the Pacific Center, the first LGBT agency to achieve this.
The Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus
Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus
Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus is a 30 to 45 voice gay men's chorus and supporting non-profit organization based in Oakland, California. It was founded in 1999 by Dick Kramer , who had previously been the first choral director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus...
was founded under the auspices of the Pacific Centre in 1999 before becoming an independent organization.
In 2001 the Pacific Center was involved in trying to help the city curb cruising for sex
Cruising for sex
Cruising for sex, or cruising is the act of walking or driving about a locality in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety...
by men in Berkeley Aquatic Park
Aquatic Park (Berkeley)
Aquatic Park is a public park in Berkeley, California, United States, located just east of the Eastshore Freeway between Ashby and University Avenues. The park was created in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, simultaneous with its work on the nearby Berkeley Yacht Harbor...
by getting the city to set up a support network for men who have sex with men
Men who have sex with men
Men who have sex with men are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, regardless of how they identify themselves; many men choose not to accept sexual identities of homosexual or bisexual...
that do not identify as gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
or bisexual. However, funding was never acquired.
In 2002 the center was vandalised with anti-gay
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
and neo-nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
-themed tagging considered a "hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
" by the center. Flyers on the bulletin board at the entrance to the center were vandalized with the anti-gay slur "fag" and a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
.
When California
Same-sex marriage in California
The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so...
legalized same-sex marriage, the youth group at the center marched around the neighborhood with the rainbow flag
Rainbow flag
A rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of stripes in the colors of the rainbow. The actual colors shown differ, but many of the designs are based on the traditional scheme of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, or some more modern division of the rainbow spectrum .The...
to celebrate the victory as the center was actively involved in campaigning for equal gay rights.
Operations and location
The center, along with BerkeleyBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and the larger surrounding region
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
is known for their eclecticism and liberalism and the Pacific Center is not different.
In the past it has offered drag-quit smoking classes
Smoking cessation
Smoking cessation is the process of discontinuing the practice of inhaling a smoked substance. This article focuses exclusively on cessation of tobacco smoking; however, the methods described may apply to cessation of smoking other substances that can be difficult to stop using due to the...
, transsexual film screenings, and young queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
women's groups among other unique initiatves.
Today the center offers peer support groups alongside mental health counseling for LGBT people from the community. There is also a drop-in after school program for LGBT, Questioning, and Intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
youth.
The center is located along the AC Transit
AC Transit
AC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...
1R BRT
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
line and is within walking distance of Ashby
Ashby (BART station)
Ashby Station is a BART station, located beneath and parallel to Adeline Street, extending from Woolsey Street to Ashby Avenue in the southern part of Berkeley, California. It consists of an underground island platform...
BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
station.