Honoring Black History Month and the importance of Black-centered recovery spaces at The Center
Throughout February, The Center has been celebrating Black History Month, where we are imagining what #BlackQueerJoy could look like. We take inspiration from the path-breaking impact of Center Dinner honorees like Michaela Jae Rodriguez and Roxane Gay; the far-reaching accomplishments of our RiseOut Advocacy Council members; and the (her)stories of Second Tuesday speakers such as Audre Lorde.
The Center was born of community activism in response to the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s. Gay New Yorkers were committed to ensuring there was a place for LGBTQ+ people to access the information, care, and support that were unavailable anywhere else in the city. One of the ways The Center has cultivated a safe space is by creating closed support groups where our community members can gather and be free from mainstream stereotypes and marginalization. For our Black and people of color LGBTQ+ community members these groups are essential spaces where they can be their authentic selves without the judgment and scrutiny of racism and white supremacy—spaces where they can simply be.
We sat down with The Center’s Substance Use Treatment Counselor, Jeremy Simmons (he/him/his), and Senior Director of Behavioral Health, Antonio Ruberto Jr. (all pronouns welcome), to reflect on what it means to commemorate and celebrate Black history and the importance of closed affinity group spaces.