CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The LGBT Community Center of Charlotte announced on Wednesday that it will hold a community town hall meeting on Dec. 4.
“The town hall will be an open forum style meeting with The Board of the LGBT Community Center of Charlotte,” the group said on Facebook. “There will be no agenda. The LGBT Community Center invites all members of the community to participate, and to share your observations, concerns, and voice your opinions.”
A moderator for the town hall has not yet been announced.
The center’s announcement came after more than a week of commentaries and reports from this publication’s editor, Matt Comer, which he shared on his personal blog. Comer has alleged the center’s past and current leadership does not respond to community feedback and has failed to be transparent and accountable. In one instance, Comer found that the center had let its charitable solicitation license from the North Carolina Secretary of State expire last August, two months before the group held its first annual fundraising dinner.
The group says the event is the first of what will become four similar town hall-type of events held each year. They said such meetings “will become a tradition of openness for the LGBT Community Center of Charlotte.”
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m., at the LGBT Community Center of Charlotte, 2508 N. Davidson St. in Charlotte.
When I came out many, many years ago the LGBT community was inclusive everywhere I went. The first time I encountered other people like me was when I moved to San Francisco in 1969 and since then our community has grown to what it is today. The personality of our community was welcoming to each other because we had a commonality and a bond. Everywhere I went in the Castro district I got hugs from everyone, dissemination among our community was not present, we loved each other. I was proud to be me because I felt welcomed by others like me. When I moved to Chicago with Sonny my eyes were opened even more. Our community was a proud people, we had events to raise money for cancer victims, Aids was not in our minds at the time because there was none. We had no ill feelings or ego’s like today.
As some of you know I have worked my ass off trying to gain rights for our community, like The Anti-Hate Crimes Bill, DADT, The Bulling Act and the Employment Non Discrimination Act. Now I’m sorry to say our own community center here in Charlotte is fighting against us. Actually legally they have a right too because they are not really a community center as you might think. They are a Non Profit Private corporation. They control what they think is good for you, using your money along with grants they seek out providing services that are not really intended for the betterment of the community, like bingo. They claim they provide a place that is safe and welcoming for other LGBT groups and events,but at a cost to the groups who meet at the center and must pay to use it. This practice is within in their right, because remember they are a private corporation who claims to be there for the community but you have no say, you have no right to attend board meetings. They have no certified independent annual audits to show transparency.
My solution is, since they are a private corporation that provides a service to the community using your donations and grants. I propose that we the community, create an oversight committee comprised of community leaders to make sure your dollars are being spent on community needs. Also I propose that since they are a private corporation that provides a service like a contractor providing a service to the city of Charlotte, we the community should demand they the LGBT Community Center of Charlotte incorporated sign a contract like any other corporation. This is just smart business to prevent your intended dollars to be spent on things that are not for the betterment of the community.