By Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland City Councilmember At-Large–
On November 7, Mayor Sheng Thao, several elected officials, Oakland LGBTQ leaders, and Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider gathered to celebrate the opening of the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District. The organizing of community leaders and a resolution I wrote along with Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and Councilmembers Fife and Kalb came together to make this district a reality.
This metropolitan area has the highest percentage of LGBTQ residents of any metropolitan area in the entire United States, and Oakland has been at the forefront of fighting for justice and equity for the LGBTQ community, including the celebrations of Oakland Pride and Pridefest and the establishment of the oldest operating gay bar in the nation, but Oakland has lacked any designated LGBTQ cultural districts.
In 2023, a record number of bills restricting the rights of LGBTQ people have been introduced across the country, with a particular focus on eroding protections for trans youth, making efforts to sustain, protect, uplift, and celebrate LGBTQ people all the more critical.
Cultural districts are an important and established strategy for preserving, protecting, and expanding the cultural vitality of vulnerable communities, and LGBTQ cultural districts have proven successful in other cities. San Francisco alone has three designated cultural districts for the LGBTQ community, including the Transgender District, Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, and LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.
A coalition of LGBTQ community stakeholders has united to establish Oakland’s first LGBTQ cultural district in the Lakeshore area, with the mission of the District being to uplift the rich history of the LGBTQ Oakland community; cultivate a supportive environment for diverse LGBTQ individuals, families, allies, and businesses; and to nurture a safe, vibrant, and welcoming community.
The history of LGBTQ community and culture in Lakeshore includes Sistahs Steppin’ in Pride, an annual march and festival that brought the East Bay’s diverse queer women’s community together for a decade, and whose historic gathering and march began at Lake Merritt at the pillars between Lakeshore and Grand Avenues.
The District is home to a primary cultural hub for the LGBTQ community in the form of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, founded in 2017 as Oakland’s first nonprofit multiservice center dedicated to serving the multi-ethnic, intergenerational, LGBTQ community members. It is one of very few, all-inclusive LGBTQ community centers in the nation, led and founded by African Americans, and is the first such center in the state of California.
The District is home to a concentration of cultural facilities, creative enterprises, and arts venues owned and operated by LGBTQ people. In addition to the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, these institutions include the Queer Arts Center, Shakewell, Slick & Dapper, Modigliani Café, Kinetic Chiropractic, United Grooming, Baymade, Galleria Scola Picture Framing, VT Nail Spa, Alkali Rye Beverage Shop, Arizmendi Bakery, and Michael’s Chocolates.
The District is a walkable, compact area that is easy for visitors to recognize, and can act as a center for LGBTQ cultural activities—curative, artistic, and economic.
Councilmember At-Large and Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who is the Vice Mayor of Oakland, was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016 and 2020. She also serves on the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). Follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter @Kaplan4Oakland (https://tinyurl.com/2dtjmazc) and Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/2p9dd5ta).
Out of the Closet and into City Hall
Published on December 7, 2023
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