Billy DeFrank Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center
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The Billy DeFrank Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center is a non-profit organization that promotes services for and about the gay community of San Jose, California and Santa Clara County. It started on March 3, 1981.
The Mission Statement of the DeFrank Center is: The Billy DeFrank Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center strengthens communities by developing diverse resources that empower lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies.
The DeFrank Center's current Executive Director is Aejaie Sellers.
[edit] History
The DeFrank Center is named after Billy DeFrank, the stage name of William Price (1936–1980), an African-American and prominent 1970s gay rights activist and a member of the Bay Area's drag community. The Billy DeFrank Lesbian and Gay Community Center opened its doors on March 1, 1981 in a two-room storefront on Keyes St. in south downtown San Jose. A year earlier, the DeFrank Center's founders had watched with concern as Santa Clara County residents voted to repeal ordinances extending housing and employment protections to lesbians and gay men.
The new DeFrank Center emerged from a desire to respond to this setback. As its first visitors entered they crossed the threshold to a new era of possibility for the gay and lesbian community of the South Bay and celebrated an important victory. Since then, the DeFrank Center has continued to inspire purposeful action and ensure a safe place to gather for all LGBT people and their allies in the Silicon Valley area.
More than two decades have passed since those modest beginnings on Keyes Street. Today, the DeFrank Center serves a large and diverse community. Each month over a thousand people visit the DeFrank Center at its current quarters on 938 The Alameda, and many more call the Information & Resources telephone number (408.293.2429). From all around the 9 counties of the Bay Area, the DeFrank Center provides resources to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of all ages and backgrounds that are not available elsewhere.
While the DeFrank Center's history is only a little more than half the age of the Stonewall events, the movement is fueled by the events of that time. William Price (Billy DeFrank) knew it and his legacy remains a call to action for the LGBT community to continue his important work. The DeFrank Center continues to fight for equality, liberty and justice for all and provide opportunities for positive social identification. The DeFrank Center is “a place to call home.”
