The LGBTQ Center of Durham – the city’s first – held an official ribbon-cutting on Wed. Oct. 7 at its new home at 114 Hunt St. Devoted to serving the entire spectrum of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, the center “has been a community effort that has spanned across the city, the county, the whole area,” said Helena Cragg, board chair for the center. “I can’t possibly begin to thank everyone who has helped us to get to this moment.”
While construction still continues on the space, Helena said it was important to hold fast to the opening date, as Sunday is National Coming Out Day. “We are also two years from when we first started on this journey,” she said. “I wanted us to get together and really celebrate that we pulled this off after what? … 33 years, Mandy [Carter] has repeated that she’s been in Durham without a center. Whether we have every little ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed, I really don’t care.”
Mandy, a nationally prominent LBGT activist and co-founder of SONG (Southerners on New Ground) and of the National Black Justice Coalition, was the keynote speaker at the event. Durham City Council members, county commissioners and city employees were also present, including City Councilmen Don Moffitt and Eddie Davis and County Commissioners Wendy Jacobs and Brenda Howerton, who called the occasion “a momentous day,” adding, “This is what community looks like.”
