Disclaimer: The author of this post, Aaron Yeager, was an employee at Akron AIDS Collaborative, the organization that manages the Bayard Rustin LGBTQ+ Resource Center, at the time the post was published.
Contributors: Rachel Jamison and Aaron Yeager.
This year, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Akron AIDS Collaborative opened the Bayard Rustin LGBTQ+ Resource Center, in Akron, Ohio. It’s a safe space for people who identify as queer, to hang out and use services, such as a free clothing bank, designed for trans people, called Rustin’s Rack; free HIV and COVID-19 testing; case management services, for people who currently don’t have housing, or need help navigating social services, such as food stamps; and much, much more.
The Center is also Afrocentric, meaning it’s informed by and tailored to the Black LGBTQ+ experience. In addition to functioning as a safe space to hang out, it’s hosting a lot of regular and upcoming events — read more about them below.
LGBTQ+ Outreach Dinner
The Center’s signature event, the weekly LGBTQ+ Outreach Dinner, is a chance for people to gather and bond with others from the community, while also enjoying a hot meal. In the past, they’ve served fried chicken and mac ‘n cheese, spaghetti and salad, and fajitas and tortilla chips.
Akron’s International Transgender Day of Visibility Celebration
Along with Margie’s Hope, QuTheatr, Goodyear Pride Network, and Akron Equity Pride, Akron AIDS Collaborative is hosting a celebration of all things trans, at The Well CDC, in Akron. It’ll include a free clothing pop-up, theater workshops, COVID and HIV testing, an art station, a sensory center, open mic, selfie stations, and a graffiti wall! You can RSVP to it on Facebook.
Makeup Mondays
In addition to makeup tutorials and opportunities to meet people from the community, Makeup Monday offers discussions that are relevant to Black, Indigenous, and people of color, who identify as femme. The Center also provides free makeup and supplies to participants.
Bro-Code
Started 22 years ago as the Akron Brother Circle, and hosted by Equitas Health, Bro-Code offers a welcoming place for Black, same gender-loving men to bond, through activities and discussions relevant to their experience.
HIV Testing
In addition to offering free COVID-19 testing without an appointment, as well as free self-test kits, the Rustin LGBTQ+ Resource Center also does HIV testing, in partnership with Equitas Health, by walk-in and appointment.