Jabari Lyles: GLCCB New on October 14, Lyles Before He Got the Job of Credit: Says Some Financial Rich Working with the GLCCB Reports from Pride Wertman and GLSEN
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AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER COMMUNITIES October 30, 2015 | Volume XIII, Issue 13 the Hippo. As of the by his experiences. He has Jabari last board meeting taught in Baltimore City Lyles Jabari Lyles: GLCCB New on October 14, Lyles before he got the job of credit: says some financial Rich working with the GLCCB reports from Pride Wertman and GLSEN. He grew up in Executive Director and had not yet been re- Pikesville, where he says ceived as requested. he was sheltered withing a BYB JACO PIERCE The Center is majority white population. Politicians are often elected to office on also dealing with the “I didn’t know how much I a bevy of campaign promises, vows to Clean-Up Man fallout surrounding benefitted from white priv- restore voters’ trust, and to right the wrongs the dismissal of Lon- ilege, and had all the white of the previous administration. Jabari Lyles, tive directors in that time: Joel Tinsley–Hall, nie Walker, the former friends.” He admitted he “re- the new executive director and board presi- Paul Liller, Kelly Neel, and Matthew Thorn. program coordina- jected [his] blackness” un- dent of the GLCCB, Baltimore’s LGBT com- Lyles hopes to improve the Center’s image tor. Walker has been til he met individuals in the munity center, faces something like that sit- within the community, he said, and the dif- charged with burglary community who contributed uation now, after the sudden resignation of ference was evident as program coordinator in the second and to a refreshingly changed the previous interim director, Paul Liller. Kevin Holt and board member David Sugar fourth degrees, theft self-perception. Is he not Lyles spoke with this reporter about his cleaned and rearranged furniture, keeping of less than $1,000, “black enough”? He insists take on the difficulties facing the GLCCB, the place from “looking like a basement.” malicious destruction he has seen “all the Friday Baltimore Pride, and racial divisions within Baltimore Pride is a key focus, Lyles of property, theft from movies” and has had “all the Baltimore. He also talked about plans to wel- states, of which he says “he knows it could’ve $10,000 to under $100,000, and trespassing chitlins I can eat,” though “that won’t do any- come all members of the community to the been better.” As in the past, this year Pride on private property. thing for that community.” center. included regular events such as the Twilight Lyles is candid about the problems with the “My parents always told me,” Lyles says, “A change going to come” to the GLCCB, on the Terrace, the high-heel race, the pa- Center’s finances and accounting. To address “you can speak as well as you want, have as Lyles said, adding that the place to start was rade, the block party, and “Sunday in the this problem, he has “initiated an internal audit” many leadership positions as you want, have from within the institution. “The staff here I Park.” This year also had some negatives, and “will corroborate those [Pride reports] with as many white friends as you want but you think really experienced a decrease in mo- according to some critics, such as being held our PNC accounts and we’re going to come up are still a black man.” rale this entire year,” he said, with the Center in July instead of June, and the relocation with those numbers ourselves.” In moving the GLCCB forward, Lyles going through four previous interim execu- of some parts of the block party to behind Lyles’ perspectives on race were shaped —continued on page 3 The Great Pepper Hill Club Raid BMY JI BECKER and 60s.The club This month marks the 60th anniversary of was appropriately of 1955 one of the most infamous incidence of gay located at 200 North persecution in the history of Baltimore. On Gay Street, just a block from the Central Po- Saturday, October 1, 1955, the Baltimore Po- lice Station, and had notoriety as a gay club lice Department raided the Pepper Hill Club even to straight Baltimoreans. The club was and arrested all 162 people in the bar – pa- central to the nightlife of Baltimore’s neces- trons, employees, and the owners. sity highly secretive gay community and the Those arrested were charged with disor- scale of the arrests shocked and no doubt derly conduct. The owners of the bar, Mor- caused panic. ton Cohen and Vincent Lance, were also The Baltimore Sun reported on October charged with running a disorderly house. 3, 1955, that the police said that the majority Inside the The Pepper Hill was a segregated white of the people arrested were from Washington Pepper Hill gay bar, as were many clubs, restaurants, D.C., Sergeant Hyman Goldstein of the vice Club, circa movie theaters, and other places of public squad, who led the raid, said, “We have re- 1950s accommodation in the Baltimore of the 1950s —continued on page 3 BALTIMORE OUTLOUD OCTOBER 30, 2015 • BALTIMOREOUTLOUD.COM t 1 2 t BALTIMORE OUTLOUD OCTOBER 30, 2015 • BALTIMOREOUTLOUD.COM NEWS // LOCAL J ABARI LYLES: GLCCB NeW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR people of color predominately or prevalently – continued from page 1 in your programming?” Lyles asks. He adds that he is open to working with other organi- states he will indeed make the Center more zations with Latinos, Muslims, Wiccans, and colorful with all races, nationalities, genders, others to provide a safe haven. Lyle states and religious backgrounds. “How could you he wants to be “Judged based upon his ac- not have a community center in Baltimore tions” and for the GLCCB “to be a place of that doesn’t really put the needs and ideas of resource for the community.” t PEPPER HILL Club RAID hour trial, the state presented evidence that – continued from page 1 male patrons were observed hugging and kissing and some witnesses alleged acts of ceived word that Washington police are con- indecency. Sergeant Goldstein testified that ducting a drive on homosexuals; apparently he had visited the club previously and warned some of them are coming to Baltimore for the owners “about allowing homosexuals to their entertainment.” congregate there.” Although he dismissed The next day most the charges, Judge of the charges were Pepper Hill Cullen said that he dismissed by Magis- Club, circa approved of such trate Meyer M. Cardin 1968 warnings by the police credit: Charles sitting in the Central Hughtes because the Liquor Police Court. Four Board lacks the staff people were convict- to check on such es- ed of disorderly con- tablishments. duct and one woman During the 1956 for assaulting a police session of the Mary- officer. Cardin also land General Assem- threw out the running bly, the Baltimore a disorderly house Police Commissioner charges against Cohen and Lance. There and the officers that led the raid were “invit- was apparently somewhat of a circus atmo- ed” by the Baltimore City delegation to come sphere in the courtroom with some of those to Annapolis to explain their actions. The arrested making light of the situation much to Sun reported on February 1 that the motion the displeasure of the authorities. requesting the appearance of the commis- Despite the extreme gay oppression sioner and involved police officers said that prevalent at the time, the raid created some “steps must be taken to insure that it will not controversy. On October 4, the Sun reported happen again.” A law was passed banning that Delegate Jerome Robinson, represent- mass arrest. (See article by Jim Burroway ing Baltimore City, criticized the police and in the Box Turtle Bulletin at Boxturtlebulletin. Sergeant Goldstein, who he said had set com/2015/10/02/70962) himself up as “censor of community morals.” The Pepper Hill closed in 1968 and the Robinson said that “decent, straight-thinking building was demolished (along with the Baltimoreans” had hoped “police mass raids Central Police Station) to make way for the were a thing of the past.” (There had been final section of the Jones Falls Expressway. a mass arrest in June, 1954, at the straight Although the patrons at the bar on the night Club Oasis on the Block and the then police of October 1, 1955, didn’t fight back as hap- Commissioner had declared that it would not pened 14 years later in the Stonewall bar, happen again.) Robinson added that other the raid could be viewed as a small victory methods should be used in dealing with the because gay citizens of Baltimore and Mary- “public problem of massing homosexuals in land could not be rounded up en masse just licensed establishments.” for being in a club with a gay clientele. t Following the dismissal of the disorderly [Note: Just as I was completing this arti- house charges against the Pepper Hill pro- cle I found an account posted October 27 on prietors, the Sun reported on October 8 that DailyKos.com by Wayoutinthestix that covers Cohen and Lance were indicted by the Grand much of what I have written with additional Jury of operating the bar for “the purpose of thoughts and commentary. He appears to lewdness and assignation and as a disorder- have relied heavily on the Sun digital archive ly house.” also. Here’s the link to his account: Dailykos. According to an article in the November com/story/2015/10/27/1441385/-LGBT-His- 23 issue of the Sun, Judge James K. Cullen tory-Stonewall-Baltimore-style-1955#. He dismissed those charges and declared that came out after the bar had been torn down.