Oakland LGBTQ Community Center

10/20/2026

Dear Community Care Partners,
We’re excited to invite you to a free presentation of the CA Immigrant Health Series, hosted by the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center in partnership with the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network.
📅 October 24th
🕒 3:00 PM
📍 Oakland LGBTQ Community Center – 3207 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland, CA 94610
This presentation will provide an opportunity for community members, HIV health care workers, service providers, and community-based organizations to learn more about immigrant health in Oakland and throughout California.
Participants will explore ways to support:
Immigrant justice
Health equity
LGBTQ+ inclusion
Access to culturally responsive health and support services
We especially encourage HIV health care workers, case managers, outreach workers, health navigators, and community service providers to attend and share this opportunity with colleagues and community members.
Registration is free:
Register here: See link on flyer or call 510-882-2286
We hope you’ll join us for this important conversation and help strengthen our collective support for immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities. 🌈

10/20/2026

10/12/2026

Today marks 28 years since the death of Matthew Shepard, an out gay 21-year-old college student who was brutally attacked, beaten and left tied to a fence in a field outside Laramie, Wyoming. He later died from his injuries on October 12, 1998. He was targeted because he was gay.

With increased visibility comes increased danger as anti-LGBTQ+ incidents continue to rise throughout the United States.
California records some of the highest absolute numbers of reported LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the United States, driven in part by its large out LGBTQ+ population.

Despite an overall crime drop in the U.S, in 2025, anti-LGBTQ+ violence remains alarmingly high.
There were 1,042 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents across 47 states and Washington, D.C., in 2025, according to the ALERT Desk, GLAAD’s Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker, marking a 5 percent increase from the 984 incidents in 2024. These included 128 acts of vandalism, 76 assaults, 22 threats of mass violence,15 arson attempts and 27 recorded trans homicides.
Transgender and gender non-conforming individuals were the target of 52% of all recorded incidents.

Pride events saw a dramatic increase in incidents, making 2025 "one of the most dangerous years on record for LGBTQ Americans," the report states. There were 268 incidents during June, a nearly 400 percent increase from the 54 incidents in June 2022, when GLAAD first began collecting data.

Through careful analysis of this data, the ALERT Desk provides in-depth information to keep our community aware and safe and provides resources for key stakeholders fighting against anti-LGBTQ hate at the local, state, and federal levels.

Politics is helping to fuel the hate. According to a report by the ACLU, in 2025, they tracked 616, anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S.

LGBTQ+ people are bullied, attacked, harassed and killed for being ourselves. It is critical that we all stand united against hate and violence directed towards LGBTQ+ people and our intersections, and for everyone’s right to be themselves, be safe, and be free.

Learn about the

10/12/2026

The Center is closed today in observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day.
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we recognize the Native peoples who have shaped this land for thousands of years.
We honor and respect their rich history, enduring cultures, and the contributions of Indigenous Peoples today and every day.
​🌾🌄
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10/11/2026

Fall is just around the corner, and we are excited to bring the Lakeshore community together for another fun-filled Candy Crawl & Harvest Festival! We would love for your business to participate and help make this year’s event a huge success.

Candy Crawl & Harvest Festival
Saturday, October 24th | 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

How the Candy Crawl Works

- 10:00 AM: The event kicks off at Lakeshore Baptist Church with a Harvest Festival on the church green.
- 11:00 AM: The Halloween parade leaves the church and heads toward the corner of Mandana and Lakeshore, officially beginning the Candy Crawl on the west side of Lakeshore Avenue.
- The Route: The trail continues down Lakeshore toward the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, crosses the street, and proceeds back up the east side of the Avenue, finishing at Lakeshore Baptist Church.
Other activities include:
- Crafts and games
- A selfie stand with a Mira, Zoey, and Rumi from KPop Demon Hunters photo backdrop
- A freshly made corndog lunch served by the Lakeshore Baptist community
- Cupcake decorating
We hope to see you there.

10/11/2026

SAVE THE DATE FOR SOME HALLOWEEN FUN & CREATIVITY
AHHHHH!! The Lakeshore District’s Sip and Paint is back!! This time it’s a spooky edition👻😱 . Join us for an evening of relaxation and fun as we sip and paint from 6-9p
@ THE PEACH 3257 Lakeshore Ave, on Saturday, Oct 24th .
Remember all skill levels welcome, materials provided, and it’s free to join. We will see you there! 🎃.

***revents

10/11/2026

National Coming Out Day (NCOD)
Today is National Coming Out Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of civil rights for the le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender and q***r community.

National Coming Out Day is meant to help create an environment where living openly and honestly feels possible, safe, and empowering.

The idea for the day was the culmination of four months of momentum where more than 100 activists were gathered in Manassas, Virginia, near Washington D.C., and conceived by psychologist Richard Eicherg and activist Jean O’Leary on Oct. 11, 1988. Their meeting followed the second march on Washington for Le***an and Gay Rights on Oct. 11, 1987, in which half a million people participated and the AIDS Quilt was displayed.

Coming out is one of the most courageous acts any LGBTQ+ person can experience, and on National Coming Out Day that courage remains essential to our continued progress toward full equality and self exceptance.

The emphasis on the most basic form of activism being coming out to family, friends, and colleagues, and living life as an openly LGBTQ+ person. The founders believed that homophobia and transphobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence, fear, and ignorance and that once people know that we exist and that they have family, friends, and loved ones who are LGBTQ, they are far less likely to maintain hateful, homophobic or transphobic oppressive views.
As LGBTQ+ people across the nation and around the world continue to come out, opposition to equality will continue to crumble. Sharing our stories is a key way each of us can fight back against attempts to turn back the clock on LGBTQ+ progress and equality.🌈

10/11/2026

VOTE TODAY!
Casting a ballot matters.
Elections are often won from a very few votes. Defending LGBTQ+ rights and the rights of all marginalized communities, takes more than one vote, it takes all of us showing up to make a difference. There are local and state-wide issues that will affect our every day lives.

🗳Early Voting Started Oct 5, 2026

📬Vote by Mail Started Oct 5, 2026

🆔️Photo ID Required: All voters must bring a valid photo ID when voting.

✅️Election Day is November 3, 2026

To learn about what's on the ballot, in-person voting locations and more, visit the official election site
acvote.alamedacountyca .gov

10/08/2026

International Le***an Day is celebrated annually on October 8th to celebrate their history, power and diversity, and to foster community awareness. We thank the Le***an community for all that they have done and continue to do to support, lead, and make a positive difference in our communities here in Oakland, the Bay Area and around the world.🌈

10/06/2026

CONDE NAST TRAVELOR READERS CHOICE RANKS OAKLAND AS A TOP 10 BIG CITY IN THE UNITED STATES.

For two years in a row Conde Nast Travelor has ranked Oakland as the #1 Best Food City in the United States. This year, two Bay Area cities made the Readers Choice list of Best U.S. cities. San Francisco ranked #2 (behind Chicago) and Oakland ranked #6 giving the Bay Area region a reason to celebrate on both sides of the Bay!.

Oakland punches above its weight in the food and culture department because it is home to California's most racially diverse population and one of the seven most diverse cities in the nation. The natural beauty of Oakland with its rolling hills, giant redwood trees, mild mediterranean climate, vibrant music and arts scene, and close proximity to San Francisco, Berkeley, the Bay and Pacific Ocean, only add to its appeal.

Oakland is the birthplace of the Black Panther Party and despite aggresive gentrification, Oakland is still home to the 2nd largest Black population in California next to Los Angeles. Oakland also ranks as having one of the highest percentages of LGBTQ+ residents among major U.S. metropolitan statistical areas according to the Williams Institute.

Thank you Conde Nast readers for recognizing what we already knew, Oakland is hella dope!🌈
Visit Oakland