A man wielding a golf club shattered the windows of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center Saturday morning in what the organization co-founder says was a targeted attack.
Joe Hawkins, one of two center co-founders, said in a Facebook post that the center was targeted because it is a LGBTQ organization founded and led by two Black gay men. Hawkins and Jeff Myers founded the center in 2017. A year later, it was designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit by the State of California.
“Our organization is Black-led and queer. We have a large banner on our window that says Black LGBTQ Lives Matter Too!” Hawkins said. “We are clear that this was a hate crime that could have caused us to be targeted because we are Black and because we are LGBTQ.”
Hawkins said witnesses saw a bicyclist wielding a golf club approaching the center shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday. Vendors who were setting up in front of the center, located on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland’s Lake Merritt district, watched the incident unfold, Hawkins said.
“He had a golf club with him and began smashing our windows and yelling expletives,” Hawkins said.
One of the vendors yelled at the man to stop, but witnesses told Hawkins that the man, “hopped on his bike and rode off” from the center. In photos posted to the center’s Facebook, plywood can be seen covering the shattered windows.
“I want to first thank everyone who showed up to help us clean up and everyone offering support to us through this difficult and emotional time,” Hawkins said. “We appreciate you so much.”
The incident happened on a weekend where virtual celebrations commemorating Pride replaced in-person gatherings in the Bay Area and beyond due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Officer Johnna Watson, an Oakland police spokeswoman, told The Chronicle that the Police Department is “aware of this incident and we are actively investigating.”
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf condemned the incident in an interview with reporters during the start of the Pink Torch Procession beginning at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland Saturday. She said it damaged the otherwise celebratory time meant to support and uplift the LGBTQ community.
“The idea that people think that hate is still not a reality, that we have so much more to fight for, for dignity, for justice, for people’s freedom from fear and intimidation and violence. This is just another reminder of all the more work we have to do,” Schaaf said. “They can smash our windows, they cannot smash our spirit, our pride, and the fact that this Bay Area is a sanctuary, a place for everyone, for every identity, for every kind of love, a place where everyone is not just welcomed but honored and celebrated.”
Schaaf went on to say that, “We are not going to let COVID or hate get us down and stop our march toward justice.”
Hawkins urged people on Facebook to call Schaaf’s office to, “demand to know what the City is doing to make Oakland safer for Black and LGBTQ residents.”
Justin Berton, a spokesman for Schaaf, told The Chronicle that, “The mayor has been unequivocal, and particularly in the past few weeks, that symbols of hate have no place in Oakland. These acts traumatize our community and will not be tolerated.”
Saturday’s incident comes just over a week after several nooses and an effigy in the shape of a human body were found hanging on trees around Lake Merritt.
Hawkins also urged community members to call Oakland police to demand they “make hate crimes against Black and LGBTQ people a priority in Oakland” and invited people to donate to the center.
Lauren Hernández is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
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Oakland LGBTQ center windows shattered on Pride weekend - San Francisco Chronicle
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