A personal photo of Pacific Center’s founders, walking at Gay Freedom Day—now PRIDE—Parade in 1974, the year of Pacific Center’s establishment.
Left to right in the photo: founder Richard Boxer; a friend of Jim Green’s; founder Jim Green.
The Berkeley Revolution
A digital archive of the East Bay's transformation in the late-1960s & 1970s
Pacific Center Founders at Gay Freedom Day Parade
Date: 6/30/74
Citation:
Jim Green, "Richard Boxer, a Friend from Canada, and Jim Green," June 30, 1974. Courtesy of Jim Green.
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1. From East Bay Gay to Pacific Center: Early Years (1973-76)
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East Bay Gay Day Festival
–6/17/73–Images of the queer festival held at Berkeley's Ho Chi Minh Park
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East Bay Gay Will Counsel Gays
–7/20/73–East Bay Gay expands service to include free counseling sessions
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Pacific Center Founders at Gay Freedom Day Parade
–6/30/74–Pacific Center founders Jim Green and Richard Boxer, in the year of the Center's establishment
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Bifurcate East Bay Gay Group
–8/9/74–A group of "users" of East Bay Gay spoke harshly of its "directorship"
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East Bay Gay Split ‘Not Real’
–8/30/1974–East Bay Gay was a social service agency, not a social club, said its director, in response to a controversy that threatened it
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East Bay Gay Opens New Center
–12/19/74–When East Bay Gay opened its brick-and-mortar Pacific Center, it signalled a new inclusiveness
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Gay Switchboard
–5/8/75–Pacific Center began with a Gay Switchboard that was pivotal for the queer community
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Same-Sex Choices
–1/15/76–Through its Sexual Minority Prisoner Program, Pacific Center reached out to queer people who were incarcerated
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Commendation from Alameda County
–3/76–An official commendation for the Pacific Center for mental health services.
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Dear Amazons: An Open Letter
–5/76–Shut out by the Berkeley Women's Center, a self-declared "separatist dyke" acknowledged Pacific Center's hospitality
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2. Serving and Celebrating the Community in Its Complexity (1976-1983)
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Dear Amazons: An Open Letter
–5/76–Shut out by the Berkeley Women's Center, a self-declared "separatist dyke" acknowledged Pacific Center's hospitality
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Lou Sullivan’s First Visit to Pacific Center
–7/27/76–Lou was disappointed to discover that a trans support group was "like a hippie crash pad scene"
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Lou Sullivan’s Second Visit to Pacific Center
–10/12/1976–Lou opened up at his second visit to a trans support group — and appreciated it more
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Lesbians of Color at 1977 SF Gay Freedom Day
–6/25/77–Lesbians of Color represent Pacific Center at 1977 SF Gay Freedom Day
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Pacific Center Women’s Calendar (For Women Only)
–4/78–A snapshot of Pacific Center's diverse range of programs -- and of its balancing act
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Pacific Center Is Moving To Telegraph
–1979–Pacific Center hoped to move in April 1979 from San Pablo Ave to a more capacious Victorian house on Telegraph
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Pacific Center Raps
–7/1979–Trans folks from as far as Sacramento and San Jose attended rap groups at Pacific Center
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Open House
–10/5/79–Cause for celebration: Pacific Center concluded its move to its current location on Telegraph Ave
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Gwen & Jerene Live at the Pacific Center
–11/13/79–Gwen & Jerene were booked by Lenn Keller to play at the San Pablo location of the Pacific Center
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Breakdown of Trans Surgery Costs
–1979–When a trans woman explored getting surgery, she also was directed to find community at Pacific Center
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Community Services Listing
–12/12/79–Community Services Listing featuring phone number for Pacific Center and Switchboard
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The Fourth Annual Halloween Dance
–10/29/83–A youth-oriented dance put on by the center for young gays and lesbians.
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Harvest Gathering: a Fall Musical Celebration
–9/22/84–A flyer for a musical event, headlined by a lesbian of color
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3. Fighting for Justice and Equality, Beyond the Queer Community and Within It (1976-1983)
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Same-Sex Choices
–1/15/76–Through its Sexual Minority Prisoner Program, Pacific Center reached out to queer people who were incarcerated
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Open Letter To CETA Commissioners and Berkeley City Council
–6/9/1977–Pacific Center's director skewered employment commissioners who had mocked him for being gay
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Bigotry Isn’t New to Me!
–6/25/77–A protester at 1977 SF Gay Freedom Day
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Flyer for Racism Workshop
–4/78–A call for discussion of racism within the lesbian community.
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Pacific Center Women’s Calendar (For Women Only)
–4/78–A snapshot of Pacific Center's diverse range of programs -- and of its balancing act
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School Board Drops Film on Homosexuals
–10/19/78–Pacific Center helped to get a homophobic film removed from school curricula
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West Coast Women’s Festival
–11/81–When a show of solidarity with Latin America failed in the presence of white privilege, activists repaired to Pacific Center
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Ollie’s
–6/83–Pacific Center acted as a mediator when a gay-friendly business was accused of classism and racism
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Who Is An Ally And Who Is An Enemy?
–12/1/83–Lesbians of Color came to Pacific Center to figure out how the movement might practice the solidarity it preached
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4. Fighting for Funding: Appealing to the United Way and Others (1974-1988)
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East Bay Gay Opens New Center
–12/19/74–When East Bay Gay opened its brick-and-mortar Pacific Center, it signalled a new inclusiveness
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Commendation from Alameda County
–3/76–An official commendation for the Pacific Center for mental health services.
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Open Letter To CETA Commissioners and Berkeley City Council
–6/9/1977–Pacific Center's director skewered employment commissioners who had mocked him for being gay
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Correspondence between Martin Paley, Gerald Leo and Carole Migden about United Way Funding
–11/17/1977–Pacific Center battled hard to obtain United Way funding
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United Way To Aid Gays
–9/1/1977–In a coup for Pacific Center and gay rights, United Way decided to support the center with a grant
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Money Troubles Force Closures At Gay Center
–1988–Pacific Center was stretched thin by the resources required to mount its multifaceted AIDS Project
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5. A Lifeline During the AIDS Epidemic (1981-1989)
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Pacific Center Campaign for Survival Shirt
–circa 1981–A shirt for the Pacific Center's 1981 Campaign for Survival
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Lesbian Support during AIDS Crisis
–Circa 1985–A flyer thanking the lesbian community for support of the male gay community
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We Can End AIDS Now!
–6/86–What numbers to call for AIDS resources in the East Bay
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Hot, Horny & Healthy
–5/15/87–A flyer for a workshop on safe sex.
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Money Troubles Force Closures At Gay Center
–1988–Pacific Center was stretched thin by the resources required to mount its multifaceted AIDS Project
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AIDS Support Group Survives a Crisis
–2/13/89–AIDS Project saved by community support
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