NEW HOME, A SAFE SPACE: Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ) Chief Activist Robt Seda-Schreiber, second from left, and several BRCSJ members are preparing the BRCSJ’s new headquarters at 12 Stockton Street for their March 19 Coming Out Party and Open House and for their ongoing work in pursuit of LGBTQIA rights and all racial and social justice issues. (Photo by Robert Zurfluh)

By Donald Gilpin

The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ), which moved out of its Wiggins Street home at the start of the pandemic and has carried on virtually since then, is ready to open its new headquarters in the heart of Princeton at 12 Stockton Street and to celebrate with a “Coming Out Party and Open House” on Saturday, March 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In its invitation, the BRCSJ promises a “wonderful celebration” with “inspirational community leaders, supa’glam guest stars,” and refreshments, as they continue their work to advance “gender, identity, feminist, queer, electoral, environmental, birth, and all racial and social justice issues,” and welcome their guests to this safe space, educational bridge, and community activist center.

“We’re looking to gather people, to have them understand that we’re back in town, and we’re here for them both on an individual basis and a community basis,” said BRCSJ Chief Activist Robt Seda-Schreiber. “We’re going to fly our flag, our rainbow colors, our transgender colors, our Black power colors, so that people know that there’s a space for them to come to. We’re also going to partner with organizations in town and across the state and the nation who want to do good works together, who want to stir up some ‘angelic troublemaking’ together.”

Princeton Mayor Mark Freda delivered his best wishes and support for the opening, noting, “The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice has moved our community of Princeton forward in so many inspirational ways. Their organization of our first Pride Parade ever, offering free therapy to our LGBTQIA youth, placing the first piece of gay history in the Historical Society of Princeton, as well as their peaceful rallies and entertaining events in town are just the tip of the iceberg of their accomplishments. I look forward to the continuation of their good works in their extraordinary new home here in town.”

Seda-Schreiber described the challenges that the Center faced when they lost their space two years ago. “We knew what a meaningful space it was for so many in our community,” he said. “It was very difficult for us to not have it be there for them because we knew there were folks who showed up every day.  And we knew how imperative it was to have that kind of space available.”

He continued, “But we pivoted, and literally the day we closed our doors physically, we opened them virtually.” Every week night since the pandemic started, the BRCSJ has hosted the Social Justice Power Hour, with more than 500 shows featuring a range of guests, “incredible conversations and extraordinarily meaningful moments,” according to Seda-Schreiber.

“We started it as just a virtual space for our local community, and it grew,” he added. “We started gathering hundreds of people remotely every night and sometimes in the thousands, depending on the guest and the night and the subject. We promised to have that hour so that people knew they had somewhere to gather, and it became something extraordinary and we attracted wonderful people, inspirational community leaders, and also best-selling authors, celebrities, comedians, poets, and activists.”

But in spite of the great success of the Power Hour, as well as a more intimate queer community Zoom gathering and conversation led by BRCSJ Community Outreach Coordinator Carol Watchler, “We knew it was time for us to gather together again in person,” said Seda-Schreiber. “We knew we needed to find a new space.”

They looked at a purple church in Cream Ridge, a renovated firehouse in Lambertville, and a red barn in Hightstown. “But we knew we wanted to be back here in Princeton,” he said. “This is where our family is, where we built community. This is where we know that there’s a real need. This is a wonderful town, a very accepting town, but also there are a lot of folks here who need to be seen, to be heard, to be recognized and respected and loved. We knew that our intersectional space was really a pivotal space for those folks.”

Inspired by the work that BRCSJ was doing, Caryn Tomljanovich, executive director of Princeton AlumniCorps, a nonprofit promoting civic leadership and social change, offered the first floor of their 12 Stockton Street building to the BRCSJ. 

“I was impressed with what they’re doing and so honored that they wanted to share space, that we’d be dedicated partners together and move forward together,” said Seda-Schreiber. 

“We welcome the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice as our newest cost share partners in the building and are energized by their mission and work,” said Tomljanovich. “We’re excited for this next step in the evolution of the building’s use and are excited about the burgeoning partnership between our two organizations.”

Seda-Schreiber went on to point out that the BRCSJ has grown significantly through its online presence over the past two years, creating a national platform as well as a local one. “We want to build on that,” he said. “It’s important for us to be here for the local community, and we’ll be quite busy with extraordinary events in house, but we will also build upon our national platform with the Social Justice Power Hour and more.”

The BRCSJ has announced its first satellite in a partnership with the Akron AIDS Collaborative to form the Bayard Rustin LGBTQIA+ Resource Center in Akron, Ohio, and Seda-Schreiber hopes to see the BRCSJ expand into a network of partner centers in Detroit; Portland, Oregon; California; and in other New Jersey locations to carry on the message of inclusivity and intersectionality.

The BRCSJ Board of Directors has also grown in number and in geographical reach. BRCSJ Board President Erin Worrell of Philadelphia commented on the urgency of the Rustin Center’s mission. “The current legislative assault on the health, safety, and lives of trans youth in 29 states, including a bill proposed but never advanced right here in New Jersey last year to keep trans girls out of sports, shows why a home base and safe, welcoming location for our trans youth, their families, and all our diverse and beloved communities is needed more than ever,” she said.

Black power scholar and author and University of Texas at Austin Professor Peniel E. Joseph, who is BRCSJ board vice president, noted that the spacious new headquarters will help to advance the Center’s mission.

“So excited about the new space that the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice will be operating in,” he wrote. “We look forward to continuing to advocate for helping to build a world that is just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive. The search for intersectional justice is at the cornerstone of the Rustin Center’s efforts to create a society that is free of violence, exclusion, and dehumanization of trans, queer, Black, Brown, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and white communities in America and around the world. We are committed to telling holistic narratives about ourselves and our history to the widest range of publics possible. Bayard Rustin’s indefatigable commitment to achieving justice for all continues into 2022.”  

Visit rustincenter.org for more information.