Returning from the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on October 11, 1987, a small group from West Michigan set course to make a change.

This trip provided them the experience of being a part of something bigger. They had the opportunity to promote a sense of pride, of security, of belonging. At that time, this was something new for the LGBT community. The group returned with energy, passion, determination, and ambition to achieve equality. They started with a series of casual meetings originally hosted in homes and welcoming businesses, and then the group ultimately formed a new LGBT community center to bring West Michigan together.

In 1988, they hosted Grand Rapids’ first Pride Celebration in the Monroe Amphitheater (the predecessor of the beloved Rosa Parks Circle). Then, as now, Pride put LGBT people right where we belong, at the heart of the Grand Rapids area. There was some controversy – the group asked the then Mayor Gerald Helmholt to issue a proclamation recognizing LGBT Grand Rapidians and the Pride Celebration, but the Mayor publicly refused to do so. Despite Helmholt’s objection, the event took place on Sunday, June 19th, 1988.

The Network grew organizationally, moving into a space on Cherry St. in the 1990s and then in its current space on Atlas Ave in the Eastown neighborhood of Grand Rapids in 2003. Public support of and commitment to the LGBTQ community has grown, with the Network being a community partner in major steps such as Grand Rapids’ historic civil rights ordinance protecting Grand Rapidians from discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

In 2014, we launched a comprehensive, strategic restructuring to modernize the Network’s activities. Throughout 2015 we added new social and support groups, increased the size of each of our existing groups by more than 100% and conducted educational outreach initiatives to hundreds of students, teachers, caseworkers, and mental health professionals, culminating in a stronger organization with a true stake in improving the lives of the local LGBTQ community.

Due to the restricting and modernizing of the organization, on February 22nd, 2016 The Network took its boldest step yet: The Lesbian Gay Community Network became Grand Rapids Pride Center! Our new name better aligns with and represents our mission to “Empowering our LGBTQ community through supportive services and awareness.”

As the Grand Rapids Pride Center examined the ways in which we failed to call out racism, work to dismantle systems that perpetuate it, and confront anti-Blackness within our organization and our community, the Community Accountability plan was created as a fluid, constantly-evolving tool for our organization to identify where there is work to be done and for our community to hold us accountable to our commitments.

Strategic planning is an essential component for any organization looking to thrive and serve our community well. In a rapidly changing world, having a clear vision, defined goals, and a well thought out strategy is crucial. We wanted your voices to be heard and we understand the power of community listening sessions and how they can revolutionize the way we operate. Because of this, we did the work to listen to our staff, our volunteers, and most importantly our community to help shape us into the organization that you want to see. From this we created our new mission, vision, and guiding principles (MVPs) to represent the collective voice and the principles that we will use to help guide us into the future.