Please consider your donation to the Leon Bey Memorial Library.  Donations to the Leon Bey Memorial Library will provide shelving, books, computers, and monitors where folk can learn and study LGBT history. LGBT history will be taught on a regular basis so many may know where we came from and aspire to bring change in where we are going. To donate, please click HERE

Leon Bey was a long time resident of Dayton. He worked for the Dayton Metro Library for over 30 years and was responsible for many programs at the library.  He was a lover of history and shared his love of history with all who would listen.  Leon was famous for leading history walks through Dayton, often wearing a black cape, speaking fluently of ghosts, long-forgotten business moguls, the Miami-Erie Canal, famous Daytonians, even more famous visitors to Dayton, and murders!

Leon Bey was an active board member of the Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center in the 1980’s and was responsible for programming and growing center attendance.  In 1976 Leon, and then partner David Wright, revived the Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center and kept it from closing.  Bey and Wright wrote the bylaws for the Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center, which still exist today at the Greater Dayton LGBT Center.  Bey led the committee that organized Dayton’s 1st PRIDE celebration in 1987 where the committee picked strawberries by hand and served them for dessert at St. Andrews Church on Salem Ave.

In the early years of the Center, Bey organized  a “Men’s Hour” as well as a “Women’s Hour”. These programs ran from 1976 to 2004, and provided members a safe place to express themselves and be themselves without fear of reprisal.  At the October 2, 2002 meeting the discussion topic was “Just Married: Gay Marriage and the Expansion of Human Rights.” In 2004 the Men’s Hour held open discussion groups and once a month had a community dinner night, a tradition the Greater Dayton LGBT continues on a quarterly basis.

Leon Bey served as President of the Board of the Greater Dayton LGBT Center until 2000 when he suggested his own replacement, although Bey remained on the Board.  In 2000, Bey and new Board President John Gantt, along with the entire LGBT Center Board organized the first ever outdoor Dayton PRIDE celebration which was held on a Friday night on Courthouse Square.  In 2006, the 25th anniversary of the PRIDE celebration in Dayton, Leon Bey and David Wright served as Grand Marshals for the PRIDE parade in recognition of their 30 years of service to the LGBT Community.

Leon Bey remained active with the LGBT community and in 2008 assisted the Center in attempting to establish a permanent home on East Third Street in Dayton. In 2009 he played a crucial role in having the first Ohio Historical Marker which indicates a persons sexual orientation dedicated to Natalie Barney.  The marker was ensconced in Cooper Park in Dayton, adjacent to the Dayton Metro Library, and can still be seen today.

In addition, Leon Bey worked with the Neon Movie Theater to produce “Jim in Bold” in 2006 as a PRIDE month event at the Neon Movie Theater.  “Jim in Bold” is a documentary about Jim Wheeler, a gay high school student in Lebanon, PA who committed suicide in 1997 because of constant harassment at school.  Leon was always searching for the latest in LGBT cinema, art, and theater events that educated and inspired LGBT Center members and the community as a whole.

The excitement is building for Pride 2017 with many festivities just around the corner.  The first Pride event takes place on Wednesday May 31 at 7 pm at the Neon Theater as we screen “Handsome Devil.” This film is about Ned and Conor who are forced to share a bedroom at their boarding school. The loner and the star athlete at this crazy for rugby school where they form an unlikely friendship until it’s tested by the authorities. This is a film you will not want to miss so mark your calendars now for May 31^st.

Then we kick off PRIDE weekend with the “Affair on the Square” on Friday June 2^nd from 5 pm to 10 pm featuring food trucks and of course our famous beer truck. We have some fantastic live entertainment hitting the stage beginning at 6 pm with The Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus.  Headlining the evening’s entertainment is the one and only; The Rubi Girls! The evening is not over yet.  Following the Affair on the Square is our .5K Bar Crawl sponsored by Svedka Vodka.  Tickets for the bar crawl are $15.00 for center members and $20.00 for non-members.  Participants are led by team captains to all four participating bars, Club Masque, M J’s on Jefferson, The Right Corner and The Stage Door.  Your ticket provides a cocktail at each of the bars.  What a fun night!

Saturday June 3^rd starts off with a hearty breakfast beginning at 9 am at M J’s on Jefferson.  The parade begins lining up at 11 am with a check in at Cooper Park on the corner of 2^nd and St Clair Streets.  The parade will step off at noon as it turns right onto Third ST to Jefferson Street.  At Jefferson ST the parade will turn right and proceed north on Jefferson where the parade turns left onto Second ST.  The parade will then progress to Main ST where the Parade will turn left on Main and proceed to Courthouse Square.  Once at Courthouse Square the festivities will go into full swing with the festival running until 4 pm.  But do not worry, PRIDE is not over.  At 8 PM the Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus will be joined by the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and present “A Modern Dance, A Modern Funk” at the Victoria Theatre, in downtown Dayton.

On Sunday June 4^th PFLAG kicks off this PRIDE day with the 2^nd Annual Running With PRIDE 5K run/walk!  The start time is 9 am at Welcome Park, 1601 Edwin C. Moses BLVD, Dayton 45417.  Please register by May 9^th at www.pflagdayton.org.  Winding up our PRIDE weekend is the 2^nd Annual Spikes & Heels Kickball Tournament from Noon to 4 pm. This year the tournament will take place at Belmont Park. Food trucks and beer tent will be available so you may stop by and enjoy the frivolity. This is a super fun event as teams vie for a six foot trophy and named Spikes & Heels Champs!

So get plenty of rest now and join us for a fun and exciting weekend of PRIDE!

Today I am reaching out to all of you asking for your help, I believe you, like the Greater Dayton LGBT Center, have a desire and passion to see our LGBT community advance and grow. For over 40 years the Greater Dayton LGBT Center has been a catalyst for progress and advancement.

The Greater Dayton LGBT Center is very pleased to announce we now
have a brick and mortar home for the Greater Dayton LGBTQA Center
at 24 N. Jefferson Street, Suite 200, Dayton 45402. A home that will
embrace all, so you may know you have come home to a safe and secure
space!

After this past election so many people fear the uncertainty, so perhaps
there has never been a more important time for such a center. While we
have procured the New Center Space we need your help to bring the
whole vision to a reality. First and foremost, we need an angel to provide
new heating and Air for the new space. Our second priority will be the
access control system and ADA approved doors. We want the building to
remain a safe space so a door control system will be necessary to insure
this. Once the control system is installed, members will be able to swipe
their membership cards which will unlock the doors. Non-members will
be able to be buzzed into the space by our receptionist so all may use this
wonderful LGBT educational space which will feature an LGBT library
where our LGBT history is housed and taught. As we well know, LGBT
history is not taught in schools, so this give us this opportunity. Many
of our needs are now listed on our website under the “Donations for
Building” tab. Please consider a donation today. Your donation will make
a direct impact to our local LGBTQA community.

We are a wonderful caring LGBT community. We have survived deep
challenges in our past. We can and will do so again, but we cannot be
afraid to speak and act to ensure the future we want for ourselves, our
children and grandchildren.

Please consider your tax deductible donation today! Help us as we build
our LGBTQA community center into a safe, secure, and educational home
for today and tomorrow. Together We Can!
Sincerely,
Randy Phillips,
President The Greater Dayton LGBT Center
www.daytonlgbtcenter.org  (Click HERE for Donation Form)

Join us for our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. We will supply the Ham, Turkey and mashed potatoes. Bring a side dish to share or a dessert. It is time for our family to get together at our new home, 24 N. Jefferson Street, Suite 200, Dayton 45402

COME ONE, COME ALL, IT’S TIME FOR A BALL!

The Greater Dayton LGBT Center, in recognition of “National Coming Out Day,” is hosting our first ever COMING OUT BALL! The Ball will be held on October 22nd @ 7 P.M. at THE DAYTON RACQUET CLUB in the Kettering Tower, 40 N. Main Street in downtown Dayton. Ticket are $15 for center members and $20 for non-members.

Tickets are available online at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coming-out-ball-tickets-27239036692

Join us and dance the night away while enjoying food, friends, and frivolity! A cash bar will be available for adult beverages. Non-adult beverages will also be readily available!

Come Dressed to Impress and get your tickets today!

For questions feel free to contact (via Facebook or email) Allison Cox: aacox80@gmail.com or Rob Waldren

To reserve your seat click HERE
Sponsored by: Westminster Financial, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC

Join the fun at the 9th Annual Bowling for Pride! Last year we had the biggest crowd yet, and this year is shaping up to beat that. Gather your team and be sure to get to the registration early! Don’t have a team, no worries, we’ll find one for you!

We’ve got over 140 raffle prizes, and you can buy a chance to win the ‘Rainbow Strike Jackpot’.  The snack bar will be open so you can buy lunch and adult beverages, too.

We’re also looking for a few volunteers, please contact Lisa if you want to help

Ladies- this one is for you! Join other area women for an evening of dancing, prizes, and more. It all starts at 7:00 pm at the Dayton Women’s Club on Ludlow Street. Tickets are $10 for LGBT Center Members or $15 for non members. Don’t forget to go to our Facebook page to vote for the evenings’ royal court!

The holidays are almost here, which means doing all of that crazy shopping. If you aren’t buying local this year, please remember that The Greater Dayton LGBT Center is part of Amazon Smile!

If you go to smile.amazon.com instead of plain old amazon.com, you can select The Center as your charity of choice.It’s all of the same great products at the same great prices. You don’t pay anything extra, but we get a donation as part of each sale! You just have to select us the first time you visit smile.amazon.com, and it’ll remember us for your future purchases through Smile. It is just about the easiest way to help us out with a little extra green this season.

Happy shopping!