Message from the President – July 6, 2022
Hello members and friends!
Over the weekend I caught a whiff of a situation in DC that revolved around accessibility at a queer bar. Which made me realize that there isn’t any queer-led space in our city that is very accessible and that made me proud to know that accessibility has been a priority for the board and we are working on creating ways to make the club more accessible. A few weeks ago at our monthly board meeting, David Sugar invited a member from Pleasurable (a collective of sex-positive disability advocates www.wearepleasurable.org) to come to the club and check our space for accessibility. As expected we got a laundry list of suggestions, which was so great that they were so thorough it was extremely helpful. A lot of the things mentioned we knew of and were actively thinking on since we are growing so fast and more and more people are finding us to not only have dinner in the yard but to rent our space for private events.
There are some other things that we are actively working on to make sure the space is socially accessible as well. We want you to be able to let people know if you want to socialize or not and also if you are ok with being photographed while at the club.
Soon we will have some table-top flip signs for you to grab if you need to let others know if you are in the mood for socializing or not. You may just want to have your dinner quietly or you are open to others joining you to craft. You may be open to socializing but not open to talking about politics or what’s going on in the world. Wherever you are you should be allowed to create your boundaries in our space.
Also, if you haven’t noticed, Zak has been capturing images during our events to post on social media and for our archive. He brought up an idea to create a photo release form so that you can consent to have your photo taken while at the club. Please be on the lookout for that and we will also be bringing in wristbands for our larger events for those who do not want to be photographed.
As far as some of our physical changes to the club, Amelia has been putting in some work. She spearheaded new floors in the banquet room and bar, we have raised funds for a shade structure, she had the bathrooms redone with new toilets and grab bars, and she has plans for a ramp. We know that amending our very old building will be a long process, but we are committed to doing the very best we can to make our space as accessible as possible.
Change takes time but is always worth it.
See you in the yard,
Chris Jay