“In a world of possibility for us all, our personal visions help lay the groundwork for political action.”

-Audre Lorde

Land Acknowledgment

The Lavender Library, Archives and Cultural Exchange (LLACE) acknowledges the land which we occupy as the traditional home of the Nisenan, Maidu, and Miwok tribal nations. LLACE stands in solidarity with indigenous people and the legacy of indigenous nations who honor gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation beyond the settler colonial paradigm.  

Racial Equity Statement

LLACE is committed to creating a community space rooted in social justice, equity, healing, and collective liberation. LLACE fundamentally believes in the power of the people. LLACE recognizes serving our community means that our work must be intersectional across the expansive identities and lived experiences of LGBTQIATwoSpirit+ people: race, ethnicity, social class, gender identity, sexual orientation, body size, ability, neurodivergence, religion, immigration status, foster youth, beyond the nuclear family and monogamy, formerly incarcerated, unhoused, substance usage, and much more. LLACE recognizes that LGBTQIATwoSpirit+ spaces have historically centered assimilative white gays and lesbians; it is critical to name our organization’s own history rooted in whiteness and privilege. LLACE acknowledges the legacy of Black and Brown Trans Women of Color that collectively built the foundation for the queer liberation movement.

In combating all the forms of oppression that stem from white supremacy and anti-Black racism, LLACE is committed to an anti-racist framework and practice by centering and uplifting Black, Indigenous, Queer and Trans People of Color (BIQTPOC) in our leadership, in programs, our collections/materials, and in every area of our organization.

Resolution in Support of Palestine

The Lavender Library stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine. It stands against the systematic and wanton acts of the State of Israel as it carries out genocide and mass displacement of Palestinian civilians. This action cannot be removed from the history and context of the last 75 years of occupation.

LLACE is committed to creating a community space rooted in social justice, equity, healing, and collective liberation. LLACE recognizes serving our community means that our work must be intersectional and international across the expansive identities and lived experiences of LGBTQIATwoSpirit+ people. LLACE’s four core values are inclusivity, community, preserving and uplifting LGBTQ+ stories, and social justice, which we define as “taking a stand to support non-dominant populations and historically marginalized groups (specifically QPOC), promoting nonviolent resistance, awareness, and activism.”This firmly aligns us with the people of Palestine. We stand against apartheid and the displacement of indigenous people worldwide.

What we will do:

  • Amplify the voices of Palestinians, queer and trans Palestinians especially

  • Focus on educating and empowering our community

  • Commit to the library being a space of knowledge sharing and resources

What we will NOT do:

  • Conflate Jewish people as a whole with Israel or Zionism.

  • Conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism

  • Fall into traps of pinkwashing.

Our Commitment to Community

LLACE has been working at every front, at all ends with the power that we have by:

  • Transforming our organizational structure to be more inclusive and equitable for volunteers to fully participate and have an impact

  • Transforming, expanding, and evolving our collection/materials (creating a youth and young adult section, investing in books by BIQTPOC authors, revamping our collections policy)

  • Transforming our physical space (more accessible, comfortable, welcoming, etc.)

  • Transforming the events and programs to be more engaging and representative of everyone in our larger LGBTQIATwoSpirit+ community.

We identify these four pillars as critical infrastructure needed to achieve our commitments to racial equity:

  • how we are (organization structure)

  • who we are (our leadership, volunteers, patrons and community members)

  • where we are (our physical space)

  • what we are (collection AND events)community.

Action Plan

  • Re-designing the space with local queer art and renovating the entire library

  • Restructuring our organization and building committees: Operations, Collection, Engagement, Events, Fundraising, and Communications

  • Eliminating barriers to participate in or access LLACE programs and content with a membership requirement

  • Aiming to become sustained by the community so that the library will be free of memberships

  • Creating a board representative of our community

  • Board members and volunteers are expected to uphold, advocate for, and abide by our equity commitments

  • Being informed by the community of what type of materials are wanted/available in the library (inclusive collection that represents the community we serve, with an emphasis on BIQTPOC)

  • Sex-positive and body-positive space and resources that affirm the entire spectrum of sexuality without stigma or exclusion of asexuality

  • Adding more material to our library in different languages, ASL, audiobooks, tablets, and laptops (accessibility)

  • Building a young adult section and children's section of the library

  • Partnering with more community collectives

Existing Actions