Statement from the Sacramento LGBT Community Center
We are heartbroken and angry to learn about the recent anti-LGBTQ+ attack on two members of our community in the heart of Lavender Heights. One of the survivors, a beloved community member and advocate, has stated that racist and anti-LGBTQ+ slurs were used during the assault, which reportedly occurred near 20th and L streets. Our first concern is for both people who were attacked, their healing, safety, and privacy.
The location of this attack makes it especially painful. The Lavender Heights neighborhood holds a deep and meaningful place in our history. For generations, the LGBTQ+ community has built spaces within Lavender Heights, where we can gather, celebrate, organize, find family, and live openly. No one should have to wonder whether being visible themselves will make them a target, especially in a place our community has long considered home.
That sense of violation is compounded by the reported use of both racist and anti-LGBTQ+ slurs. LGBTQ+ people of color should never have to separate one part of themselves from another for the violence directed at them to be recognized or taken seriously. Our identities are interconnected, and our approach to community safety must be as well.
With that responsibility in mind, the Sacramento LGBT Community Center is working with the Midtown Association, neighborhood businesses, community partners, local leaders, and relevant public agencies to advocate for meaningful, sustained safety measures in Lavender Heights and throughout our region. This includes strengthening communication among community members and public agencies, improving lighting and visibility, and advancing community-informed approaches to nighttime safety. We will continue to support people who experience hate or bias, respond when incidents occur, and ensure our community has trusted places to turn.
We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses hate or bias to use the Center’s Hate & Bias Reporting Form. Reports may be submitted confidentially or anonymously. These reports help us understand what our community is experiencing, identify patterns, connect people with resources and support, and advocate for action.
Reporting, however, is only one part of the support people may need. Incidents like this can bring up fear, anger, grief, and anxiety for others in our community. The Center offers mental health services free of charge for youth and young adults through age 24, with sliding-scale services available for adults 25 and over. Free community and peer-support groups also provide spaces for LGBTQ+ people to connect, find support, and be in community with one another. To connect with the Center, call 916-442-0185 or visit saccenter.org/crime-victims-services.
For those who may have information that could assist the investigation, the Sacramento Police Department is asking anyone with relevant information or video footage to contact its Bias and Hate Crime Hotline at 916-808-BIAS (916-808-2427). Anyone facing an immediate threat or emergency should call 911.
In moments like this, our community deserves more than words. Lavender Heights remains part of the history and heart of Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ community, and we must continue working together to protect the people who call it home. Our visibility should never come at the cost of our safety, and our safety should never require our invisibility. We will meet this moment with care, action, and resolve—and we will continue showing up for one another.