The UP Center — Uniting Pride of Champaign County
Our History
Uniting Pride was founded in 2009 as an organization to advocate for the equality, wellness, and visibility of the LGBTQ+ communities in Champaign County. Since then, we have been active in the community through support and social groups, community-building events, educational workshops, local advocacy, resource referrals, and more.
Our Mission
Uniting Pride exists to create a Champaign County where all who identify as sexual and/or gender minorities can live full, healthy, and vibrant lives.
Our Vision
Uniting Pride of Champaign County will achieve its mission while promoting the well-being of the overall community through advocacy, education, and outreach. In the pursuit of this mission, Uniting Pride is:
- strengthening our community through visibility and celebration
- connecting our community to each other by facilitating safe and genuine social interaction
- serving as a community hub for resources and information
- advocating for our community through education
Our Commitment to Anti-Racism
The board and staff at Uniting Pride choose to adopt an anti-racist framework by:
- Acknowledging the ways racism, oppression, and privilege perpetuate homophobia and transphobia;
- Ensuring that the strategies, actions, and policies that we support and employ do not undermine efforts to combat racism;
- Organizing a movement that is mindful of how the issues of racism affect safety for all of the LGBTQ+ community;
- Developing and implementing anti-racist strategies that are specific to the including, without limitation:
- practicing and modeling respectful behavior,
- employing anti-racist language and group dynamics,
- examining every situation to understand how the dynamics of racism and white privilege work in that situation;
- Challenging all aspects of white privilege—individual, cultural, political, and organizational, and;
- Engaging in ongoing self-assessment and recognizing that doing work with an anti-racist lens is an ongoing process.