Chester County History Center proud to host OutFest

The Chester County History Center was proud to host the CommUNITY OutFest rally, originally scheduled to take place at the courthouse. The History Center’s complex consists of Horticultural Hall to the north of Evans Alley, and on the south side of the alley, the former YMCA brick building. A bridge joins the two. Let us turn to the history of these two buildings to understand why it is so appropriate for the History Center to provide space for the voices of tolerance this weekend. On one side of the bridge, to continue the support of human rights and on the other side, to reconcile a past practice of exclusion.

The Chester County Historical Society moved into Horticultural Hall in 1942. Prior to housing the county’s precious artifacts and manuscripts, it served as a meeting place for a variety of organizations. Some of the more controversial meetings that took place in Horticultural Hall in the 1800’s were the First Pennsylvania Women’s Rights Convention and meetings of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Prior to1848, when Horticultural Hall first opened its doors, the Anti-Slavery Society had been banned from meeting throughout West Chester, not just because their views were unpopular, but because expressing their beliefs in human rights drew violent mobs of Chester County citizens, full of vitriol and hatred. Horticultural Hall became one of the few spaces where abolitionists could meet.

After Frederick Douglass spoke in Horticultural Hall on July 14, 1863, the Jeffersonian, the county’s “Copperhead” newspaper, reported that Douglass had used “vile language in an effort to break up the government of the United States.” Today, we look back with disbelief that members of this community would ever have thought that owning a fellow human being was in any way moral. One might argue that one hundred years from now, our citizens will look back with that same disbelief that anyone would have dared to speak out against acceptance and recognition of our LGBTQ+ community.

Now, to look at reconciling the past practices of the YMCA. Again, we have difficulty believing that Black children in our community, like Bayard Rustin, were not allowed to enter the YMCA. The Charles Melton Center, incidentally, was built in the 1930’s to provide a recreational space because of the Y’s exclusionary practices. Because of the courageous voices of people like Rustin in the Civil Rights Movement, we can now look to the YMCA as a beacon for acceptance. We appreciate their ability as a national organization to evolve into one of inclusion, despite what their initials originally stood for: “Young” — they are open to all ages —“Men” — they welcome all genders — “Christian” — they are open to all faiths.

Today the History Center is proud to partner with the YMCA to express gratitude for the courageous individuals of our past who spoke out in favor of human rights, paving the way for today’s celebration of our LGBTQ+ community.