An Open Letter To “The Breakfast Club”

Dear Breakfast Club,

We have read your blog post and seen the article and here is a response. Whilst we appreciate the sentiment of your words, and thank you for finally coming forward, here are our issues:

The Black Cap was not only a space of community, it was also a home to performance. By opening a cafe without a performance capacity, you have taken away the heart of the space.

You say you have been caught in the crossfire and somehow present yourselves as innocent victims in this situation. Here’s the rub: you had and still have a choice. You don’t have to do this. The community that was unceremoniously expelled from the space has no choice in that matter. You are not the victims of this. As the “intelligent, passionate group of people” fighting this campaign we are asking you to stop, take a second to think about what you are doing beyond improving your bank balance, and consider the lives of the community you are affecting.

As a “small family business” it is reprehensible that you think it is acceptable to take away a place which was a home for so many, and a place in which people found some alternative form of family.

The fact that you accepted this contract in December without seeking the opinions of the very community you claim to want to support displays, at best, your ignorance and, at worst, your utter disregard for LGBTQ lives and culture.

Make no mistake: opening a branch of one of your cafes at the site of The Black Cap is an erasure of years and years of queer history.

Make no mistake: accepting the lease on The Black Cap is an attack on the queer community.

And we will not take it lying down.

Yours,

#WeAreTheBlackCap