Judging by the amount of time he invests in trying to make the Lehigh Valley a more enlightened and welcoming place for members of the LGBT community, you might think that Adrian Shanker grew up here—a man looking to leave his childhood home a little better than he found it. In fact, Shanker came of age more than 100 miles away, in Westchester County, New York. His decision to enroll at Allentown's Muhlenberg College would prove to be a turning point for his life.
But first things first. Let's just say he initially wasn't exactly in awe of his new home away from home. “I remember riding my bike downtown, wondering where all of the young people were,” he says. Of course, that was back in 2004, years before the renaissance that transformed Allentown into a place where young people (or any people, really) would want to shop, dine and live. And so, with no crystal ball handy, Shanker says he had zero plans to stick around, “But then I realized there was a lot of potential here.” Fast-forward to 2009, with his degree in political science and religious studies in hand. “I stayed after I graduated because I felt like some of the issues I cared most about, I could make a difference in the Lehigh Valley.”
Shanker describes himself as an organizer by birth and says he grew up with an activist family. “I was taught by my family that we have an obligation to work for justice, that we need to fight with our words and our intellect, not our fists,” he says. One of his grandfathers was labor leader Albert Shanker, the longtime head of both the United Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers. “As a kid, I'd frequently hear stories, like the one of him spending Christmas in jail because [New York] Mayor [John] Lindsay wanted to break up the teachers union strike,” he recalls. Albert Shanker died in 1997 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom the following year. “I think if he were alive today, we would have spirited debates about issues I don't agree with him on, but it is an understatement to say I'm inspired by him,” Shanker says. “My activism in many ways is because I learned the importance of it from him.”
Shanker says he's been advocating for LGBT rights for more than a decade. In 2011, he was elected the first president of Equality Pennsylvania, which describes itself as the “commonwealth's leading organization advancing equality and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Pennsylvanians.” “It was a time when civil rights for [the LGBT community] looked very different,” he says.
Shanker held the post until 2013, when he departed to pursue an even bigger dream. “It started with a vision—a compelling vision,” he says. That vision was to establish the region's first community center for the LGBT population: a one-stop shop, of sorts, for needs ranging from health services to youth support to legal consultations. The Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center opened its doors on Allentown's West Maple Street in April of 2016. Media accounts from that day recall a standing-room-only crowd packed with local lawmakers, dignitaries and cheering supporters. Looking back, one might call the grand opening a proverbial “slam dunk,” although Shanker does admit to some trepidation along the way. “There were definitely times when I wondered if the community would come together to support this,” he says. But he needn't have worried; Shanker says the center and its members have been buoyed by the resilience and goodwill of the community, time and time again. “The Lehigh Valley is a caring place,” he says. “I'm proud to be a voice for LGBT progress in this region, in the state.”
Indeed, the past few years have brought a number of wins on the local, state and federal level. Shanker can rattle off some of the biggest victories, such as same-sex marriage rights, conversion therapy bans in Bethlehem and Allentown, equal spousal benefits in Easton and Allentown and a pair of civil rights laws in Philadelphia. Still, there have been setbacks. “We're well aware that there's been a rise in hate in this country, especially since 2016,” says Shanker. In January of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Trump's ban on transgender individuals from military service to take effect. Immediately, the Bradbury-Sullivan center sprang into action and organized a rally to show support for the trans community. “Within four hours, 60 people showed up,” Shanker says.
There are quieter moments, too, that affirm the importance of the work that Shanker and his colleagues are doing at the center. He recalls an encounter with a man who came to the center for HIV testing. The man expressed his deep appreciation for the center's nonjudgmental approach, and offered Shanker money. After Shanker explained that the testing is free, the man insisted on paying anyway, to ensure that the programs remain available to everyone who needs them.
Not only is sustaining the current roster of services the goal, but Shanker says the hope is to keep adding new offerings to the list. “We're always evaluating the needs of the LGBT community,” he explains. “It's an ongoing process.” One such endeavor is a support group for LGBT individuals impacted by cancer. “That's a first for this area,” says Shanker. But while the importance of providing potentially life-saving and life-changing health and support services can't be overstated, Shanker says shining a spotlight on the arts is also a priority. Perhaps inspired by nearby neighbors like Miller Symphony Hall, the Allentown Art Museum and The Baum School of Art—“There's great cultural programming [in Downtown Allentown],” Shanker says—the Bradbury-Sullivan center can boast of a full slate of happenings that celebrate LGBT artists, writers and filmmakers, such as its REEL Queer Film Series, and a book group that tackles queer memoirs, of which Shanker himself is a member.
Ask Shanker to take stock of his life so far, and he'll tell you that his greatest accomplishment has been opening the Bradbury-Sullivan center, and his proudest moment was speaking at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington in 2013, which commemorated Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. “The 1963 March on Washington was organized by a gay Pennsylvanian named Bayard Rustin who wasn't allowed to speak at the march because he was gay,” explains Shanker, who was one of six LGBT speakers at the anniversary march. “It was a moment to pay homage not only to the entire movement for racial and economic justice of the past 50 years, but to specifically honor Rustin's role in the original march 50 years later.”
If he was asked to pick a runner-up to either of those two major moments, Shanker has plenty to pick from: He was named Person of the Year by the Philadelphia Gay News in 2012 and 2018, and he has been honored by the Lehigh County Bar Association, Lehigh Valley Business and the Anne Frank Center USA (now the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect), among others. He also serves on the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs and the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority, which oversees many of the redevelopment projects in the city's downtown. In other words, his resume is full; but in some ways, Shanker may be just getting started in his tireless advocacy for the LGBT community. “We know we have work to do before we can live in a world where we can live our lives and be our true selves,” he says.
“Change is possible. And I'm proud to be a part of this moment in time.”
