On Tuesday, Charlottesville lawyer and LGBT community supporter André Hakes presented the Jefferson Area Food Bank with a donation of $600, raised at a Valentine’s Day dinner held at the 12th Street Taphouse. Standing before the food bank’s improvised grocery aisles and bins of canned goods, Hakes explained that the gesture signifies that "the gay community cares about Charlottesville, cares about people in general, and doesn’t just care about themselves."
Hakes said that the check ceremony was not directly related to the arrival of the Westboro Baptist Church—an independent Baptist church infamous for its espousal of anti-homosexual hate speech—to Virginia this week. However, upon learning of their presence in the Commonwealth, Hakes says that presenting the check to the food bank "seemed like poetic timing to me."
The Westboro Baptist Church made its rounds through Norfolk on Monday and spent Tuesday in Richmond, where counter-demonstrations against the Church’s presence were expected.
Local LGBT advocate André Hakes presented the Jefferson Area Food Bank with a $600 check the same day that the Westboro Baptist Church arrived in Richmond.
