During the parade, which was "short but sweet" a couple of entries brought tears to my eyes. The one that hit me hardest was the woman walking with the Tumwater High School GSA (Gay Straight Alliance). She was carrying a sign that labeled her as a teacher and then said "I support all of my students." The other was the heterosexual couple walking with PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays). The woman was quite pregnant and together they were carrying a sign that said "We will love our child no matter who he loves." Both entries were very powerful. In fact, I still get tears in my eyes when I think about them.
The music at the festival was enjoyable and the vendors booths fun to peruse, but I think I most enjoyed visiting the information booths. Here are just a few of the many that made a particular impact with me:
- Project:Transitions - "Supporting the Washington Transgender Community with Pride," this non-profit was started and is run by four young people who make me very proud.
- The Provider Project - Provides education, access, advocacy for transgender health. (Kit created both their website and the Project:Transitions website.)
- GLSEN - A national organization fighting to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools. Starting GSA clubs in schools is one of their initiatives. According to GLSEN;
- 70% LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) student report (this is just how many report it) verbal, sexual or physical harassment.
- 90% of LGBT student regularly hear anti-gay comments at school; over a third hear these comments from staff. (This statistic is especially disturbing to me because how do kids learn to discriminate and treat others poorly? From the adults in their lives!)
- 75% of the nation's teachers have received no training about the needs of LGBT students.
- Camp Ten Trees - A non-profit summer camp that devotes a week each summer to LGBTQ (Q stands for Queer and/or Questioning) youth and their families and a week to children of LGBTQ families.
5 comments:
Hi Mom,
Thanks for writing this up. I somehow missed the entry with the baby, but the teacher made an impression on me, too. I found I really appreciated Pride this year, and all of the rainbow flags they've had up downtown, too.
Yes, the flags were great as they were an indication of how much the city of Olympia supports the LGBT community.
Yep, I felt so loved. :)
By the way, what does this mean?
75% of the nations have received no training about the needs of LGBT students
Nations?
Oh, do you mean "the nation's teachers" or something like that?
Yes! Thanks for catching my typo. I think it's fixed now.
Post a Comment