Since its inception in 1973, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) has been at the forefront of fostering LGBTQ allyship. The group was founded in Los Angeles by Monty Manford and his mother Jeanne after Monty asked her to march with him at the 1972 Christopher Street Liberation Day March and she agreed on the grounds that she could carry a sign explaining that she was there for her gay son.

 

What started as a small meeting of LGBTQ people, families, and nonfamily allies has grown into a national organization with over 400 chapters, including 14 in Georgia: Athens, Atlanta, Blairsville, Carrollton, Gainesville, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Marietta, Milledgeville, Peachtree City, Rome, Sandy Springs, Savannah, and Woodstock. This year, the organization is celebrating 50 years of allyship, connection, and support for LGBTQ youth.

 

PFLAG creates a safe and affirming space for LGBTQ young people and their families who may struggle to find support elsewhere. Even though five decades have passed since PFLAG was first formed, legislation introduced across the country has increasingly made that support just as valuable, if not more than, it was in 1973. According to the Human Rights Campaign, over 520 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year. A record 70 have been enacted, including 15 banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, seven requiring or allowing the misgendering of transgender students, and four censoring school curricula.

 

For Jason Arnold, a Board Member of PFLAG Atlanta, his connection to PFLAG is deeply personal. After his husband died from cancer in 2020 (shortly after Arnold’s own battle with cancer), he was determined to become more involved with the LGBTQ community and pursue a legacy like that of Judy Colbs, the late President of PFLAG Atlanta.

 

“I don’t know if it’s because I saw my own mortality with my husband dying and my own cancer battle, but I was like, I have to leave a legacy of something other than that I just existed,” Arnold told Georgia Voice. “I want to live. I want to make a difference. I want queer youth to know that they are seen, and they are loved and valued, and I have just fallen in love with what we do [at PFLAG] and how we do it.”

 

Through support groups for trans teens and parents of trans children, as well as others, PFLAG harnesses the power of conversation to facilitate more understanding, acceptance, and love for the LGBTQ community — a power recent “Don’t Say Gay” and similar anti-LGBTQ laws targeting youth seek to diminish.

 

“When I came out at 14 or 15 in rural Alabama, I woke up in the middle of the night and I told my mom I was gay,” Arnold said. “She was like, ‘Can we talk about it tomorrow?’ We didn’t talk about it for five months.”

 

Unfortunately, Arnold says the landscape for some LGBTQ youth reflects that of his own youth. For many attendees, PFLAG serves as more than a support group; it’s a family.

 

“This beautiful soul suddenly started crying [at a meeting],” he said. “She was like, ‘I’m a woman, I’m Black, and I’m gay. Why does God hate me?’ For 30+ years in my life, that’s how I felt for being gay. I cannot believe that in 2022 that is still something that exists, that people hate their children.”

 

In celebrating PFLAG’s 50th anniversary, the Atlanta chapter is looking to get more people involved. This can look like becoming a member, participating in events, walking in the Atlanta Pride parade with the organization, donating, or simply having the difficult conversations that are at the heart of PFLAG’s mission.

 

“It’s okay to say, ‘I don’t understand this,’” Arnold said. “If you don’t understand somebody’s story, ask: ‘Tell me your story. Tell me who you are and let me adapt myself to you.’”

 

To find a PFLAG chapter near you, visit pflag.org/findachapter.