painting party with their friends and neighbors.
Picture this. All kinds of finger paint, water-colored paints,
markers, crayons, sparkles, and pompoms. What better opportunity to
help teach your children the importance of the rainbow in the LGBTQ
community than by throwing a ‘Rainbow Painting Party’? We
encourage you to invite your friends and neighbors over for an
educational arts and crafts hour. It’s a great chance for kids to
play and parents to chat with the grander context of teaching our
youth about the history of the LGBTQ movement. The rainbow is a
proud and celebrated symbol in the LGBTQ community and is a great
thing to teach our children about early on. It not only will be a
wonderful learning opportunity for the kids, but a great
opportunity to broaden the horizons of your neighbors and to
network with other LGBTQ parents.
Here are some fun facts about the rainbow that you can share with
your neighbors and friends at your Rainbow Painting Party:
San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker first developed the Rainbow Flag
in 1978. At the time, there was a need for a gay symbol which could
be used at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade. Baker
took inspiration from all kinds of sources, from both the hippies
movement and the black civil rights movement, and he created a flag
with eight stripes. Color has always played an integral role in the
power and presence of the gay right movement. Victorian England
symbolized LGBTQ pride with the color green, lavender became
popular in the 1960s, and pink from the pink triangle has caught on
as well- and now the full spectrum of the rainbow colors are well
known and understood as they symbol for LGBTQ pride.
52 Ways to be OUTSpoken is part of OUTSpoken Families,
and provides LGBTQ parents/allies with creative, doable actions to
help secure family equality all year long. To increase the reach of
52 Ways, Family Equality Council staff will blog about each
upcoming “way” the week before it takes effect. People who sign
up to become OUTSpoken receive weekly email reminders about 52
Ways. To download the 2008 version of 52 Ways, click here.