A Mosaic Portrait of the Red State/Blue State Divide

For some LGBT families Family Week in Provincetown, MA is life changing – the first time they’ve had a chance to connect with other LGBT headed families. The week’s activities are sponsored by the Family Equality Council (FEC) and COLAGE (People with LGBTQ Parents).

One teenager, who attended the week, quipped that the best thing about being in a family with same-sex parents was getting to go to Family Week!

Other parents, guardians and children relish the time as a way to talk about the challenges and successes they have had in their schools.

I engaged in many of these conversations about schools – in a “Parent Café” that I co-led with FEC’s Senior Program Associate, Andra Oshinsky – and in more informal conversations.

One reoccurring theme was the porousness of the red state, blue state classification. All states began to seem more like a mosaic then a sheet of solid color. I heard from LGBT headed families who are having wonderful experiences in red states and others who are facing egregious discrimination in blue states.  And most families experience a mix of positive and negative, regardless of where they live.

Read the full article at Welcoming Schools