Weekers make time in their days to learn and grow together as a
community. We know that Family Week and other family gatherings
started as a way for families with LGBTQ parents to get together,
provide safe spaces for their kids to play, and build community
around issues that matter–parental rights, marriage equality,
finding and making safe schools. We continue this tradition with
Provincetown Family Week 2007, providing workshops on topics from
getting active in schools to building better relationships as LGBTQ
parents. You can see a full list of workshops on the Family Pride
website, at www.familypride.org/familyweekcomingsoon.html.
Yesterday morning I had the privilege of presenting on the Rainbow Report Card and
other tools Family Pride provides to parents to make their schools
safer and more inclusive of all loving families. We had a large
crowd, about 70 parents, sitting in rows with note pads out and
pens in hand, ready to learn. We talked about how lasting change
starts from the ground up, that every situation is different, and
that all parents need to be as out as they safely can be–with
their children, within their school community, etc.–in order to
create open, honest dialogue about the challenges they face.
Bay Windows, New England’s LGBT community newspaper, was there,
taking photos at the workshop and talking to families. Check out
their website to see if Family Week coverage is up!
Sadly, I’m going to have to wrap this one up more quickly than I
thought, as I now have to set up at the pier for another
workshop–The Toughest Questions You’ll Get Asked as an LGBTQ
Parent (or “Toughest Questions,” as we like to call it). You can
find out more about Toughest Questions by downloading the OUTSpoken
Families Speaker’s Toolkit here.
Sorry for the lack up updating yesterday. Much like on the cruise,
our Internet keeps going in and out! Twenty-first-century roughing
it, I like to say 🙂
Cheers,
Dustin