{"id":62,"date":"2013-04-10T14:53:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-10T14:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/?page_id=62"},"modified":"2013-04-10T14:53:14","modified_gmt":"2013-04-10T14:53:14","slug":"pflags-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/?page_id=62","title":{"rendered":"PFLAG’s History"},"content":{"rendered":"

HISTORY SNAPSHOT.<\/strong>\u00a0The idea for PFLAG began in 1972 when Jeanne Manford marched with her son, Morty, in New York’s Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the precursor to today’s Pride parade. After many gay and lesbian people ran up to Jeanne during the parade and begged her to talk to their parents, she decided to begin a support group. The first formal meeting took place on March 26, 1973 at the\u00a0Metropolitan-Duane Methodist Church<\/a>\u00a0in Greenwich Village (now the Church of the Village). Approximately 20 people attended.<\/p>\n

In the next years, through word of mouth and community need, similar groups sprang up around the country, offering “safe havens” and mutual support for parents with gay and lesbian children. Following the 1979 National March for Gay and Lesbian Rights, representatives from these groups met for the first time in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

By 1980, PFLAG, then known as Parents FLAG, began to distribute information to educational institutions and communities of faith nationwide, establishing itself as a source of information for the general public.\u00a0 When \u201cDear Abby\u201d mentioned PFLAG in one of her advice columns, we received more than 7,000 letters requesting information. In 1981, members decided to launch a national organization. The first PFLAG office was established in Los Angeles under founding president Adele Starr.<\/p>\n

In 1982, the Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Inc., then representing some 20 groups, was incorporated in California and granted non-profit, tax-exempt status. In 1987, PFLAG relocated to Denver, under President Elinor Lewallen. Also in the 1980s, PFLAG became involved in opposing Anita Bryant\u2019s anti-gay crusade and worked to end the U.S. military\u2019s efforts to discharge lesbians\u2014more than a decade before military issues came to the forefront of the GLBT movement.\u00a0 And by the late 1980s, PFLAG began to have notable success in organizing chapters in rural\u00a0communities.<\/p>\n

In 1990, following a period of significant growth, PFLAG employed an Executive Director, expanded its staff, and\u00a0moved\u00a0to Washington, DC. Also in 1990, PFLAG President Paulette Goodman sent a letter to Barbara Bush asking for Mrs. Bush\u2019s support.\u00a0The first lady\u2019s personal reply stated, \u201cI firmly believe that we cannot tolerate discrimination against any individuals or groups in our country.\u00a0 Such treatment always brings with it pain and perpetuates intolerance.\u201d\u00a0 Inadvertently given to the Associated Press, her comments caused a political maelstrom and were perhaps the first gay-positive comments to come\u00a0from the White House.<\/p>\n

In the early 1990s, PFLAG chapters in Massachusetts helped pass the first Safe Schools legislation in the country. In 1993, PFLAG added the word “Families” to the name, and added bisexual people\u00a0to its mission and work. By the mid-1990s a PFLAG family was responsible for the Department of Education\u2019s ruling that Title 9 also protected gay and lesbian students from harassment based on sexual orientation. PFLAG put the Religious Right on the defensive, when Pat Robertson threatened to sue any station that carried\u00a0the Project Open Mind advertisements.\u00a0The resulting media coverage drew national attention to PFLAG’s message linking hate speech with hate crimes and LGBT teen suicide. In 1998, PFLAG added transgender people\u00a0to its mission.<\/p>\n

At the turn of the century, PFLAG began to develop nationally coordinated programs in order to better focus the grassroots network.\u00a0 Programs\u00a0like\u00a0Cultivating Respect: Safe<\/strong>\u00a0Schools for All<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/strong>,\u00a0Straight for Equality<\/a><\/strong>, the\u00a0National Scholarship Program<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Bringing the Message Home<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Welcoming Faith Communities<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0are already showing results.<\/p>\n

For a moving article about Jeanne Manford and her historic step,\u00a0click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

For a complete overview of PFLAG\u2019s remarkable history and growth,\u00a0click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HISTORY SNAPSHOT.\u00a0The idea for PFLAG began in 1972 when Jeanne Manford marched with her son, Morty, in New York’s Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the precursor to today’s Pride parade. After many gay and lesbian people ran up to Jeanne during the parade and begged her to talk to their parents, she decided to begin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":41,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-62","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62\/revisions\/63"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofit.jonathan-belanger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}