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Please join us for a delightful with friends on a lovely June day. We are afternoon to celebrate with our delighted to have Dr. Michael Shutt as scholarship award winners and applaud our Master of Ceremonies and Dr. Rene their accomplishments. You will get a Sanchez as our guest speaker for the chance to hear from some amazing afternoon. Our member, Stephon Collins, students, listen to a musical performance, is providing the music. Mark your enjoy delicious refreshments and visit calendar and treat yourself! Pride Weekend July 5–6

Atlanta PRIDE is being celebrated will post them on their website and we Saturday and Sunday July 5 and 6 this will post it on ours, www.pflagatl.org. year. Normally Pride is held the Our booth will be manned on Saturday last weekend in June in . and Sunday, and we will be marching in The parade on Sunday usually starts at the parade on Sunday. the Civic Center Marta station and goes Participating in the parade can’t be down Peachtree to the park. This year beat and is a highlight of our year. It is a both the date and venue have changed highly emotional experience that unites due to the drought. This year’s Atlanta PFLAG with the gay community. The Pride Festival will be held at the Atlanta cheers and applause will give you enough Civic Center complex. The Festival will energy to keep going until next year! utilize both indoor and outdoor space. Our booth will be indoors. Rather than having a program at our June PFLAG meeting, we will be making The parade will be on Sunday, July 6, signs to carry this year in the parade after 2008 and will begin at 1:00 p.m. The our support groups meet. This is actually Atlanta Pride Committee is currently a lot of fun and creative ideas abound. reviewing options for the final parade Please bring color markers and we will route, but the most likely solution will supply the other materials. We will also simply be to reverse the parade route. have PFLAG t-shirts available to wear in Once the final details of the route are the parade. confirmed, the Atlanta Pride Committee Continued on page 3 PF LAG meetings are held regularly in Atlanta . Ca ll (7 70) 66 2-6475 for more informa tion. on how to reduce hatred in school Events Calendar SPEAKERS’ BUREAU hallways and help them better understand June 2 - 1st Monday Support the need for policy and curricular changes Support only Kennesaw Confere n c e in their schools. They were also asked to let GLBT June 5-6 PFLAG Atlanta participated in the annual Kennesaw GLBT Summit in April. PFLAG Regional Conference Orlando Rick Marson, Jeff and Julie Mackenzie, and June 15 – Program and Support Mary Lynn and Dale Merkle held a workshop for attendees and managed an Sign Making exhibit table during the event. Besides Bring markers, signs supplied talking about what brought them to PFLAG and answering questions, Dale June 27 & 28 students and their parents Merkle spoke about Safe Schools work and know that PFLAG Atlanta exists and can Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus the MacKenzies talked about our new be of service to them. If you would like to Straight for Equality program. Alliance Theatre volunteer for the Safe Schools Committee, The PFLAGers also had the pleasure of please contact Chairman Dale Merkle at June 29 meeting Shane Windmeyer, founder and 4 0 4 - 6 3 3 - 7 1 8 3 . Scholarship Awards Ceremony executive director of Campus Pride. His ground-breaking college guide on the “100 First MCC 3:00 pm Best LGBT-Friendly Campuses and his Straight for Equality – July 5-6 LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index Making Connections (www.campusclimateindex.org) help Atlanta Gay Pride On Monday, April 28, PFLAG joined students understand how colleges fare on Met Life at their Alpharetta location to Civic Center glbt issues. Students, check out the present the Straight for Equality program. summer Leadership Camp at July 7 - 1st Monday Support Jody Huckaby and Jean-Marie Navetta C a m p u s p r i d e . o r g . from our national office made a Support only lunchtime power point presentation on July 20 – Program and Support G e o rgia Physicians for Human Rights Straight for Equality in the Workplace to Met Life’s Diversity Team and guests of Woodrow Leake, Executive Director Also in April, Rick Marson, our about 50. Included in the presentation Speakers’ Bureau co-Chairman, attended a Youth Pride were Dale and Mary Lynn Merkle (PFLAG meeting of the Physicians for Atlanta’s Safe Schools coordinator and co- August 4 - 1st Monday Support Human Rights. He told his personal story president respectively) who told “their and gave a detailed introduction to PFLAG. Support only story,” particularly how gaining the Rick reported a great response from the support of straight people in their work August 17 – Program and Support members and looks forward to working and personal lives affected change. In the with them again. Kathy Kelly, Executive Director audience were Lance Helms, Gulf Regional Director, and Karen Turner, Mega Family Safe Schools – PFLAG Atlanta’s other co-president. Regular Scheduled Meetings Packets for Counselors Networking was the order of the afternoon, and many cards and phone Third Sunday of Every Month Recently our Safe School Committee numbers were exchanged. The Straight 2:45 – 5:00pm sent out seventy-eight packets to school for Equality program is always well First MCC Social Hall counselors in Atlanta, Decatur, DeKalb, received, and we look forward to 1379 Tullie Rd., Atlanta Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett school sharing it with many groups. Keep it districts. Each packet contained materials Directions available at: (and us) in mind. that will arm counselors with information www.pflagatl.org/meetings.htm

2 T o l e a r n a b o u t P F L A G v i s i t o u r w e b s i t e a t w w w . p f l a g a t l . o r g Pride Weekend Continued from page 1

The parade is an easy, slow-paced, hour Come show your support for PFLAG, avoid large crowds, come see us and all or so walk. It generally is very warm, but our kids and the gay community. They that PRIDE has to offer on Saturday. Better check the forecast as two years ago it will certainly show us their appreciation! yet, volunteer to work. See Diana rained and umbrellas were in high Burdette at the June meeting or To get to the parade assembly point, demand. The parade starts at 1:00 p.m., so email us at [email protected]. check our website under Events. be sure to wear a hat and sunglasses, We will need your help. slather on the sunscreen and be there by Our booth location at the Civic Center 12:30 p.m. There will be lots of will be in the directory handed out at Pride volunteers along the way handing out ice and also on our website when we have water to the marchers. been assigned our place. If you prefer to

Check It Out, W e Have A New W e b s i t e ! by Karen Turner, PFLAG Atlanta Co-President

Our PFLAG Atlanta website has print out and mail in. Of course, our what makes the newsletter so eye recently undergone a stylish makeover. membership/donation envelopes will still catching. Now we are benefiting from her We hope you like our new look. be available. You can donate to help pay skills as a web designer. In her business, Though it has received a thorough for chapter expenses and the educational Sage Design, LLC, Margaret provides any update, you will recognize much of the and advocacy programs we are so heavily and all graphic design services. information available. involved in as well as our scholarship She creates logos, brochures, ads, fund. We’d love to have you try it out! However, we’ve added more. First annual reports, illustrations, and web sites. w w w . p f l a g . o r g we’ve added copies of our newsletter. Margaret does branding and market You will be able go back in time to see a We are so grateful to the tireless efforts research. Her clients range from startup history of prior PFLAG Atlanta activities of Margaret Johns in taking on this effort businesses to large corporations, from and check out the current quarterly as our web designer and new web master. politicians to musicians. newsletter as well. Margaret has long been a supporter and Please keep Margaret in mind if you volunteer for PFLAG Atlanta. She is the Secondly, we’ve added the ability to have any of these needs. She does graphics editor for this newsletter. She accept memberships and donate online outstanding work. was providing this service to us long through Paypal or enter membership and before I took over as newsletter editor and donation information to a form online to I am starting my ninth year. Margaret is

T o l e a r n a b o u t P F L A G v i s i t o u r w e b s i t e a t w w w . p f l a g a t l . o r g 3 NEW! PFLAG 1st Monday Support Meeting at UUCA!

PFLAG Atlanta will hold its first 1st at First MCC, 1379 Tullie Road. This Meetings. UUCA is located at 1911 Cliff Monday PFLAG Support Meeting on June support only, evening PFLAG meeting is Valley Way, NE, on the northbound I-85 2, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in UUCA’s Chapel. underwritten by UUCA’s Interweave and access road between N. Druid Hills (exit 1st Monday offers to LGBT persons and will be facilitated by PFLAG members Babs 89) and Clairmont Road (exit 91). their parents, families, and friends an and Jerry Hajdusiewicz. 1st Monday begins Additional directions are at uuca.org. For additional support opportunity each in June and meets on the first Monday of more information or questions, call Babs month. Our regular monthly meeting every month thereafter. at 404-320-3996 or [email protected]. which has a program followed by support Childcare is available with a one-week All interested persons are invited to groups is the 3rd Sunday of every month advance notice. attend 1st Monday PFLAG Support

Study: LGBT Parents More Involved In Schooling Excerpts from 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff April 10, 2008

A study of LGBT parents has found they parents with school-age children in school community and even from their are more likely to be involved in their the United States. children’s peers at school. Twenty-six children’s K-12 education than the general percent of LGBT parents in the survey More than half of LGBT parents parent population. reported mistreatment from other described various forms of exclusion from parents and 21 percent reported hearing It found that the parents were more their school communities: being excluded negative comments about being LGBT involved in school activities and were or prevented from fully participating in from students. more likely to have consistent communi- cation with school personnel. However, “This report shows when schools have both LGBT parents and children of LGBT anti-bullying policies that are inclusive of parents often report harassment because sexual orientation and gender identity, the of their family structure. rates of harassment are lowered dramat- ically,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive The report, "Involved, Invisible, director of the Family Equality Council. Ignored,” was prepared by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education “These policies and comprehensive Network, in partnership with the Family diversity curricula are tools that can curb Equality Council and COLAGE. mistreatment and bolster participation from all families. Knowing what works is a Compared against data from the start, but schools have a long way to go National Center for Education Statistics and much left to do in putting them to the LGBT parents are more likely to attend a school activities and events, being best and fullest use for our kids.” parent-teacher conference in the past year excluded by school policies and (94 percent to 77 percent) and more likely procedures, and being ignored and Please Note: Kathy Kelly, Executive to volunteer (67 percent to 42 percent). feeling invisible. Director of Mega Family will be our speaker in August and will address some Current estimates indicate there In addition, LGBT parents reported of these issues. are more than seven million LGBT mistreatment from other parents in the

Atlanta’s Gay Men’s Chorus “They Had It Coming” – The Music of Kander and Ebb The AGMC is giving its final performances of the season on June 27 at 8 pm and June 28 at 2 pm & 8 pm at the Alliance Theatre. This award winning revue has been called “musical theatre’s long overdue love-letter from the gay community.” For more information, go to agmchorus.org.

4 T o l e a r n a b o u t P F L A G v i s i t o u r w e b s i t e a t w w w . p f l a g a t l . o r g