PFLAG

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(Information Citation: https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/christopher-street-west-la-pride-parade https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-la-pride-history-2017-htmlstory.html )
Pride parades have been taking place to commemorate the Stonewall riots from New York City in 1969. Christopher Street West Association, Inc. organized the first LA Pride Parade in Los Angeles on June 28, 1970, and, despite gay sex still being illegal in California, about 1,000 people showed up. Despite the hardships that Los Angeles LGBTQ communities faced, with police brutality AIDS and events in between, the LA Pride Parade has been able to continue for the past 40 years and many years to come.

( http://www.lbpflag.org/history-of-pflag.html link to the image) (Information citation: https://pflag.org/our-story https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/remembering-jeanne-manford-mother-lgbtq-ally-movement-n1004441 )
In April 1972 Jeanne Manford's son, Morty who was a gay activist, was beaten and hospitalized because of the beatings by police while he was passing out flyers in the fifteenth annual Inner Circle. After receiving the call of her son being beaten and hospitalized, Jeanne decided to participate in the New York Pride March on June 25th, 1972. She carried a sign saying, "Parents of Gays Unite in Support for Our Children" which drew attention from other young people and parents of LGBTQ children and because of this act was named, “...the mother of the LGBTQ ally movement.”

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(Information citation: https://pflag.org/our-story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PFLAG )
After the reaction of young gay and lesbian people towards her sign, Jeanne decided to create a support group. The support group offers a "safe haven" to those who have been rejected and kicked out of their homes and for those who are afraid to come out to their families for the same reason. On March 11, 1973, the first formal meeting took place in the Metropolitan-Duane Methodist Church in Greenwich Village. There were approximately 20 people who attended the meeting.

(Picture Citation https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/episode-01-08/ ) (Information citation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Abby https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parents-Families-and-Friends-of-Lesbians-and-Gays https://www.dailynews.com/2007/10/10/dear-abbys-stand-on-gays-earns-her-pflag-honors/ )
A year after the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights PFLAG established itself as a source of information for the public, distributing accurate and positive information about gay people to educational institutions and communities of faith. After “Dear Abby” mentioned PFLAG as a resource to a concerned parent, "Dear Abby" was called to discuss the purpose of PFLAG by the organizer of the Los Angeles P-Flag chapter Adele Starr. After receiving 7,500 letters, because of PFLAG's call to "Dear Abby", members decided to launch a national organization.

( this picture is a snippet from https://pflag.org/ ) (information citation: https://pflag.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PFLAG https://pflag.org/our-story )
Under founding president Adele Starr, the first PFLAG National office formed in Los Angelas. In 1982, PFLAG incorporated in California and was granted non-profit and tax-exempt status, at this time PFLAG represented about 20 groups. In 1987 under the leadership of President Elinor Lewallen formed a facility in Denver.

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Between 1993 and 1998, PFLAG added bisexual and transgender people to its mission making it the first national LGBT group that adopted a transgender-inclusive policy in its work. In the mid-1990s the Department of Education ruled that Title IX, "...includes...discrimination for failing to conform to gender stereotypes." (How The Law Protects LGBTQ Youth) After Pat Robertson, whos is a "born-again Christian" (Wikipedia page about Pat Robertson), threatened to sue any station that carried the Project Open Mind advertisements, media coverage of PFLAG connecting hate speech that contained hate crimes to LGBTQ teen suicide.

(Image credit: YouTube video https://pflag.org/our-story )
(Information credit: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/04/18/barbara-bush-leaves-legacy-of-embracing-gays-people-with-hivaids/ https://wtop.com/dc/2018/04/just-unconditional-love-barbara-bushs-1989-dc-aids-hospice-visit-changed-the-hiv-conversation/ )
In 1990 Barbara Bush used her position as First Lady to start a social firestorm for social conservatives to push the U.S. government to accept gay people and the LGBT community, she was the first person in the White House to give positive comments about the gay community. Mrs. Bush left a legacy that changed the conversation about those within the LGBTQ community and those who were/are being affected by AIDS/HIV, in a 2018 WTOP article her influence, “...reduced ignorance, and made people think, and made them care.” In a time where fear controlled the actions of everyone, no matter how heartless they may be, Mrs. Bush showed the world the reality of what they feared, that LGBTQ people and people with AIDS/HIV are just like everyone else and also deserves compassion and care despite their illness.

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(Information Citation: https://pflag.org/global-matters https://pflag.org/tags/international https://pflag.org/intlfamilygroups https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/queer-street-performer-south-korea-promotes-acceptance-art-n684401 )
The countries that PFLAG has support groups in besides the U.S. are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zeland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Vietnam. According to the PFLAG website the first global PFLAG support was launched on November 16, 2016, for Korean parents of LGBTQ children to go to a meet-up.