Pride 365

Last week we attended the launch of Pride 365, the initiative of JC Pride which helps the city recognize Pride throughout the year, not just at the parade/festival in August. BTW: you can put the date for JCPride2020 on your calendar now—it’s Saturday, Aug 22.

There are going to be lots of events throughout the year that will fall under the umbrella of Pride 365, and we’ll try to list as many of them here on this site as we can, as well as on our Instagram page (@pflagjerseycity).

Here’s an event you’ll hopefully be able to attend this coming Saturday.

Drag Queen Story Hour is a popular program for youngsters, but this is the first time it’s going to be hosted at our library!

Sat, Feb 8th, 10am, in the children’s room of the Main Library on Jersey Ave. Make sure you arrive a few minutes early because there will probably be a big crowd!

cyber-bullying

“support, educate, advocate”

Those are the three goals of PFLAG, no matter what city or state you live in. As part of our “education” effort, we met with teachers at a local school this week, talking about how to use LGBTQ+ terms correctly, how to create gender neutral spaces, and how best to help students who are feeling very unsure of themselves.

One of the topics that came up, which we will address more fully next week, was how to handle bullying, since quite a bit of it is centered around any perceived “otherness.” Teachers have to deal with bullying as it happens, but wouldn’t it be great if we could stop it before it starts?

Here’s a terrific resource for anyone who has a child: endcyberbullying.org

Their page “prevention for teens” lists several steps that adults can take.

Will those steps stop bullying overnight? No, but collective action by all concerned adults would do a lot to help end the problem.

making it public

It’s great that we have the entire internet at our fingertips through our devices, but when it comes to sorting through ideas, nothing replaces one-on-one conversations, or public forums with those who have first-hand experience.

That’s why we’re having this event on Sun, Jan 12, at 3:30pm.

We want everyone to hear our panel’s ideas and experiences, and we want those who attend to get their questions answered.

Please join us, and please spread the word!

Thank you—see you soon!

Snapdragon Cafe, 190 Monticello Ave in Jersey City.