We all know that hate is not inherited - there are no hate genes passed from one generation to the next. Hate is learned, and intolerance and discrimination are modeled by parents, teachers, school systems, religious leaders, corporations and institutions that have power and authority. The PFLAG family voice is one of comfort and support, but it is also one of advocacy, challenging the status quo so that all people, including our GLBT and questioning young people, are safe and free from discrimination, bullying and violence.
This is the panel from the program Traditional Families - Fact or Fiction?, offered at the November, 2006 Spirit and Place Festival in Indianapolis. At the left is keynote speaker Dr. Brian Powell of the Sociology Department at Indiana University, Bloomington. Next to him is the family of Paige Hawksworth, Bil Browning and Jerame Davis, then Margeaux May, then Kim Sorg-Graves and Garland Graves.
PFLAG passes out literature at conferences for teachers and social workers, visits high school and college classrooms and participates in diversity programs at area companies. This information table was at a meeting of the Indiana School Counselor's Association.
If you would like PFLAG visitors to come tell their stories or talk to your classroom, group or business, write us at indypflagspeakers@yahoo.com.