The Importance of Allies and the Founding of PFLAG

April of 1972, Jean Manford received a call from a New York hospital that her son Morty, a gay activist, was the victim of a serious beating having been kicked and stomped on while distributing flyers at a political event. He had then been led away by police. Her love for her son and her outrage at his treatment catapulted her to take action that not only changed her life but benefitted hundreds of thousands of others. Terrified for her son, she wrote a letter, entitled “A Fair Chance” to the New York Post expressing her outrage at the incident. She identified herself as the mother of a gay protester and complained of police inaction. In the weeks that followed, accompanied by her husband and son she began a campaign by giving interviews to radio and television shows in several cities. Voicing her love for her homosexual son was considered to be very radical an possibly even dangerous.

Manford marches with Morty in what would become New York City’s gay pride march, in 1972.

On June 25, 1972 she participated with her son in the New York Pride March, carrying a hand-lettered sign that read “Parents of Gays Unite in Support for Our Children.” At the time, homosexuality was still considered a mental illness and sodomy a crime. Her courage in participating in the New York Pride Parade to declare support for her “mentally ill, outlaw son” was described as an act of tremendous bravery. For Jean Manford it was a statement of a mother’s love. What was important to her was the cheers she received in the parade from the young people “hugging me, kissing me, screaming, and asking if I would talk to their parents.”

Because of this enthusiastic outpouring of love, Manford and her husband developed an idea for an organization of the parents of gays and lesbians that could be, “a bridge between the gay community and the heterosexual community.” The first meeting of the group—then called Parents of Gays, now Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PLAG)—was attended by about 20 people. It was held at the Metropolitan-Duane Methodist Church, now the Church of the Village. Today, over 50 years later, PFLAG is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. For more about PLAG, CLICK HERE.

The 2024 National Women’s History Month theme

As you know, each year the NWHA selects a theme that is adopted nation-wide by educational institutions at all levels, government agencies, libraries, women’s organizations, and even the military during March, National Women’s History Month, to recognize and celebrate women’s contributions. For the first time this year, we are involving NWHA members in the theme nominating process for the 2024 theme. If you would like to nominate a theme, please become a member before July 19th for that is the deadline for theme nominations. JOIN US TODAY!