Today we hear from Kathy Gage, board member of a new Minnesota chapter, PFLAG New Prague Area:
I was a little nervous, but mostly excited. We are actually going to do this! The New Prague area support group had just become officially associated with PFLAG this past May. Our eight family group knew that there were more people out there who needed the same thing, but were either unaware of our presence or afraid to come for help. Our community is a rural, small town of about 7,400 people. You don’t just hop in the car for a quick trip to Target. Like most other communities, there is a need to be safe, to be accepted, and to belong.
But this next step is what stretched us even more, made us feel vulnerable, made us visible. We walked in the Dozinky Farm Pride Parade!
At first we didn't know if we could rally enough people. We solicited the support of friends and family and were pleasantly surprised to have over 50 people walk with us! A high school student was instrumental in getting about a dozen teenagers to come along. One woman chased us down on her bicycle and hopped on the float, bike and all. There were scowls and frowns and looks of puzzlement along the parade route after reading our signs. There were also smiles, waving, and clapping for us. One woman said, “Oh, my word!“ Another woman said, “Well, it’s about time!”
