PFLAG’s “What Makes Pride” with Melissa Harris-Perry

WASHINGTON—Beginning June 1st and continuing each Tuesday in June, PFLAG National invites viewers to tune in to the new limited series What Makes Pride, hosted by Melissa Harris-Perry. Each of the five episodes will premiere at 11:30am ET/8:30am PT every Tuesday in June on PFLAG National’s YouTube and Facebook channels, and at pflag.org/whatmakespride, with additional content on PFLAG National’s Instagram feed. 

In a year marked by social upheaval, growing white supremacist movements, and a global pandemic, organizations led by and for people who are queer, transgender, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (QTBIPOC) are creating transformational change in communities. What Makes Pride focuses the lens on their stories, their work, and the QTBIPOC leaders who embody Pride in 2021.

“As the nation’s largest organization for families and allies of LGBTQ+ people, it’s our role to signal boost. What Makes Pride builds on this action, and elevates the ‘who’ behind transformational work,” said PFLAG National Executive Director Brian K. Bond. “I’m excited that so many more people will learn about these incredible organizations and leaders. We’re grateful to host Melissa Harris-Perry, the production teams with the Anna Julia Cooper Center and Bellflower Media, Tomu DJ, and especially our wonderful agency, Wear Your Voice, for their work to bring these important conversations to light.”

“I am looking forward to sharing the What Makes Pride series with a broad audience,” said host Melissa Harris-Perry. “These are conversations with critical voices, extraordinary artists, and effective organizers. I am so honored to have had the opportunity to host these episodes.”

What Makes Pride is a production of PFLAG National, hosted by Melissa Harris-Perry. Each episode features music by Tomu DJ. Wear Your Voice is the agency leading production, in partnership with the creative teams at the Anna Julia Cooper Center and Bellflower Media.

EPISODES (PREMIERE EVERY TUESDAY AT 11:30 AM ET/8:30 AM PT)

Episode 1: June 1 – BIPOC Pride Organizations
Featuring: Jay Walker, Co-Founder, Reclaim Pride Coalition; and Taylor Alxndr, Executive Director, Southern Fried Queer Pride

Episode 2: June 8 – Housing Justice
Featuring: Mariah Moore, Co-Director, House of Tulip; Jesse Pratt-Lopez, Founder and Co-Director, Trans Housing Coalition

Episode 3: June 15 – Incarceration
Featuring: Dominique Morgan, Executive Director, Black and Pink; Janetta Johnson, Executive Director, Transgender, Gender Variant, and Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP)

Episode 4: June 22 – Community
Featuring: Asanni Armon, Founder and Head Doll, For the Gworls; Kerbie Joseph, Safe Outside the System Coordinator, Audre Lorde Project 

Episode 5: June 29 – Family (Two-parter)
Featuring: Aruna Rao, PFLAG National Board Member and Executive Director, Desi Rainbow Parents and Allies; Gizella Czene, President, PFLAG en Español; Sung Tse, President, PFLAG SGV API, and Robert A. Marchman, Esq., Secretary, PFLAG National Board of Directors; and Earl Fowlkes, President, Center for Black Equity

Introduction to What Makes Pride
“What makes Pride? We’ve been taught that pride is sinful, selfish, arrogant, deadly, but we know better. Pride is not deadly; hate is. Hate is the violence trying to make us small, silent, invisible, extinct. Pride is the extravagant, unapologetic embrace of our wholeness. Pride is the affirmation of our humanity. Pride announces we are here on our own terms. And for Pride to be real, it must confront all the hate that seeks to destroy. Pride must battle white supremacy. It must end poverty. It must uproot patriarchy. Pride must liberate, house, clothe, and build.” 

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ABOUT PFLAG NATIONAL
PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies. With over 400 chapters and 250,000 members and supporters crossing multiple generations of families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas across America, PFLAG is committed to creating a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed. To learn more, visit pflag.org, like us on Facebook (/pflag), or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok (all handles @pflag). 

ABOUT MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY
Professor Melissa Harris-Perry is the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University. She is founder and president of the Anna Julia Cooper Center and co-creator and co-host of the podcast System Check. From 2012-2016, she hosted the television show “Melissa Harris-Perry” on weekend mornings on MSNBC and was awarded the Hillman Prize for broadcast journalism. She has served as editor-at-large for Elle.com and as a contributing editor for The Nation.

ABOUT WEAR YOUR VOICE
Wear Your Voice is a digital magazine for and by LGBTQIA+ Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) based in the United States. We publish reported articles, features, personal essays, and critical analyses of current events, politics, entertainment, culture, sexuality, health, and more. We prioritize the voices of those who have historically been kept out of mainstream publishing and we aim to highlight our stories, our cultures, and our perspectives in a world that has ignored us. Wear Your Voice previously worked with PFLAG National to produce You Are My Pride, a short film for Pride 2020.