Florida parents have organized with Equality Florida, a statewide civil rights organization, to formally launch a new program that parents say will allow them to “fight back against the rising tide of right-wing extremism.”
“We are under attack,” Cassandra Brown, a local Black mom and native Floridian, said at a press conference Tuesday morning. “We must stand up and we must fight back.”
The program, Parenting With Pride, was developed in partnership with national organizations such as the Trevor Project, PFLAG and the Human Rights Campaign.
Its launch comes in response to a right-wing “parental rights in education” movement that, in Florida, has sought to roll back acceptance of gay, queer, and transgender people and to whitewash history in public schools, under the guise of empowering parents.
“For years, parents and families just like the ones behind me have been under assault,” said Brandon Wolf, an LGBTQ activist and press secretary for Equality Florida. “Politicians have waged war on these families, turning their classrooms into political battlefields and descending school districts into utter chaos.”
Florida’s Republican-controlled state legislature this year passed a number of anti-LGBTQ bills, approved by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, that have raised red flags for parents. Florida schools in particular, many of which have started the school year with teacher shortages, have become a battleground for the right wing’s culture war.
New state regulations ban classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, require students and teachers to use bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth, and regulate chosen name and pronoun usage by school staff and students.
Books that tackle difficult issues like racism, or feature LGBTQ themes, have been removed from school libraries in classrooms to comply with state law, and there’s been mass confusion among school district officials and teachers over schools’ ability to offer individual courses, such as the College Board’s AP Psychology and AP African American Studies, due to vague guidance from the state.
Brown, a local mom and equal rights advocate, questioned the priorities of state leaders. She said that for families like hers, it’s not a question of if her children will learn about the uglier aspects of American history, but how.
“I, as a Black mother, do not have the luxury of hiding or protecting my children from the uncomfortable truths of our history,” said Brown, expressing concern about book bans and policies that censor, or erase, African American history in public education.
courtesy photo/Equality Florida
Parents and LGBTQ advocates gather for the launch of a Parenting With Pride program in Orlando. (Aug. 15, 2023)
“Our children deserve to know the truth, no matter how embarrassing or painful,” she said. “They deserve to see themselves successful, healed and thriving through the lives of their idols and ancestors found in books.”
Heather Wilkie, a licensed mental health counselor and executive director of the pro-LGBTQ organization Zebra Youth, shared that her rights — both as a LGBTQ mother and partner to a nonbinary educator in the public education system — matter just as much as those of the loudest member of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that has advocated for anti-LGBTQ policies in schools.
“My son deserves to be able to share his family life with his peers, and his teachers should be able to support him without fear of losing their jobs,” said Wilkie. “Each of us here today have the power of our stories and our voices, and our parental rights matter, too.”
The new parents’ program, officially launched Tuesday, aims to offer a one-stop resource for Florida parents and families of diverse backgrounds. Families can find or request guidance on new laws, connect with other parents in their communities, and plug into opportunities to collectively speak up and speak out.
It’s beginner-friendly, and families are welcome to opt into whatever is most helpful for them at this point in time. Even if it’s just an opportunity to connect with other parents who have learned how to come to terms with and respect their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Already, over 1,000 families across Florida, from Pensacola to Key West, have expressed interest in the program, according to Equality Florida, demonstrating a sizable interest in organizing a broad coalition even prior to its official launch.
You can find more information about the program at parentingwithprideflorida.org.
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