In this issue: November Meeting, Giving Thanks, and Remembering Lia Smith | | |
Our November Meeting: We're Here for You
Tuesday, November 25, 7 PM
For our November meeting, we will offer confidential sharing and support in small groups at our usual location. Given the proximity to Thanksgiving, it will be a shorter meeting without a formal program, but we want to offer you the opportunity to gather and support each other for those who are available.
For December, we will not have a regular monthly meeting. Instead, you and your family are invited to join us on Sunday, December 14, from 1 to 3 PM for our annual holiday gathering in Berkeley. Please reply to this email for the address and to RSVP.
The November meeting will be held Tuesday, November 25, from 7 to 8 PM in the Campbell Room at St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Avenue in Berkeley (look for the PFLAG banner). Masks are optional. We ask that you not attend if you are feeling unwell or if you've been in contact with anyone who is unwell.
Between meetings, our board is still here to connect with you one-on-one. Email pflagoeb@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 510-562-7692 and we will call you back.
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Giving Thanks to Our Dedicated PFLAG Volunteers Through the Decades
During this month of Thanksgiving, we want to acknowledge the remarkable volunteers who keep our chapter running through set up, snacks, hosting, tabling at events, organizing the meetings, updating the website, and sending out the newsletter.
We also want to honor volunteers from previous decades, including Betty McCall. With her husband Tom, Betty worked tirelessly to support other members and build the chapter, serving in every leadership role over close to 30 years.
Betty’s daughter Betsy McCall remembers: “My mom was a joiner and organizer. I think she came to acceptance and understanding [that I was a lesbian] within a year or two of my coming out. By 1983 she was involved, helping run PFLAG, helping run the meetings… She decided PFLAG would be her mission in life.” Betsy and her spouse Chav were among the guests at our 40th anniversary celebration.
Thank you to Betty and Tom McCall and all the individuals who support our work to create a caring, just, and affirming world for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.
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Remembering Lia Purcell Smith for Her Deep Empathy, Keen Mind, and Undaunted Courage
We were heartbroken to learn of the passing of Lia Smith, the niece of fellow PFLAG Oakland/East Bay chapter members Marcilie Smith Boyle and Colin Boyle.
Lia, 21, was a senior at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she was a double major in computer science and statistics, a diver on the women’s swimming and diving team, a member of the LGBTQ+, bridge, chess, and Japanese clubs, and a strong advocate of transgender rights. Read more about Lia here and here.
“Lia will be remembered for her deep sense of empathy, her clever puns, her keen mind, particularly with respect to analytical matters, her robust and infectious laugh, her love of poetry and music, which she performed both as an accomplished pianist and trombonist, and perhaps most importantly, her undaunted courage,” her family said.
Instead of flowers, Marcilie asks that donations in Lia’s memory from chapter members be made to PFLAG: https://pflag.org/donate/ Use pflagoeb@gmail.com as the honoree contact address.
At PFLAG, we're working hard to create a caring, just, and affirming world for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. It’s a tragedy that this world didn't arrive quickly enough for Lia. However, we still draw strength from our work and know you do, too.
At some point, many of us will need to respond to someone in our work or personal lives who is experiencing suicidal thoughts. This is a difficult topic so remember that you don't have to confront it alone. Here are some places to get support:
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Celebrating Trans Awareness Week: November 13 to 19
At PFLAG, we celebrate and honor our trans and nonbinary loved ones every day of the year, including during special awareness moments, like Trans Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance. These annual observances in November encourage learning with an open heart about transgender people and trans identities, and the issues the community faces.
Trans people have ALWAYS existed, will ALWAYS exist, and will ALWAYS belong in our communities. And to our wonderful trans loved ones: Your right to be happy, healthy, and safe is not up for debate. We see you, we support you, and we will ALWAYS keep fighting by your side. Want to learn more or be a better ally? Check out our Transgender Resources.
In November, Trans Awareness Week is followed by Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), a solemn day of mourning as we remember the transgender people who were murdered in the past year simply because they are transgender. TDOR takes place annually on Nov. 20th. Visit Trans Remembrance, a project by our friends at the National Center for Transgender Equality, to learn more.
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‘Heightened Scrutiny’ Documentary Available for Streaming Until Nov. 19
With this year’s dangerous U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a ban on life-saving healthcare for transgender youth, “Heightened Scrutiny” is an urgent call to action against bigotry and injustice.
The documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is now available for streaming until Nov. 19.
“Heightened Scrutiny” follows Chase Strangio, ACLU attorney and the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court, as he fights a high-stakes legal battle to overturn Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth (United States v. Skrmetti).
The film exposes the dangerous role of mainstream media in fueling anti-trans legislation, uncovering how biased coverage drives hate, endangers lives, and threatens democracy itself.
Visit this website to start streaming "Heightened Scrutiny."
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PFLAG National Launches 'Fighting For Our Pride' Campaign
Across the country, families are facing an unprecedented wave of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ people—especially youth. From book bans and classroom censorship to restrictions on gender-affirming care, attacks on identity documents, and renewed threats to marriage equality, these measures harm families, divide communities, and undermine our shared values.
PFLAG families know this: love and liberty are inseparable. That’s why PFLAG National has launched Fighting for Our Pride—a nationwide campaign focused on advocacy at the state and local level, where many of the most harmful policies are being introduced and passed.
This campaign equips, trains, and mobilizes families to push back against these attacks and fight for the dignity, safety, and rights our loved ones deserve. Together, we’ll work to create safe and inclusive learning environments, secure access to care and protection of privacy, and protect full recognition and dignity in public life for LGBTQ+ people.
This campaign is about action. PFLAG members and supporters are uniquely suited for this moment—because we are family. Whether it’s writing an email to an elected official, speaking out at a town hall, or showing up at a statehouse, PFLAG National has your back.
Learn about ways you can take action.
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In the News: Positive Developments
The 2025 elections sent a powerful message: voters are rejecting efforts to vilify transgender people and instead are all in on fairness, inclusion, and respect for all. From statewide contests to local races, communities made it clear that they want leaders who reflect the values of dignity, equality, and justice.
Colorado - Douglas County voters elect new school board members. Four new members were elected to the Douglas County school board, all backed by local progressive organizations. The defeated candidates ran on a platform of “parental rights” and anti-trans athlete ban policies.
Maine - Augusta voters reject candidate who campaigned on rolling back trans-inclusive school policies. The Augusta (Maine) School District rejected at least one candidate who ran on repealing the district’s trans inclusive policies. Voters elected all three candidates for school board supported by the Democratic Party.
Ohio - Akron voters elect three new school board members. The new members of the school board were endorsed by the Akron Education Association and were backed by local Democratic Party organizations.
Pennsylvania - Bucks County voters elect school board members. Members of Bucks County’s 13 school boards were elected on November 4th. Democratic Party backed candidates won a majority of seats on most school boards.
Texas - Three new members elected to Cy-Fair School Board. The Houston-area school board had previously been controlled by a conservative majority which had aggressively banned books from school libraries. Three members of that conservative majority, including the president and vice president of the school board, lost re-election.
Virginia - Virginia Voters reject anti-trans campaigns. Campaign ads for Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who was running for Governor, heavily featured anti-trans themes, including one ad which claimed that Virginia would face “predators in little girl’s locker rooms” if Abigail Spanberger was elected. Earle-Sears went on to lose the election to Abigail Spanberger by a wide margin.
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Local, Virtual Support Meetings
Ongoing Events
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