In this issue: Oakland Pride, '40 Years Strong' Celebration, and Advocacy Opportunities | | | In Unity, We Thrive:
March with Us in the Oakland Pride Parade
This Sunday, September 7 at 11:00 AM
Join PFLAG Oakland/East Bay as we march in the Oakland Pride Parade and celebrate the 15th anniversary of one of the most diverse and inclusive Pride events in the Bay Area.
Each year, thousands of people come together in downtown Oakland to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture, identity, and community. This milestone year is all about honoring our history, showing up for each other, and creating space where everyone feels seen, safe and celebrated.
Oakland Pride is a family-friendly event. Bring the kids, your chosen family, friends, and neighbors. From the youngest supporters to the more “seasoned” community members, there’s something for everyone: great food, music, dancing, art, 200+ exhibitors at the festival, and a whole lot of PRIDE.
Our PFLAG Oakland/East Bay contingent will gather at 11:00 AM outside Haus of Chefs at 410 21st St (note new location). Please respond to this email to let us know you’re coming.
The parade is free, but if you want to enter the festival grounds, you’ll need a ticket. So, get your tickets today and be part of the fun.
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September Meeting: Support Only
Our regular chapter meeting in September will be for confidential sharing and support only. Because of our 40th Anniversary celebration, we will not have a formal program on Tuesday, September 23.
The support-only meeting will be held 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.
| | Thank you to everyone who volunteered or visited our table at Berkeley Pride! | | |
Equality California End-of-Session Legislative Briefing
Wednesday, September 10,
1 PM (Online)
With the 2025 California legislative session coming to a close, Equality California invites you to a virtual briefing on the status of this year’s LGBTQ+ priority legislation. They will provide updates on priority bills heading to Governor Newsom’s desk and share opportunities to advocate in these final weeks.
The briefing will also cover the latest developments on Proposition 50 – the Election Rigging Response Act – which will appear on the November ballot and give voters an opportunity to push back against President Trump’s power grab in Texas and other Republican-led states.
Register for the briefing!
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Submit Comments to the FTC to Protect Gender-Affirming Care
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an alarming “public inquiry” to attack the field of transition-related healthcare (gender-affirming care)—a safe, effective, and medically necessary practice grounded in decades of research and clinical expertise—as an “unfair and deceptive practice”.
Let’s leverage our collective voices and speak the truth that:
- Transgender people are REAL.
- Transgender people deserve AFFIRMING medical care.
- Healthcare for transgender people should be available WITHOUT government interference.
Take action NOW and submit a public comment by September 26!
For more information, guidance and instructions on how to submit your comment, and a direct link to where you can make your voice heard, visit http://pflag.org/gac_ftc.
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Upcoming Free Clinics on
Name and Gender Changes
Following last month's program on transgender legal issues, we want to let you know about the East Bay Community Law Center's upcoming workshops on name and gender changes. These free clinics are hosted either in-person (at Berkeley Law), over Zoom, or over the telephone. Here are the dates and times for the next clinics:
- September 30, 6 to 9:30 PM
- October 28, 6 to 9:30 PM
- November 18, 6 to 9:30 PM
The clinics help transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming individuals fill out and file paperwork for court-ordered name and/or gender marker changes. They help folks affirm their identities on their driver’s licenses, passports, social security cards, USCIS documents, and other forms of identification. The clinics also help you apply for fee waivers and are available to answer any other general questions you might have.
To sign up for a workshop, contact the East Bay Community Law Center at (510) 548-4040 x387, or ngcw@ebclc.org.
Additional resources:
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S.F. Dance Performance to Honor Transgender Uprising in the '60s
Nearly 60 years ago, one of the first protests of police violence against queer people anywhere in the United States took place at Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. Today, a new public art performance – Down on the Corner – aims to honor that uprising.
The project also invites the public to reimagine what the former Compton's Cafeteria site at 111 Taylor Street could be today. Since 2004, the building has been operated as a for-profit reentry service facility by GEO Group, a private prison corporation with a long record of labor abuse, human rights violations and immigrant detention.
Down on the Corner features live dance performances by a cast of queer, transgender, and female performers. Performances will take place on October 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 at 7:30 and 8:30 PM each night, with a pre-show history talk at 7:15 PM. Audiences should meet at the southeast corner of Turk and Taylor Streets in San Francisco. All performances are free and no reservations are required.
For more information, visit the Flyaway Productions website.
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Learning With Love: The 2025 PFLAG National Convention
Come to Chicago on October 10-12, 2025 and join PFLAGers from our Oakland/East Bay chapter and across the country for three days of courageous community.
The convention will have plenaries, special guest speakers, and six different workshop tracks covering Communications; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Resilience; Trans and Nonbinary Inclusion; and Underserved Populations.
Don’t miss the opportunity to engage with over 500 active PFLAG leaders, members, and supporters! Please let us know if you're interested in coming but have questions or if cost is an issue.
Register now!
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In the News: Positive Developments
Florida – Federal judge holds that Florida discriminated against transgender teacher. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker held that Florida’s law banning teachers from sharing their preferred pronouns with their students discriminated against the teacher based on sex and changed her employment conditions, which violates federal law.
Florida – Federal judge strikes down major portion of Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ book ban law. HB 1069, signed into law in 2023, established a process by which school libraries must remove books from the shelves after a parent challenges them, and keep them off the shelves while a review is conducted to see if the books are “pornographic” or “describe sexual conduct.” District Court Judge Carlos Mendoza ruled that the law’s prohibition on books that “describe sexual conduct” is “overbroad” and “unconstitutional,” noting that the law has resulted in books like The Color Purple, The Handmaid’s Tale, Beloved, and Native Son being banned from schools.
Ohio – Ohio city bans conversion therapy, passes LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination ordinance. The Ohio city of Whitehall has joined a growing list of cities in the state that have passed pro-LGBTQ+ legislation. The Whitehall City Council last month passed an ordinance prohibiting anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in employment and housing as well as banning conversion therapy for minors.
Pennsylvania – Federal judge dismisses lawsuit by cisgender student athlete who competed against transgender athlete. A cisgender girl in Bucks County, Pennsylvania sued the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) and two Pennsylvania school districts after she competed against a trans student in a cross-country meet. Federal Judge Wendy Beetlestone threw out the suit, writing that the suit is “devoid of any factual allegations that [the plaintiff] was subject to purposeful discrimination, other than asserting as much in the most conclusory fashion.”
Virginia - Loudon County schools to maintain trans inclusive policies. The Loudon County School Board voted 6-3 to maintain its policies allowing trans students to use facilities matching their gender identity, despite an order from the U.S. Department of Education for the district to change the policy. The Board stated that the Department of Education’s order created “a direct tension between federal agency guidance and binding judicial authority.”
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Local, Virtual Support Meetings
Ongoing Events
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