We're All In for Oakland Pride

In this issue: Oakland Pride, PFLAG Votes 2026 and Our August Support Meeting

Sunday, August 16, 10:30 AM to 6 PM

Our chapter is all in for Oakland Pride this year! We will march in the parade and host a booth, celebrating this hyperlocal and inclusive event run by our longtime partner the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. We hope you can march, table with us, or both!

Come march with us!

The Parade

10:30 AM to Noon

(From 21st and Broadway to Clay St.)

We love marching in this parade - come join the fun! Email us at pflagoeb@gmail.com to let us know you're coming and we will share the details with you.

Come table with us!

The Festival

Noon to 6 PM (Frank Ogawa Plaza, Downtown Oakland)

Help staff our table at the Festival for a two-hour shift! Email pflagoeb@gmail.com to volunteer. We especially need volunteers for the 2-4pm and 4-5pm (cleanup) shift. We promise that tabling isn't scary, and we'll pair you with an experienced volunteer. If you just want to visit the festival, across multiple stages and spaces, you’ll find music, movement, culture, and connection including multiple live music and dance stages, community and vendor booths, wellness programming, specialized family and adult zones, and a VIP lounge experience for those who wish to pay more. General admission is $22.56 (including fees), $11.94 for seniors over age 60, and free to kids age 12 and under. Learn more and purchase festival tickets.

August Meeting: Support Only

Tuesday, August 25, 7 PM

Our regular chapter meeting this month will be for confidential sharing and support only. We will not have a formal program on Tuesday, August 25.

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.

Your Partners in Activism: Rainbow Families Action

We loved having Rainbow Families Action at our July meeting speaking about the activism they do with and for our families. We encourage you to explore the resources listed on their website, including opportunities for action, information on rights, and a one-pager for allies. There is also a Rainbow Families group focused solely on support for parents and community for youth, learn more here.

PFLAG Votes 2026: Turning Pride into Power

Wednesday, August 12, 5:30 PM

This election season, PFLAG wants to empower every PFLAG advocate to strengthen their communities through civic participation. Building on the momentum of our Fighting for Our Pride campaign, PFLAG Votes recognizes that advocacy does not stop in Congress, at the statehouse, or at the school board. It continues in our neighborhoods, in our conversations, and at the ballot box.

Join PFLAG National on Wednesday, August 12th at 5:30pm PT to learn how you can turn your pride into power! From checking your voter registration to learning about the issues affecting LGBTQ+ people and families and encouraging those around you to participate, you’ll gain the tools and resources that will ensure you’re prepared this election.

PFLAG Regional Summit: A Day to Inspire and Energize

Saturday, October 10, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, in San Bruno

This fall, PFLAG chapters from across Northern California and Nevada are coming together for a one-day regional summit about turning the love we carry into the action our communities need.

We'll hear from chapter leaders and partner organizations, share what's working, build real relationships across our region, and leave with more energy than we arrived with. Whether you’ve been doing this work for decades or you just joined your local chapter, this is a day where you belong.

The summit will be held at Skyline College in San Bruno. All keynotes and talks will also be livestreamed on Zoom.

In the News: Positive Developments

PFLAG National helps drive comments to the FCC opposing warning labels for LGBTQ+ television content. A coalition of over 40 organizations, including PFLAG National, drove public comments to the FCC after the agency released a proposal to add warning labels to television content containing "gender identity themes." 80% of the nearly 34,000 comments submitted opposed the proposal.

Five federal workers file suit against Trump Administration challenging legality of exclusion of gender-affirming care coverage from healthcare benefits. The suit, which was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on August 3rd, claims the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directive requiring health insurance providers for federal and postal employee health programs to stop covering gender-affirming care violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Justice Department (DOJ) accused of violating federal court order related to housing incarcerated transgender women. Attorneys for a group of transgender women currently held in federal prisons are claiming the DOJ violated a federal order not to transfer the women out of a women’s correctional facility by placing them in segregated housing under “conditions [that] are not in any way comparable to a women’s facility.” While attorneys for the DOJ claim the federal order only prevented the women from being transferred to a men’s prison, attorneys for the incarcerated women say that placing their clients in segregated housing violates the “spirit” of the court order and has led to emotional distress.

Local, Virtual Support Meetings

Ongoing Events

Oakland LGBTQ Center Town Youth Club (Second and Fourth Fridays)
PFLAG Connects Communities: Moderated online meetings for Families of Color, Military Families, Grandparents, Dads, and Parents & Caregivers of Gender Diverse Youth
Pacific Center for Human Growth Peer Groups
Oakland LGBTQ Center Events

Join or Donate

pflagoeb@gmail.com | pflag-eastbay.org | Facebook