In this issue: Our community dinner, a theater outing, and PFLAG Votes 2026 | | |
Come As You Are: A Casual PFLAG Community Dinner
Tuesday, September 22, 7 PM
Join us as we welcome the fall with a community dinner. PFLAG is all about building a community of caring people committed to supporting and advocating for our LGBTQ+ loved ones. In that spirit, we invite you to join us for dinner in lieu of our regular monthly meeting. No formal program, no official support groups — just a casual gathering for good people, good food and good conversation.
We will bring the pizza and drinks. If you can, please bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert. Or just bring yourself; the most important part is your presence. Everyone is welcome — family and friends, young and old.
Please RSVP by responding to this email or signing up on this Google doc. And if you plan on bringing something, please list it on the Google doc.
Our community dinner will be held at St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Avenue in Berkeley. Just 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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Join PFLAG Oakland/East Bay for an evening theater performance this Sunday, September 20. The First Time I Saw Me: Stories of Black Trans Experience is a collectively authored choreopoem co-presented by the Underground Rainbow Experiment and the Black Arts Movement Business District Community Development Corporation of Oakland.
Written by more than 10 black, transgender and gender-nonconforming writers from across the African Diaspora, the production brings together movement, mixed media, oral tradition, and collective storytelling to explore the realities, memories, dreams, and possibilities of Black Trans life. All ticket proceeds support the Blue Roots Residency, a short-term guaranteed-income and wayfinding program for black, transgender and gender nonconforming kin.
Email and let us know that you're coming so we can find each other at the performance on Sunday!
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Making the Grade: Find Out How Your School District is Doing for LGBTQ+ Students
Thursday, September 17, 6 PM Online
Equality California just graded California's school districts on how well they support LGBTQ+ students. Join PFLAG San Francisco for a virtual walkthrough of the new Safe and Supportive Schools Report Card. This online event will also cover what state law guarantees students and families, and the resources available to LGBTQ+ students and their loved ones.
About the speaker: Erin Arendse (she/they) is program director at Equality California, where she leads programs that reduce disparities in LGBTQ+ health and well-being, build LGBTQ+ leadership, and grow civic participation across the community. Erin is a former English professor and holds an M.A. from California State University Long Beach.
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PFLAG Votes 2026: Turning Pride into Power
Across the country, LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones are navigating challenging and often harmful policies. Decisions made by elected leaders shape our schools, our communities, our access to health care, and our rights and freedoms.
Our 2026 PFLAG Votes campaign—Turning Pride Into Power—reminds everyone 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. And that work is OURS to do.
So watch the launch and then visit pflag.org/pflagvotes. 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.
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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. Many members of our chapter will be attending, let us know if you'd like to carpool! All keynotes and talks will also be livestreamed on Zoom.
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In the News: Positive Developments
California - Alameda County officials approve $1.5M for gender-affirming care. The Board of Supervisors voted to approve $1.5 million in funding to expand resources for LGBTQ people living in Alameda County. The funding will go to the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center to provide a slew of services including gender-affirming healthcare, mental health support, crisis response and prevention services.
Colorado - Local officials, community rally behind Jeffco schools in federal transgender policies fight. Nearly 600 organizations, state and local officials, and community members have signed a letter of support for Jeffco Public Schools, a school district in Jefferson County, and its school board amid the district’s fight with the Trump administration over transgender policies.
Massachusetts - Governor Maura Healey Signs into Law ‘An Act Regarding Free Expression’. The legislation protects librarians and educators from harassment for doing their jobs, affirms students’ right to read, and protects authors, creators, booksellers, and publishers from economic harm due to book bans and censorship. Massachusetts PFLAG chapters fought hard to get this legislation over the finish line with PFLAG Greater Boston playing a critical role.
Michigan - Michigan nominates first trans woman for state legislature. A former megachurch pastor who endured 15 years of conversion practices is poised to become the first transgender member of Michigan’s state legislature after winning last week’s Democratic primary for the state House’s 2nd District, a Democratic stronghold.
New Jersey - Governor Mikie Sherrill signs shield bill into law. The New Jersey Governor signed legislation that bans interfering with reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare and bars state officials from aiding out-of-state investigations where such care is illegal.
Tennessee - Nashville Metro Council appoints first openly transgender president pro tempore. Olivia Hill, who became the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Tennessee when she was elected to the Nashville Metro Council in 2023, was elected that body’s president pro tempore on September 1.
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Local, Virtual Support Meetings
Ongoing Events
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