The new “Don’t Say Gay” law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis is a direct attack on LGBTQ education in Florida. As an expression of opposition to the new law, the staff and volunteers read George M. Johnson’s banned book All Boy’s Aren’t Blue out loud from cover-to-cover.  

The Stonewall National Museum and Archives invites Floridians to show their support for LGBTQ teachers, staff and students by joining us for a brunch fundraiser “Claiming Our Voice,” at The Pelican Grand Beach Resort in Ft. Lauderdale (presented by the Windhover Foundation).

Claiming Our Voice will be a celebration of education, community, and mutual support. Continuing Stonewall’s fifty-year history of supporting educators and students, the event will feature Lory Sakay, Student Support Specialist – Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Somerset Academy – Chapel Trail Campus, Pembroke Pines.

Attendees will enjoy a brunch, and entertainment including a live and silent auction. All monies raised will go to support the Stonewall National Museum and Archives, Florida’s premiere LGBTQ history and education destination. 

Together, Claiming Our Voice attendees will “Say Gay” and send a message of support to every student, teacher, and parent who simply wants the best education for their child. 

Sponsorship packages and tickets are available now. 

“Just as it is not possible to legislate away the influence the LGBTQ community has had on our country’s rich history, you also cannot simply make LGBTQ+ children ‘go away’ by refusing to recognize them or by not saying certain words in our schools,” stated Jacki Bennett, Chair of SNMA’s Board of Directors. “It is not possible to un-ring the bell of recognizing one’s gender identity. It is a part of growing up and developing into the person you are. The Board of Directors stands behind SNMA’s statement and with all those working across the state of Florida in opposing this legislation.”

“While there are many supportive and inclusive people in the state, unfortunately, Florida has a long tradition of opposing gay people,” said Stonewall Executive Director Hunter O’Hanian. “We only need to go back to the 1950s and ‘60s to see the efforts to entrap gay people and root them out from the state colleges which lead to the Johns Committee Report. Thankfully that was roundly vilified by nearly everyone – both conservative and liberal. We can also look at the efforts of Anita Bryant and the ‘Save Our Children” committee who tried to stop efforts in Miami-Dade County to offer equal protection to the LGBTQ community in the 1970s. That effort also failed. 

“What is sad about this current effort,” said O’Hanian, “is that yet again, children are being used to pursue a particular anti-gay agenda. It has failed in the past, and I predict it will fail again.”

About Stonewall National Museum & Archives
Stonewall National Museum & Archives promotes understanding through collecting, preserving
and sharing the proud culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of all
stories, and their significant role in American society. SNMA currently presents a robust
schedule of exhibitions and virtual programs. Visit stonewall-museum.org to learn more.
An independent, non-profit educational entity, Stonewall was founded in 1973 and is one of the
largest LGBTQ libraries and archives in the United States housing more than 28,000 books and 6
million pages of archival materials from 1950 to the present.

Content Courtesy of Stonewall National Museum & Archives