Waco Pride Network - November Newsletter

<<First Name>> - 11/10/21

Edition: 2021 | Issue: 10

“Harvey Milk lives!”

Friendsgiving 2021

As members of the queer community, we know the holidays can be challenging. If you or someone you know will be alone or without family on Thanksgiving, we would love to have you join us for Friendsgiving!

On Thursday, November 25th, Waco Pride Network is partnering with Lakeshore Baptist Church to provide our community with a place to gather for a Thanksgiving meal and time to hang out, play games, talk, and sit around a fire, etc.

We ask everyone who plans to attend to bring a side or dessert for every couple of people you are bringing. You can sign up to join us for Friendsgiving through the link provided. We hope to see you on the 25th!

When: Thursday, November 25th
Time: 3:00-6:00 PM
Where: 2204 Meadow Road

November Awareness and Remembrance Dates

First two full weeks in November: | Transgender Awareness Week
- Transgender Awareness Week is a week when transgender people and their allies take action to bring attention to the community by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community.
November 8 | Intersex Day of Remembrance
- Intersex Day of Solidarity, also known as Intersex Day of Remembrance, takes place on November 8. The Day marks the birthday of Herculine Barbin, a French intersex person whose memoirs were later published by the philosopher Michel Foucault, along with contemporary texts and a later fictionalized account.
November 20 | International Transgender Day of Remembrance
- Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester's death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Honoring Harvey Milk

This past week, the US Navy honored Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States! Milk served four years in the Navy before being forced into resignation based on his sexuality. In his public work, he was unapologetic in his authenticity as a gay man and gave hope to the queer community to advance LGBT rights. He spoke out about state and national LGBT issues and worked to advance the plight of women, minorities, and other marginalized communities. He built coalitions between diverse groups and gave a voice to voiceless communities.

Unfortunately, Milk's life was cut short by assassination on November 27, 1978. His legacy, however lives on in opera, books, films, and now a naval ship! At the christening of the USNS Harvey Milk, Milk's nephew stated, “we have to teach our history to prevent ourselves from going backwards and repeating it.” Shortly after Milk died in 1978, people marching for gay rights in Washington, D.C., chanted “Harvey Milk lives!” Time to bring back the chant!

Waco Pride at the Downtown Farmers Market

Waco Pride Network was proud to celebrate the Waco Downtown Farmer's Market 10th Anniversary on Saturday, November 6, 2021. It was awesome to see so many of you and we are thankful for this growing community here in Waco! We also loved meeting some of the four-legged members of the community too, like this Good boy Tini posing with his awesome Waco Pride bandana.

Upcoming- Holistic & Metaphysical Fall Gathering

The Waco Pride Network will be hosting a booth at this Sunday's Holistic & Metaphysical Fall Gathering! We are so excited for another opportunity to connect with the community and share information about the Waco Pride Network.

We are still looking for volunteers, so if you are available to help for any amount of time, please complete the following volunteer form.

When: Sunday, November 14th
Where: 7524 Bosque Boulevard Shopping Center
Time: 12:00 - 5:00 PM

The Rainbow Roll - Halloween Recap

We had an excellent time at the October Rainbow Roll - This is Halloween! As you can see, we had several community members show up in a costume, which made the night even better. The next Rainbow roll will be on November 18th, and we hope you will join us for a 90's Hip Hop event. With 50% of the door cost going to WPN, this is an excellent opportunity to show your support and make some new friends!

Upcoming Events

Rainbow Roll
November 18th

Come skate with us at Skate Waco on November 18th from 8:00-10:30 pm. The theme this month is 90s Hip Hip, so come dressed in your best 90s gear, or just come to skate! See you on the 18th!

Wellspring Gathering
November 21st

Wellspring Gathering, an inclusive, trauma-informed community-in-the-making interested in spiritual healing and wellbeing, will be on November 21st at 1:00 pm and you can find them on Facebook or email kyndall.rothaus@gmail.com if you have any questions.

The WPN is an all-volunteer nonprofit and its efforts are made possible by those willing to donate one's time, talents, or finances to help make our dreams possible.

Whether our volunteers' contributions include a $5 monthly donation, vendor participation, donation of one's precious time, community support, committee membership, or even liking and sharing social media activity, each volunteer makes a huge difference.

Your donation will not only support the financial aspects of our mission, it will serve as a statement.

Your donation says that you stand against those that wish us to simply go away, to remain silent about who we are.

Your donation says that you stand with this community in its struggle for affirmative acceptance and recognition.

Total Donations FY 2019 - $4,606.82

Total Donations FY 2020 - $1,944.92

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