"Wicked, Seditious and Dangerous"

Warning:  the following is a shameless plug for the work I do in PFLAG-Tallahassee!

I am exhausted.  Not just by the news, or my work, or my volunteer activities, but by the speed reading that I've done over the past several weeks of ten... count 'em ten... books and novels with LGBT themes.   OK, some of them have been children's picture books, but that's still a whole lot of marathon reading for me.   I've enjoyed it, and it's made me sad.  Because these books are among those so often targeted by censors who claim that anything that hints at acceptance of LGBT people is "wicked, seditious and dangerous."

On Sunday, our PFLAG organization is going to give these books a chance to be heard!

We've planned a benefit that fits in with National Banned Books Week.  Readers, including some local heavy-hitters such as Sheila Ortiz Taylor, Terry Galloway and Kati Schardl, will take to the stage at Tallahassee's Mickee Faust Clubhouse and read works such as "The Well of Loneliness", "Annie On My Mind", "The Color Purple", "King and King" and "And Tango Makes Three." 

These and other books have been the target of censors who will stop at nothing to keep young people from discovering that there are gay families or lesbian moms, or kids struggling with the feelings they have about themselves and their attraction to the same gender. Given the serious issue of teen suicide among LGBT youth, these books can give a child a chance to read about those things that feel the most real to them. Teachers have been fired for including the books in their curriculum; librarians have been forced to remove the books from the shelves. And some novels have been burned publicly.


The event gets underway at 6:30pm when the doors open. We have silent auction items from local businesses such as New Leaf Market, Native Nurseries, Synergy Salon, Taste Budz, Fermentation Lounge, Joe's Bike Shop and more. The readings will begin at 7pm. Tickets to the event can be purchased ahead of time at www.mickeefaust.com or at the door. Entry is $10 general admission; $5 students, seniors and people with disabilities. All the proceeds go to PFLAG-Tallahassee.

(if you can't attend, you can still assist PFLAG-Tallahassee by purchasing a ticket through the Faust website).

End of shameless plug!