On the sunny morning of June 4, parents gathered in the EC Garden to celebrate Pride at Breakfast My Way! This Breakfast My Way may have had the biggest turnout yet; between the student affinity group visitors and the crowd of parents, the EC Garden was full to the brim with attendees.
Under the shade of the tent, newly decorated with garlands of Pride flags and rainbows, attendees helped themselves to rainbow bagels and mini rainbow cupcakes using colorful plates and utensils.
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Stella Mulatu kicked off the breakfast by thanking attendees for coming and showing their allyship, saying, “Whenever I start to feel like I’m losing hope, or [having] a little bit of despair, I turn to our students. And they always inspire me. They always give me hope. They amaze me, and so I’m so happy to have representation from our Green Cluster Rainbow Alliance and our Blue Cluster Rainbow Alliance today.” The Rainbow Alliance is one of the affinity groups offered for Green and Blue Cluster students.
Affinity groups provide a safe and supportive space for those in historically marginalized communities to gather and share their experience. It is a powerful tool for building community and belonging. The Rainbow Alliances are spaces for both allies and members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the Green and Blue Clusters.
This breakfast had four host families, the largest number of host families for a Breakfast My Way since the event’s inception. The hosts included Seth Rosen and Jacob Goertz, parents of Zach in the Yellow Cluster and Gilles in the Orange Cluster; Charlene Black and Philip Trageser, parents of Marcus in the Blue Cluster; Lucy and Sean Sheridan, parents of Henry in the Blue Cluster; and Jon Neave and Nikki Tippins, parents of Mili in the Blue Cluster and Dex in the Silver Cluster. Each set of parents spoke about how welcoming the Gaynor community has been to their families and the ways their children have been inspired to live proudly. Many parents also touched on the importance of Pride itself, and how this celebration of identity can be life changing for the younger generations. “…Pride is extremely important to the community because it gives something very powerful to our children, which is visibility. They can be part of the community, they can feel acceptance and love but they must be able to see themselves in the future,” said Charlene.
The event also featured short speeches from many members of the Green Cluster Rainbow Alliance and Blue Cluster Rainbow Alliance. The Green Cluster students stood by the “Joy” banner on the wall of the garden to explain the process behind its creation and what each symbol or phrase stands for. This project was part of a larger ACLU campaign called “Freedom to Be: Joy, Family, & Transgender Rights,” which focuses on the stories and families of transgender people. Members of the Blue Cluster Rainbow Alliance also spoke, with a few students reading out words they had prepared to say to the group about the Rainbow Alliance and what Pride means to them. “It’s important that we keep the memory of the [activists] of the past who have spread the joy around our community alive and how important it is to be happy and celebrate who we are as people,” said one student. This breakfast’s student speakers only further proved Ms. Mulatu’s sentiments—our students are inspiring, amazing, and most of all, proud to be who they are.
This month’s Breakfast My Way demonstrated the strength of the Gaynor community, and the ways it lifts our families up when they need it most. Thank you to all of our host families, and the students who came and showed allyship with their friends and the community as a whole. It was truly a joyous occasion!
Breakfast My Way is an event sponsored by the Parents’ Association DEI Committee to bring parents together to learn about the breakfast traditions, holidays, and cultures of their fellow Gaynor families. You can read more about previous Breakfast My Ways here.
