Sit back and think for a minute. Besides walking across stage (and shaking hands with your principal for what will probably be the last time in a while) and finally getting your hands on that long-awaited diploma you’ve worked so hard for, what else do most teens look forward to once they step foot in high school? From deciding on color schemes, to which IHOP is closest to crash, they’re probably excited to be getting ready for one of the most memorable nights of their teenage existence … prom!
On June 19, GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization will stage its annual Alternative Prom for LGBTQ youth from across the city and surrounding areas.
“This year is going to be a really special year because we’re actually going to be celebrating our 20th anniversary,” said GALAEI youth-program coordinator Fran Zavala. “We really want to create an awesome prom this year. Throughout the years, our expectations have increased and we actually have had the attendance increase as well. This affirms why this event is so important.”
The Alternative Prom, which happens to be the longest-running of its kind in the country, was created by humanitarian and activist David Acosta as a way to ensure that all LGBTQ youth who could not or did not attend their own proms would have the opportunity to do so, “freely,” just as everyone else. Over time, members of GALAEI and Acosta himself heard handfuls of accounts where young adults were being denied access to their own proms simply because of whom they decided to bring.
That won’t be the case at Alternative Prom — everyone from ages 13-21 are welcome to come and celebrate among their peers.
“It’s important because the Alternative Prom creates a space to support and empower marginalized youth who don’t get the space any other time of the year unfortunately,” Zavala said. “They’re given this one opportunity, this one day where they can come in and be as they are and have a fun time while being supported.”
Recognized throughout the LGBT community for his passion and dedication on many social fronts, Acosta set the tone that would live on well into today.
The venue for the 20th-annual Alternative Prom has yet to be announced, but updates will be arriving in the next few weeks.
Who’s ready for prom?!
Lucky Fischer is a 23-year-old Philadelphia native and graduate of Temple University with an educational background in public relations/strategic communication.